Postby dreamwords » Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:21 am

Just thought I'd weigh in here, even though this post is old. I somehow found it via Google. I went to PCC until 1993 and am now a 37yo homeschooling mom myself of four (ages 5-13). I still live in the vicinity of the college, so although we don't visit it much, we do have a little contact, and I can say with certainty that it has not changed in these 15 years!



What was posted about PCC is true. All of it.



However, what is absolutely different between she and I, I think, is the attitude. PCC is strict, is unbending, is rather military-like in many ways, yet you can go there and enjoy the other 3,000+ kids who are in the same boat as you, you can find ways to look cute even in those conservative clothes, and, why yes, you can enjoy the beach (it is quite accessible and popular enough that finding 5 girls - a rule they create for safety, and as a mama, I'm not sorry for that - is not difficult).



My husband and I (whom I met there) came out of it 100% scar-free. We didn't take the doctrine classes as what we must believe ourselves; rather, we took that as yet another person's opinion. So? It's good to get other opinions to mull over. It made for great discussions, past and present.



Yes, there were many annoyances (the tattle-tales are one), but there were also some great things (the non-tattle-tales who became such great friends that we're driving from FL to Chicago next week to see 4 of them). You just take things with a grain of salt and keep your own opinions.



Would we let our 4 children go there? If they want to! We are raising them to know their own minds (and make their own decisions). PCC was unable to change my mind or my husband's or our friends, and we intend to raise these kids well enough that they will know right from wrong for themselves. It is a VERY safe place, especially for girls.



Yes, I was put in the most horrid job on campus - the kitchen - and it is true, there was no interview to place me there. Because of this, and because the low wages is true, and because working so much made studying very difficult for me, I would NOT have our girls work there(unless they could get a library job, lucky gal!).



So, in summary, it is strict, yes, but if you think of it as "military-strict" and just accept those rules and go along with it; if you listen to the teachers/preachers/evangelists (my, there are many!) but mull it over in your heart and alone with God until you realize your own views, you'll come out of it unscathed.



p.s. It is absolutely true that the PCC degree causes problems going further. Not in every case, but many. My husband was turned down from the Air Force officers training school (degree not accepted) and my brother, who has a masters from PCC, cannot get a regular teaching job at a public school. We're going to let our children decide where they go to college, if they even do go, but we'll make sure they know about this problem in some majors, if they go to PCC. Oh, by the way, the nursing program IS accredited, and very accepted in hospitals and in further education.