| Location: | Midwest |
| Setting: | Large Town Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Affiliation: | Lutheran Church in America |
| Size: | Medium (2,000 to 5,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Crusaders |
| Nicknames: | Valpo, VU |
MISSION STATEMENT
Valparaiso University,
a community of learning dedicated to excellence and grounded in the Lutheran tradition of scholarship, freedom, and faith, prepares students to lead and serve in both church and society.
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, and a law school. Valparaiso University is owned and operated by the Lutheran University Association, a non-profit corporation, and is the largest independent Lutheran university in the United States.
What is now Valparaiso University was founded by the Methodist Church in 1859 as Valparaiso Male and Female College, one of the first co-educational four-year institutions in the United States. The school was forced to close in 1871, due to the fallout of the Civil War.
The school was reopened by Henry Baker Brown two years later as the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute. The school was renamed Valparaiso College in 1900 and gained its current university status when rechartered in 1906. For the next two decades, Valpo gained a national reputation as an economical institution of higher learning, earning it the positive nickname The Poor Man's Harvard. At the height of enrollment, it was the second largest school in the nation, behind only Harvard University. However, the aftermath of another conflict, World War I, took its toll, and the school was forced into bankruptcy.
In 1923, the Ku Klux Klan assembled a bid to purchase the university. They pledged to offer the university's appraised value of $175,000, expand it to the size of Purdue University, and devote the institution to the instilling of Americanism. However, in 1925 the Lutheran University Association outbid the Klan for the school's ownership. The association was a group of clergy and church laity that saw promise in the school and wished to create an academic institution not controlled by any church denomination. Valparaiso is still operated by the Lutheran University Association, and remains an independent Lutheran institution which enjoys close relations with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
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Top States for Incoming Freshman
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| Percent of Students International: | 2% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 55% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Pioneer Football League) Basketball (Mid-Continent Conference) Baseball (Mid-Continent Conference) Track (Mid-Continent Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 22,750 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 22,000 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 750 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 4,639 | 21% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 3,641 | 21% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 9,683 | 97% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 5,742 | 65% | |
Any Aid: |
98% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 83% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 55% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 520, Math: 520 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 630, Math: 640 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 67% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 23, Verbal: 22, Math: 23 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 28, Verbal: 29, Math: 29 |
| Application Fee: | $ 30.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Recommended |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Recommended |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Recommended |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
College Advice
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Question:
Has any one heard about Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana? How do you personally like it?
What would be different in a religious school from a regular public or private school?
15 months ago
Best Answer
I actually have my undergraduate degree from VU. The biggest difference in going to a private, religion based school versus a public, state school is that you are required to complete so many credit hours of faith based studies that they offer. If you are not very religious there are a variety of different classes to choose from. For example, I took a one class on the History of Religions and another one on Biomedical Ethics which were both very interesting but more factual than faith based. There are also classes that are steeped in faith as well that you can choose from. Everyday at 10:45 AM there is a break for what they call "Chapel Break". You are not required to attend but it is there for those who wish to attend services. It is about 45 minutes long. Class sizes are also much smaller than at a public school. My freshman year I may have had a few classes with 60 - 80 people but for the most part, my classes ranged around 20 - 30 people versus 200 in a state school. In addition, when I was there, all classes were taught by actual professors versus TA's which you sometimes find at a state school. Another bonus is that they have a wonderful new library and art center that enhances the whole "campus" experience. When I was there I used to go to the farthest corner in the basement of the old library to study. Christ College also has a wonderful lobby to study in as well.
In my opinion, VU has an excellent undergraduate program and law school, however their graduate programs are a bit to be desired. We had graduate students in our undergrad classes and the only difference between what we were doing and what they were doing was that they would have to write a longer paper or read a bigger book - that's it. Not really worth the money in my opinion.
What I find disturbing is that VU is quickly becoming a commuter campus due to the rising costs of room & board but they are taking away all of the places for commuters to park. The administration is wanting to turn it into a pedestrian campus.
Hope this helps!
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