Biola University

I LOVE BIOLA AND THE MISSION OF THE UNIVERSITY!
I’m a current student in my junior year. Biola is unlike any place you’ll ever get an opportunity to visit or be a student of. It’s beautiful to see others, not perfect, but trying and desiring to learn about God and please Him in all they do, especially young people. If there is something going on in your life, there is someone there to pray for you. The professors are inspirations and great models of what it is like to live a Christian life. They know you by name and care about you both inside and outside of the classroom. No matter what your area of study is, you are taught from a Biblical perspective and learn to see others as God sees them. Your vocation is not just a job or career but a ministry.
The campus is gorgeous and there are chapels around to stop in anytime you need. There is a chapel requirement that I know receives many negative views on but I think it is reasonable. I’ve grown so much from my time each semester in chapel so it’s worth it. The university is definitely made to live on campus though because of the close knit community so I wouldn’t recommend commuting as an undergrad.
The cost of tuition is the only downside here because it is expensive but SO WORTH IT if you apply yourself and get involved in the many ministries and activities on campus. Biola is an amazing place and if you get the opportunity to study here you should take advantage of it. You will be blessed and equipped to serve others in a Christ like way.
Shout out to Weathers and Gardner for being the most inspiring profs!

Biola University is a great university for Christians. BIOLA University’s motto is ‘think biblically on everything.’ Biola university taught me on how to be true and honest businessman. I was raised in the city where people don’t think that business and theology can go hand in hand. People thought that businesses are for cheaters. BIOLA University actually challenged that idea and turn it into reality. If you want to learn to be Godly businessmen, then BIOLA University would be the place to go.

I was a student at Biola during the ’14−15 school year. I am now in the process of transferring to a different University, I had initially turned down to attend Biola.
That is not to say Biola isn’t a fine university, with some very good people. I don’t believe Biola deserves 3 stars, but I’m not sure it’s a fine enough institution to to rank it a 4 or 5 stars. If I could, I would award it 3.8 Stars.
1. Classes and Professors.
The classes and professors here are very hit and miss. A few of my classes were challenging, with marvelous professors, who had impressive backgrounds. I particularly find the mandatory bible classes to be challenging. But, many of my classes seemed disorganized. In particular, I had a History professor, that would spew his own political and social agenda into his lectures. Which at times was sporadic, distracting, and odd. It was like watching watching the History channel, only to be periodically interrupted by the Fox News channel.
2. Tuition.
Tuition here is gonna give your parents a heart attack. I know, it’s a private institution.
On the positive side, Biola does have an abundance of scholarships, if you qualify, which will pay off a strong portion of your tuition. Still, I qualified for almost everything under the sun, and I still am gonna have debt to pay off from loans.
3. Population.
The student body population has out grown the modest, but beautiful, campus. One of the alluring qualities of this school, for me, was that it was a private university with minuscule class sizes. But, I found that half of my classes had so many students, there is no way the professor would even remember you.
4. Diversity.
The student population at Biola is predominantly white, middle to upper middle class, and very sheltered. Many of these students seem very content with the bubble they live in, and lack the desire to assimilate to other cultures. Much of the social architecture here seems segregated, and at times, there tends to be tension that rolls in. In addition, many students walk around with a high brow attitude.
I even started to notice that when I had a white teacher, the majority of the students where white in that class. And if I had an Asian professor, there was often majority Asian students who took that professors class. Of course there is nothing wrong with this, but I’m noting it. Perhaps, it was a coincidence.
5. Over emphasis on Biblical Studies.
All who come here are Christian, or at least claim to be, as it is a requirement to be accepted here. So, why must we feel like we have to constantly validate that. University is a very stressful time, where your time capacity is very limited. Biola is one of the only Christian schools, that I am aware of, that makes you graduate with a Biblical Minor. So prepare to be spending a considerable amount of time on Christian studies, along with your original studies, of choice.
6. Anonymity.
By that, I mean, few people are aware that Biola even exists, let alone a University. I have told people in towns 15 minutes away, that I am a student at Biola, and they have never heard of it. This is something you need to consider. When you walk into that office in Manhattan, and present your resume with Biola University on it… it probably won’t look impressive, next to other applicants with more prestigious degrees.
*Finally I want to say this…
**With all the negative stuff I mentioned, Biola has one major redeeming quality, that almost forgives everything I have mentioned prior to this point.
–The best thing about Biola, is that once you find your little community, with in Biola, you will have people who will support you, and be a true fiend to you, better than anyone you have ever known. I have had deep conversations with friends I have made here, about life, love, God, community, etc. Groups that are constantly inviting you out to social events, outside campus. People who genuinely seem to care about you, which is rare.
At times, it genuinely feels like you went away to a really cool summer camp.

