Guilford

Guilford is a small southern quaker school with a student population of under 3,000.  The Quaker influence can be felt through the values of diversity, equality, stewardship and justice inherent in the schools culture.  At Guilford, everyone including the most distinguished professors and president of the university is called by their first name.  Students are very involved in school decisions, describing the evolution of school policy as an engaged process.  The school also stresses community service and maintains a community service office to connect students with opportunities.

Academically, students describe the work as very reading and writing intensive.  However support for students is also strong whether it be from the professors, other students or the Academic Skills Center.  The strongest programs include Psychology, Political Science, English, and Business Management.  Students can also design their own major.  Most students come in as undeclared and identify end of Freshman year, beginning of Sophomore year.

The curriculum also provides and strong focus on internships.  Students start working with Career Development as early as Freshman year.  Students can get academic credit for their work and some majors require internships.  The vast majority of students have an internship.

The student body has been characterized as a diverse group of atypical students.  There are your “liberal granola people.” However, the school promotes a global perspective and as such a diverse student body is a logical extension of their philosophy.  The school is working to increase their diversity regarding ethnicity and spiritual, political and socio-cultural beliefs.