Bethel University

I remember walking through the halls of Bethel University saying “I could live here”. Beautiful scenery, great food! Oh! The food!, quality of education is 🌎 class, they take sports 🥎 seriously 🙌🏽, hostels are homely and the environment is clean. I am not an academic person but if I got a scholarship to Bethel, I would be the most enthusiastic academic individual you’ve ever seen 😂.

My daughter's academic experience at Bethel is becoming a mess. From the day she set foot on campus, she intended to major in Molecular Biology and Minor in computer science. However, there have been budget cuts and the departments are bare bones. Upper level bio courses have a single section offered once a year or every other year, and this semester, the 4 classes she needed were offered all in the same 2 class periods. She can't even take any classes towards her comp Sci minor because they completely changed the catalog and that obsoleted one of the classes she had already taken and created new class that's a prerequisite for every other comp Sci class she needs, but it isn't even offered in spring. So she's stuck! This semester she is paying full tuition to take 3 classes because her general Eds are fulfilled and she literally can not find a single class to take that would help her progress toward graduation. It's been stressful and frustrating, and I wouldn't wish this on any young student...so I'm posting here to try and warn you so you don't make the same mistake. The campus is nice. The food is good. The professors are great. But if you can't get a degree, what's the point?

Amazing performace of Mississippi Valley Orchestra to close their 2024 season at Bensen Great Hall.

It's so huge now. I graduated 40 years ago. Always has been a beautiful campus. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat, although not sure it's as peaceful as I experienced. Many of my old friends are staff, professors, the current President.

Beautiful campus, friendly greeters modern facilities quality every where you look.

Fantastic and fast turf.

Love this place! My husband and I are both graduates, and we were so well-prepared for our life and careers...spiritually, socially, and vocationally. Some of our best friends and favorite memories came from this special place, and we're thrilled to see all the ways Bethel continues to improve and expand.

My husband & I graduated from what was then Bethel College & Seminary in 1968. My years there are among the best of my life! We were privileged to sing with the College Choir - the best of the best of my lifetime experiences. I most highly recommend Bethel to anyone trying to select the best college to attend. I especially recommend it to music majors as their music program is outstanding! Bethel is a Christian University with a student body consisting primarily of dedicated Christian young people. As with any Christian school, there are a few students who are sent there by their parents with the hope that the school will straighten them out. Fortunately, these students are few and far between! I can't recommend Bethel highly enough!

Bethel feels like home. It's an amazing community. I wish I could give this place a trillion stars. This place some of the kindest students, staff, and professors you'll ever meet. The curriculum prepares you for a career you'd like and the financial aid package is perfect. The professors care about you, pray for you, and understand you. I've never had problems reaching any of the staff and most of them keep their office doors open which means you can just walk right in without an appointment. The classes can get difficult, but they really prepare you for the future. Chapel is the greatest and the worship will give you goosebumps on top of your goosebumps. They also have the wonderful comfy chairs all over campus and nap time has never been easier. I feel joyous beyond words to be surrounded by such amazing people! The campus is also very beautiful, come by if you've never been.

IT IS A MONEY GRAB!! THEY CHARGED US FOR SEMESTER THAT MY SON DID NOT EVEN ATTENDED! And when we did the tuition appeal it was denied! They continue to bill us WITH interest for a semester that was not attended. NOT very CHRIST like AT ALL !! DO NOT GO TO BETHEL UNIVERSITY IN MINNESOTA!! I would strongly advise you to a school that actually cares about people and its students not just dollars! I would give this school and our experience her ZERO stars if I could! How do they feel justified in charging for a semester that my kid wasn't even there? there were zero expenditures for him on behalf of the professors, time, food nor dorm space and yet we are being charged for what? Exodus 22:25 ESV "If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. Deuteronomy 23:19 ESV "You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. Leviticus 25:35-37 "If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit.

We saw the Festival of Christmas again this year - our fifth year - and it was absolutely outstanding as usual. The handbell choir provided a beautiful welcome to the concert and set the mood for the Festival. Each year the music department, student musicians, student performers, and the tech crew outdo themselves with stunning performances. The lighting, set design, choice of music - all was stunning!