Absolutely beautiful campus. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the people who work there.
I’m not a student there so I can’t speak re: its academic program.
I do play tennis there on occasion and until today, I’ve never had any negative experiences or pushback.
Today, some lady who claims to be the director of the summer youth tennis program blatantly told me and my friend that we could not use the courts because she didn’t want «people we are uncomfortable with using the courts.»
When I accused her of being racist, she then tried to cover up her tracks by saying that I couldn’t play there unless I had a student i.d.
How convenient. She didn’t seem to have any qualms with two senior citizen-​aged white men (clearly not students) using the courts before I got there.
So much for the student i.d. policy. She obviously pulled that out of her ass as soon as I called her out on her racism.
My tennis buddy was equally appalled by her behavior.
I certainly hope that she was simply a rogue staff member that doesn’t reflect the policy or views of the overall Biola community. Otherwise, Biola really needs to shape up.

The accounting department is unorganized and not helpful. They fail to post loans to accounts and other financial aid in a timely manner and then charge student accounts late fees. Staff does not respond to questions in a Christ like manner. They have double charged my student’s account for items and refuse to offer a credit for their mistake. Where is the integrity of this department? The accounting department reminds me of the unethical tax collectors from Jesus’ time on earth.
That being said, we have had nothing but positive experiences with other departments on campus.

I am not going to this school but am working in collaboration with the school on a project. The faculty, staff, and students are exceptionally nice. They are a nice representative of their beliefs. The school is also very well kept and very pretty to look at. Overall everyone seems happy to be here, thata is a good sign. Thanks for all the efforts in getting our project together Biola!

As a transfer student from fullerton college, I’ve had such a positive experience at Biola. I’m going to be graduating in December and I’m going to miss the tight community, small campus (compared to UC), and kind staff here. Definitely gonna visit the library too :) the school offers so many opportunities starting from job opportunities, grad school preparation to ged exam preparation. I’m actually going to miss singspos and chapels. Whoooooo go biola!

talbot. seminary. community. simply amazing. some things are more important than academics and education, and talbot knows this for sure.

THIS IS LITERALLY THE BEST COLLEGE EVER. I would not leave this place if you payed me. The people, professors, staff is all so incredible. BIOLA is so much fun and such an amazing environment. :)

I’m actually a bit caught off by all of the negative comments I’ve seen about Biola. Really?!
I attended school here from 2008 – 2013 and graduated with a BA in Sociology.
Financially there were times when it was tough, it IS a private school after all– what do I expect? However, there IS opportunity to apply/​receive scholarships if you do your research. What, you think free money is going to be easy to find? The Financial Aid counselors are all SUPER helpful and helped me figure things out every semester. I don’t come from a rich family and I pulled out my portion of loans. However, they listen to each circumstance and give recommendations and show a lot of GRACE when it comes to deadlines.
As for the required Biblical Studies minor, okay yeah, that part can kind of suck. But guess what, when it comes to the majority of my friends who graduated from this institution, many of them say that they actually REGRET not taking these courses more seriously because there was a lot to be learned. I can understand that people may not want to partake in this. but you ARE attending the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES. If you forget, please go back and look at what the B in Biola stands for.
As for job success– I believe it’s the same as anyone from any college. All my friends who were hard workers were able to find FINANCIALLY STABLE and RESPECTABLE jobs straight out of college. As for me, I was able to enter a top 10 masters program straight out of college. And guess what? My professors in my program had prepared me very well and I’m doing well in my NON CHRISTIAN masters program too. I’m not saying this to anyone in particular as everyone’s circumstances are different, but IF Biola happens to be the ONLY reason why you can’t find success post college, please do not blame your incompetency on the school that awarded you a degree.
I am not a cookie cutter Christian. Not at all. But, I don’t think it’s fair to judge the culture of Biola by a certain population of people here. I’ve met plenty of people who were not «SUPER CHRISTIANS» or «RICH WHITE KIDS» here but still loved attending this school. And guess what? Since you’re primarily surrounded by «SUPER CHRISTIANS» at least you won’t be dealing with complete A-​HOLES at school. Just saying.

