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As parents, and especially Christian parents, what hopes did
you have for your kids as far as college was concerned?
Kay Watson (KW)
– In addition to great academics and professors
who care about them and who are involved in making sure they
succeed academically, we really wanted Caroline ’18 and Josiah ’18
to come here and make lifelong friends and to have close, deep “iron
sharpens iron” friendships that would encourage them in their walk
with the Lord.
Tom Ruhlman (TR)
– Our first hope was that they’d immediately
find good friends in the residence halls, and they all immediately
did! We also wanted them to be heavily involved in a local church
right from the start, and they were all able to do that as well, serving
on worship teams, working in the nursery, serving with the youth
group — you name it.
Sue Treide (ST)
– We hoped he would mature in all areas of life —
academically and spiritually. We wanted him to learn how to adapt
to his circumstances, live with other people, and essentially grow
up. The friends who first introduced us to Cedarville told us they’d
sent their son off to the University as a boy and he had come back
a man, and that’s what we wanted for Alex ’15.
What caught your attention about Cedarville as a possible
school for your kids?
Greg Watson (GW)
– We feel comfortable with the school trying to
control costs and with our kids’ ability to be employed after they
graduate. That’s what it takes for us to be comfortable with them
taking on any amount of debt. Cedarville is committed to good
stewardship of students’ time. If you’re going to spend four years
here, are they four wasted years, or are these the four years that
become foundational to the rest of your life? Many people find their
spouse, their occupation, and/or their calling in these four years as
a young adult, and this is the sort of environment in which we feel
very comfortable having our kids.
KW
– I really like the weekday chapels and quality speakers our kids
get to hear. Josiah has told us that the Fall Bible Conference and
Missions Conference have been life-changing for him. Something
else that caught my attention is how involved the professors are and
how much they care for students. They constantly offer help and
prayer, and they see the big picture.
How did finances factor into your family’s college
selection process?
Phil Treide (PT)
– It definitely always plays a role. You have to look
at the value proposition — what the school offers — and obviously
you want to come out prepared for graduate school or prepared for
direct entry into your field, and you don’t want to be loaded with
debt. There’s certainly a balance that needs to be struck there, and
we were impressed with Cedarville’s quality of education and the
ranking of the school versus the cost of the education.
TR
– Cedarville has a great academic scholarship system, and
they have a whole list of scholarships we could apply for. Our
As high school seniors and their parents sit down this spring to make final college decisions, one topic will present a daunting
hurdle: the rising cost of a college education. While many universities — including Cedarville —are taking dramatic steps to curb
that upward trend, parents are increasingly looking at job placement rates in order to weigh an institution’s benefits against its
costs in an effort to decide whether or not a considerable investment is worthwhile.
Cedarville Magazine
spoke with Greg and Kay Watson (West Liberty, Ohio), Tom and Becky Ruhlman (Shoreline, Washington), and
Phil and Sue Treide (Uxbridge, Massachusetts) to find out what draws parents and students to Cedarville, what kind of return on
investment (ROI) they’re seeking, how students are prepared for success both spiritually and professionally, and why a Cedarville
education is worth every penny.
by Stephen Port ’13
A GREAT ROI
Cedarville Magazine
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