We went for our first time at Benson Hall at Bethel University to hear the Minnesota Saints chorale & Orchestra. It was one of the best Christmas concerts we have attended. The choir and orchestra were amazing. The acoustics, organ and Christmas decorations really made the concert experience so much better. We loved the comfy chairs, spacious hall and Harlow restrooms (no lines). The parking was easily accessible across the street. This is a wonderful place to experience.

Bethel is Christian university and the culture and traditions reflect that. The true gem in this organization is Bethel Seminary. The university began as a seminary in Chicago in 1871 and later moved to Saint Paul. This organization has been training Christian leaders for generations.

tl;dr There are better schools and for less money. Go to Bethel if you want to be a pastor or a pastor's spouse. Bethel was my first college. After that first year I went home, regrouped, transferred to junior college, graduated from Marquette with honors, and after working for some time I went back and earned a masters degree from one of the top programs in my field. One of the best things that anyone said to me at Bethel was my "Philosophic Quest" prof who told me "some people just aren't cut out for college". She was referring to the fact that I was late to her class a few times. It was great motivation in the years to come, but I think she meant it more to comfort herself at the time. Of the four colleges I have attended Bethel's professors were the least engaging. One English professor advocated the use of "he/she" in formal writing anytime an indefinite third person pronoun was needed. Never mind that indefinite third person pronouns are easy enough to avoid and never mind that it is ridiculous to use a forward slash in formal writing. Bethel's most interesting and thought provoking classes pertain to Western history, the Bible, and fine art. If you are going to study one of those fields (particularly the Bible) then Bethel could be a good choice. If not, then there are far better educations out there and for less money too. Even the professors who seemed like a big deal at the time were unpublished, regional-at-best successes. Student life is tamer than most colleges due to the covenant that students sign. Like in church culture, Bethel students are prized more for their ability to emotionally and relationally engage rather than their ability to intellectually engage as compared with other colleges. Many or even most students come from and will dwell in middle class america. Lastly, there were surprising displays of anti-gay and anti-minority bigotry on campus when I attended though your standard, garden-variety Bethel students only harbor mild homophobia that they keep under tight wraps. I'd recommend Bethel University to anyone interested in rooting themselves wholly in Christian subculture and dogma, but I'd recommend almost any other school for academic or intellectual rigor and professional advancement.

Bethel has been an amazing university where I have thrived academically and spiritually.

Would you like for your child to graduate college with a relationship with Jesus Christ? With a strong respect for themselves, their body, mind, spirit and others? Would you like for them to have a meaningful and rewarding job and future? How about solid lifelong friendships with other believers or even a prospective spouse whom you'd be proud to welcome into your family? Well stop praying about it and send them to Bethel.

Bethel is a strong Christian school with excellent academics. The recent article in the Star Tribune 10/4/15 about their new program for students with intellectual disabilities is uplifting. Professors and staff care about their students. I highly recommend this school.

Perhaps I'm not the most qualified person to be rating it as I haven't attended it. However, for quite some time, I was considering attending their BUILD program, which is a program for young adults up to age 25 with intellectual disabilities to become more independent. Upon researching it though, I found out that people attending the program, like other students that are part of the university, are required to follow strict biblical standards. They are to refrain from swearing, homosexuality, any drunkenness, etc. The problem is that even though Bethel is a private religious college, my understanding is that since their BUILD program does receive at least some public funding, they can't legally discriminate on the basis of homosexuality or have any rules that are faith-based.

I only spent a year here, due to financial considerations, but I loved it! The professors are incredible. They care about their students, their subject, and know what they are talking about! I had a sociology professor, Dr. Andrew Odubote, who renewed my love of sociology and taught me and my classmates so much. The faculty are ready to meet you halfway in anything. The dorm life was fantastic, if a little conservative. My RA was involved, but not overbearing, and my Resident Director was the same way, always providing support to students and the RAs. Everyone knew everyone's names! The food was also lovely. I recommend the pasta - they make it to order! The only downside I can think of is in the disability department. It is woefully understaffed and unable to help in any way. Documentation is a drag, and there is not much point to it, as there is nothing the department can or will do. It is ironic how difficult it is here for the disabled, considering Bethel had one of the first undergraduate degrees in Reconciliation Studies. Study abroad is done by almost everyone, and is an awesome experience. Top-of-the-line programs in Education, Nursing, and Biology will get you into the doors of any future career.