Liberty University — Attraction in Lynchburg

Run… Run… Run… Far Away from This University! The purpose of this review is to warn any prospective student before taking the next step with this university. Once you enroll at Liberty University, your voice will not be heard. I don’t typically write reviews, but when injustice occurs, I feel a responsibility to speak out. I have been attending Liberty University for just over nine months, and my experience has been nothing short of disappointing and disheartening. I enrolled at the doctoral level, expecting to be taught, supported, and guided through the rigorous academic process. Instead, I was thrown into advanced coursework with the assumption that I already possessed extensive doctoral-level knowledge. For context: I earned my Master’s degree in 2007. I’ve been out of school for over 16 years. From the beginning, support was minimal—and often nonexistent. This past term was by far the worst. It was my second attempt at this particular course, and I knew going in that it would be challenging. I expected to receive more support this time around—but that didn’t happen. I noticed I was performing worse in this term than I did previously, despite turning in my assignments on time and reaching out for help. In my frustration, I contacted the advising team, only to be given conflicting information. I was told I could switch instructors—but that was not true. I remained assigned to Dr. Valerena Candy and was told instead to seek tutoring. I took that advice seriously. I met with tutors, reviewed my assignments, and submitted my work with confidence. Despite my efforts, I still received poor grades. When I reached out to Dr. Candy for clarity, she spoke with a heavy accent and explained things in a way that was confusing and over my head. After our Microsoft Teams meeting, I was even more confused. Eventually, I filed a formal complaint with the university, detailing my experience with both Dr. Candy and the advising team. This is the response I received: • “The grades earned on assignments reflected your ability to comprehend and provide the appropriate responses—not the amount of assistance you received from Professor Candy or any other professor.” • “Earning good grades is dependent on following the assignment instructions and providing the requested information in a doctoral-level manner.” • “Your assignments were graded in accordance with the appropriate grading rubric by Professor Candy.” These statements completely dismissed the issues I raised—specifically, the lack of instructional support, the inconsistency in advising, and the impact on my academic performance. Liberty University may stand behind their faculty—as any institution should—but they clearly do not conduct thorough investigations into legitimate student concerns. And I know I am not the only student who has experienced this. They likely silence students like me, or hope that no one reads these reviews—while continuing to boost enrollment numbers and collect tuition. Perhaps their blind trust in faculty stems from the belief that, as a Christian university, their instructors always act with integrity. But unfortunately, that trust is misplaced. To make matters worse, there is no meaningful help with research papers. The writing lab is ineffective and a complete waste of time. Every interaction I had with the registrar’s office was marked by rudeness and apathy. The staff acted like helping students was an inconvenience. If helping students is a burden, you should not be in student services. If you’re considering Liberty University, I strongly urge you: take your money elsewhere. Go to a university that will support, respect, and value you as a student. Liberty University failed me—and I hope this review helps someone else avoid the same frustration, isolation, and emotional toll. Once again: Run… Run… Run… Far Away from This University! There is nothing fake or exaggerated about this review. This is the real experience of a real student, treated this way by both...

Detailed review ahead! Most universities I toured (and even the one I finished my undergraduate studies at) would get one star from me, so three stars is legitimately substantial. Most professors here are great, God is certainly the focus, the facilities are impressive, and you can clearly tell what your tuition money is actually going towards. Unfortunately, it lacks in common sense.

To begin with, they keep adding more academic buildings and dorms but no parking ramps. Despite the fact that they are secretly loaded with money, they are still choosing options like leveling the old cafeteria next to a packed ramp to create a nursing building. While that's nice, it seems much more practical to build another ramp and connect both of them for more parking. Their actual solution was to create a new parking ramp on the other side of campus by the recreation center to help alleviate the cars parking on the near side of campus. That's not where people need the most parking, though. This contributes to a broader traffic flow issue that is also exacerbated by Lynchburg's poorly timed traffic lights.

The women are campus frequently act like lesbians. They nuzzle noses and walk around holding hands, but have a heart attack if a guy says "hello" to them. It is apparent that this university cares more about their outdated dancing rule from the hippie movement age than actually promoting Godly relationships or any form of human connection. Many of these students are also way too sheltered and don't understand what the real world actually thinks of them.

It's no surprise that athletics is the priority at this school, but most of the teams can't deliver any major results (even with the excessive funding that they have). The men's basketball team seems content with a subpar coach who was on sports news for a hair issue and the men's football coach kneels the ball on the 1-yard line because it's more Christian and nice.

The required convocation twice a week means that many students feel forced into a church-like situation rather than going because they want to. Additionally, the amount of convocations means that the speakers are typically random people you've never heard about. Every once in awhile they'll get an incredible one, but it's rare.

Another note is that every construction project is at least one year behind schedule. There is a "Champions Center" that was supposed to be finished a year ago that only has its frame up, the old cafeteria building has been sitting 90% empty for a whole year with nothing done to it, and the hideaway campground waited a year after renovations for the rain to naturally fill the lake. This effectively shut down a major amenity for an entire academic year.

Administration matters are rough. The only way to report misbehavior is by reporting the student's name (which the student will obviously not give you if you're reporting them), the financial aid office will miss half of your emails, they recently had a DEI office that they've now renamed, and some professors/advisors will never respond to your emails unless you bombard them with contact (although that's pretty much the case everywhere).

There's probably more quality-of-life issues you may come across, but that's the basic feel of the place. Ultimately, just realize it's far from perfect and be prepared for immature Christians that can't communicate. Otherwise, this place has its positive side - especially with...

I have to admit that I have conflicting feelings about Liberty University's online program. I'll just say that I've had some great experiences and some very poor ones. Here's the good:

(1) Most of the professors are really nice and respond quickly to help

(2) The coursework is challenging but not overwhelmingly so. The only slightly uncomfortable part of the coursework are the very easy "tests."

(3) Most of the office people are extremely enthusiastic about their jobs and have really helped clear up questions regarding financial aid.

(4) Unlike what a lot of idiots say on here, it IS a Christian university and it does incorporate it into its coursework, but not overbearingly so (if you're nonreligious, don't go to this school in the first place; you should do enough research to understand it is a Christian university). Also makes "wiggle room" for a variety of beliefs within Christianity (Baptists, Presbyterians, etc.)

Now for the bad:

(1) I was extremely sick with a peptic ulcer for nearly 3 months without knowing what it was. I had to not do school for an entire month. All this time I kept both my professors in the know and they agreed for me to extend my time when I got well. Come May 12th end of the semester, and I'm thinking that I have another 4 weeks to finish school. At the end of May I noticed that grades for one of my classes still haven't been posted. When I contacted my professor she said that I failed the course because it ended on May 12th! My transcript had a fat F on it! After probing, she explained that she thought I didn't need a 4 wk extension EVEN THOUGH I KEPT IN CONTACT WITH HER THROUGHOUT MY SICK MONTH! Do you think I could finish 8 weeks of coursework in 4 weeks?!

(2) Luckily, she straitened it out with the offices (although she never really apologized for her mistake). But now the Registrar has messed up my grade. I got straight As on 8 courses. But now the Registrar says I got a B on the course where my professor was negligent, EVEN though I clearly got an A. The professor agreed and is still waiting around for an answer a week and a half later from them!

(3) I was extremely disappointed in my assigned academic adviser, who I appealed to for help during the time I was threatened with getting an F. After a long appeal by email, she never replied!

(4) they will bombard you with emails and calls (which have woken me and my family up before) that you don't want.

So yeah, there's good and bad aspects to it (like everything else). Overall I had a great experience at Liberty but a warning to people: If you ever think you're gonna get sick, you will not be accommodated even if you have sufficient...