Biola’s baseball field is a great space! Very well netted in and ample seating available. The Catch has a great team this year! Is very exciting to watch them play.

As a transfer student who spent three years here from 2009 – 2012, I absolutely loved my time here.
The campus is gorgeous, and has lots of places around to hang out with friends, study, and enjoy the beautiful sunny days in socal. The library has nice study rooms and cubicles to sequester yourself when needed. You can leave your stuff and go to the bathroom and people won’t steal it! Throughout my time at Biola, my roommates and I never locked our dorm rooms and never had a problem with our stuff getting stolen.
Cafeteria food has lots of variety, and you can always count on pizza or salad if you don’t find anything else. Mexican food is the bomb here! And then after a while, it’s time to get creative with what you eat and make some new creations!
Professors are awesome. They really care about you. Take advantage of those office hours, get to know them outside of class!

fundamentalist theology and attitudes… Biola University must begin making pro-​active efforts to increase the racial diversity of its students… both undergraduate and graduate students… Biola University must lower its tuition and fees from its current $ 500 per unit so that a more inclusive, more diverse Christian community can have the opportunity to study at Biola University…

aaa Biola! It seems so long ago that I was a student here at this school — transfer student in 2005, graduated in 2007. Since then, I have done quite a bit of reflecting and analysis, discussed with many fellow graduates, consulted academic scholars, and conducted a great deal of research regarding higher education and emergent adulthood — all culminating now in this Unilocal review. I fully expect to hit the character limit on this one. See where a degree from Biola University will get you? (I kid… or do I?)
Financial Aid: The cost of tuition here is ridiculous, and continues to rise. I believe it was 14k/​semester when I attended, and current rates on the website are listed as 16k (this is for tuition alone, not including room and board). I knew many people who would come to the end of the semester and not know if they had enough money to come back next semester; some would manage to scrape together more financial aid or take out more loans, others would flail along for a little while longer by commuting or working, but this university is set up primarily for full-​time, residential students. It is NOT commuter or non-​traditional student friendly.
Campus Culture: It’s SoCal — ie, full of rich white people with attitudes to match. Diversity is a big problem on a campus like this — not just the obvious racial divides, but political and socioeconomic class are major areas in which Biola fails. The cost of the school, the admission requirements, and the general positioning of the university filters out many students who could contribute to a fuller, more diverse experience for everyone. You can’t really blame the students for their lack of exposure to alternative lifestyles — many have grown up in SoCal, gone to church their whole lives, been homeschooled or attended private schools — and it is very very easy to treat Biola as an extension of that, choosing not to challenge yourself or think beyond the Bible bubble. There were several professors that attempted to breach this limitation (during my time and in my fields, they included Dr. Joanne Jung, Dr. Michael Gonzales, and Dr. Craig Detweiler), but the campus environment is such that it is all too easy to go along with the flow, giving the «Biola» answers to what might otherwise be meaty philosophical, moral, and ethical discussions.
Academics: There is something a bit off when teaching Biblical studies as a general studies requirement. One of the main problems that I saw happening was the treating of Bible reading as any sort of textbook reading — you have to do it, but no one really cares (this happens with chapels as well). There was often so much busy work that it was difficult to conduct any in-​depth analysis. Most professors were willing to meet one-​on-​one if you had academic-​type questions, but again, the environment was not terribly conducive to (for lack of a better term) «soul-​searching» or «big questions.» Also, other reviewers have commented on the quality of the TAs — I distinctly remember on one of my papers where I used «favourite» instead of «favorite,» the TA left a snarky remark about being in America and that I should use American spelling.
Community: I was never officially involved in the machinations of student life, student government, or res life (I avoided dorm events like the plague), but I would still posit that community was absolutely the best thing that I took away from Biola with me. The problem is that with forced community (like dorm events, «school spirit» week, and so on), it is far too easy to slip through the cracks — and this is a criticism of academic institutions as a whole: those who don’t automatically thrive on mass engagement will be overlooked. However, I was fortunate (or should I say, «blessed») to be placed during orientation week into a group of transfer students, meaning older and somewhat more realistic, many of whom decided that we were going to make our own community; this flourished and grew from an initial handful to a full-​fledged Family which became one of the most diverse, welcoming, and notorious student groups of the next few years. There was always a table for us in the cafeteria. To these folks, not any of the prescribed «student life» events, do I owe the best of my college memories.
In recent years, since the retirement of Dr. Cook and Ron Hafer and the installation of Dr. Corey, the push has been for rebranding Biola as an up-​and-​coming school (the marketing byline has gone from «Impacting the world for the Lord Jesus Christ» to «Make it matter»). Looking at the peppy, trend-​driven promotional materials that are currently being produced, another former student and I had a lengthy discussion regarding the marketing target and how that drives the applications and admissions of the current student population. Many of us remain deeply concerned about and critical of the future of Biola as an academic and spiritual institution given the current trajectory.

