Dr. John MacArthur, chancellor of The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, California, recently shared what he believes is the most important factor parents and students should consider when choosing a college or university.

“Before you think about your major, think about the convictions of the university,” MacArthur said, “because it’s going to leave a mark on you. Four years, day in day out, week in week out, faculty will mark you, staff will mark you, relationships with other students (will mark you).”

In other words, college is an all-immersive life experience, MacArthur said, making it possibly one of the “most dangerous places of all in this culture and society” because it shapes the way a person thinks and acts.

“So-called Christian colleges can be … dangerous also, because they claim to be faithful to Christian truth,” MacArthur said, “but they undermine it at the same time.”

The commitment parents and students make to a university goes beyond time and financial resources, MacArthur said. “You’re going to lay your brain down and tell these people fill it with something. You ought to be certain that it’s going to be the truth of God and not just biblical truth, but all truth viewed from the divine perspective.”

From that standpoint, MacArthur said, the decision about where to go to college is “the most important (one) that a young person can make.”

“Because it will shape you,” he said.

The mission of The Master’s University is to equip students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ and Scripture.

Since 1927, the Lord has used TMU to transform young people to have an impact for Christ in the world. Committed faculty and staff pour their lives into students, teaching every subject with a biblical worldview and holding firmly to the sufficiency, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture.

Learn more about the convictions that define TMU, here.