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Messiah has always had a great reputation in the community and with potential employers. The nursing program is no exception. The full-time faculty are great, answer all questions in a timely manner, and have reasonable expectations for students working while attending school. My lower rating is due to the Nursing Doctorate adjunct faculty. Of four adjuncts, two were absolutely horrible. They seemed to over-compensate for some short-coming by attempting to come across as experts. They expected students... Read More to check their email daily and get assignments in on time, but both suddenly took multiple days off (once a whole week) without warning and didn't answer emails. One called a mandatory Zoom meeting where most of the class had to change their work schedules to accommodate, then never showed for the meeting, didn't answer emails, and a week later acted as if nothing happened with no explanation. Both marked things as wrong on my clinical paperwork that were clearly not wrong. I verified with a cardiologist that what I had diagnosed with the help of my preceptor was correct, and the instructor had indeed incorrectly marked it wrong. Lastly, several times adjuncts "forgot" to post our assignments on Sunday night, and they were missing until Wednesday--with the due date still the end of the week. If you work while in school, this behavior makes it VERY difficult to schedule your schoolwork. Beware, if you are one who hopes for a "4.0" you may want to look elsewhere. The adjunct faculty will make your life miserable, and your grade may not reflect your ability, but their whims.

My opinion of Messiah University has absolutely tanked since the start of the COVID pandemic. Restrictions and quarantines are stricter than the CDC’s recommendations, and the school administration has been coming off as very money hungry. Because I am not one of the students who was forced to quarantine under questionable reasoning, I will not speak on that. I will speak on what I do know which is how the school is coming across as money hungry and how administration has gaslit students that need... Read More to leave campus regularly. Recently the administration sent out an email chastising students who go off campus, but did not address students that leave for work or for grocery shopping which is what many of us leave for. Student workers are paid minimum wage and yet are expected to be able to pay their bills, tuition, and any other fee the school throws at them at their own whim, without having an off campus job. Many students also cannot afford a meal plan because of how overpriced they are, so we have to go grocery shopping off campus or we cannot eat. On top of that extremely manipulative email, we are also still required to have chapel credit this semester. There are remote options but there are also still in person options. This was also told to us through email that many students did not even see due to the sheer volume of emails we get daily, which the school is aware of. That seems very reckless juxtaposed to the strict covid restrictions, but it’s also greedy and here’s why. If students do not meet chapel credit requirements they are fined. As I mentioned earlier, many students did not even see the email stating chapel was a requirement, on top of that, that email was sent well after the semester had started. This means the amount of students getting fined for not meeting chapel credit will surely be at an all time high this semester. As if this school’s behavior could not get any worse, administration has been receiving an astronomical amount of backlash from students online since last semester started, but none of us know how to get our concerns to the higher ups here because it has never been easily accessible information. Even so, all of this backlash is on Messiah student pages on both facebook and instagram and the school has made known that most of those pages are monitored by Messiah employees, yet nothing has changed. Instead Messiah employees have been defending everything the school has or hasn’t done and student opinion has been thrown out completely.

If you are seeking a school that will support your faith while also providing you with excellent academics and extracurricular activities then Messiah College should definitely be on your top ten list. I attended Messiah College as an undergrad majoring in Chinese. The curriculum for my major was organized very well, had high expectations and had abundant opportunities to support my learning and future career. The major is combined with a rigorous study abroad program which is also a requirement... Read More for graduation. This major has been gaining popularity however the class sizes at the higher levels are very small, less than 4 people per class. Regardless of the class size, the professors go above and beyond to guide, teach and support you in your academic development.

Most people wouldn't know of Grantham, Pennsylvania if you mentioned it. It's a village, not a town or city, but literally a village and it's made up primarily of Messiah College and its students. In central PA, relatively close to hubs like Philadelphia, NYC, DC and smaller but significant areas like Lancaster and Gettysburg, Grantham and Messiah College have opportunity spanning for miles around. I grew up with Messiah College not too far from home and that meant I almost didn't attend after I... Read More got accepted. It was my back up school, but with opportunities like internships, jobs in the state capitol area of Harrisburg and plenty of study abroad options to choose from, I knew I'd never feel like I was stuck in the middle of nowhere. I got to travel and live in over 5 countries around the world in my short 4 years here and gained some experiences I would have never guessed I'd experiences (sorry for the cliche, but it's true!). I've had the comfort of being a name and not a number in classes that range from two to thirty-two people. My professors have always taken an interest in me and my goals and I know I will continue to have lasting relationships with them after I graduate. It was really that reason that I felt comfortable enough to say yes to the college. I'm encouraged to be myself, challenged to think in new ways, expected to do and be my best, and looked out for when life isn't the easiest. It takes a village to raise a child. This village raised me these past 4 years, and now I'm off to take on the world and I feel rather prepared and excited to do so.

The Master of Arts in Higher Education program at Messiah College is a hybrid program that offers convenience to working adults with primarily online courses while fostering connections among students through intensive on-campus sessions during the summer. The faculty are highly accessible and offer guidance and support based on their real-life experiences as higher education administrators and professors. One shortcoming of the program is a lack of consistency from course to course in delivery and... Read More expectations. This is likely due to the fact that this program has been in existence for less than three years.