Looks like most of the old reviews were deleted. Attended 2000 – 2004. Ultimately it’s just not worth the cost of 35 grand a year. Fortunately I was covered almost entirely by grants and scholarships. I found it utterly ridiculous that in several smaller classes (and the school as a whole is relatively small) the professors couldn’t even be bothered to grade exams or papers. The TAs grading weren’t even phd students or such that you might expect, they were undergrads at a lower level than I was.
There were a handful of really brilliant professors that I studied with but the majority of classes were taught by revolving door adjuncts. The quality of theological education was also outstanding. Mandatory chapels got old very very fast. At the time the philosophy of the university seemed to be accepting as many students as possible resulting in severe overcrowding, I understand that’s still somewhat the case today. Great place to build fake friendships and get an in to church culture. Most alumni don’t keep close ties unless they happened to ‘earn’ a job there.

I was really surprised that my purse can not be stolen here. That means this school is very nice with nice environments and people.
My friend and i ate lunch at the cafeteria. My friend proudly said i didn’t worry about my purse as i left my seat for the rest room or get more food. Nobody steals anything even i left my possessions at the table or seat. They are true believers in Christ.
this school has an outdoor fireplace. It makes feel more comfortable and relaxing.

I like to Biola University, esay to park, close to any building from parkinglot, especially, the library is good to study, quiet, nice chairs, and desks.
But, one thing I would like them to take care is speed of wireless.
Computers on the 1^st floor are fast internet speed, but other than that, especially, at the 2^nd floor, wireless speed is pretty slow, even it is hard to watch a small video clip from Youtube, or something. In addtion, wireless are disconneted many times.

Biola is a incredible educational institution. The professors are intelligent and communicate the course material wonderfully. The students are friendly and with only about 5,000 students at the school, you make quick friends with a lot of people. The classrooms are also high-​tech and clean. I am blessed to go to Biola.

Love all the peace and quite, the study areas, private study rooms, computer section, coaches, the snack area, etc. etc. You can just try to get lost here, and you will still be bound to find a study space.
I must also admit, I came here to study my notes and books on Traditional Chinese Medicine. but, I find that I can’t help looking through their books on religion and Christianity! I start reading them instead! Totally side tracked. he he

It’s a great campus to get married.
Everything you need is all here at Biola University. The chapel to have a wedding ceremony, the banquet hall like place to have a wedding reception, seasonal differences of backdrops for photography sessions (Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter). These sessions include: Bride & Groom, Wedding Party, Family and Friends portrait sessions. Parking is great. No hassle of finding spaces. However, if your event falls between weekdays during the school year than you’ll be most likely to have hard time finding decent spots.
There is a couple of reasons for three star rating. First, the bride has to use one of the lecturing class rooms as her waiting/​dressing room. It doesn’t look that pretty. no mirrors and no furnitures. Oh… I’m sorry, there are some furnitures: teacher’s desk and rows of student chairs. Second, the reception area has a low ceiling and it’s located right next to the students’ cafeteria. If your event happens during the vacations than you’ll have a quiet and intimate reception. But expect chatterings and noises from students next door. I would’ve given 4 star rating if these two reasons weren’t the reasons. Please view the pictures I posted for visual references. Thanks~