Maranatha Baptist University
Watertown, WI, USA

Reviews

Maranatha Baptist University

Jeremiah from Watertown, WI

a current student here
11 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
Am learning a lot
The classes are God-centered and reasonably paced. They are also mostly smaller classes with 20-40 students so it is very possible to get to know the teachers.
Am enjoying being here
I love it here, there are a large amount of extracurricular activities and dorm life is amazing. The faculty and staff are God-fearing and supportive.
Bang for the buck
The quality of education is good, and the food is exemplary.
Tips for prospective students
The rules may seem restrictive, but once here one comes to realize that Maranatha has a lifestyle of its own. It is very peaceful and the Leadership is very reasonable.
Great for these types of students
If you want to know Jesus Christ better, to understand his word better, and to be better equiped to serve him, this is a great school for you.

Liz

a current student here
7 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
Am learning a lot
The classes at Maranatha are wonderful. The teachers are a lot of fun to be around and they enjoy interacting with the students.
Am enjoying being here
The atmosphere on campus is great. It is such a blessing to be able to discuss spiritual issues with your friends and to be challenged in your walk with the Lord by students and staff alike.
Bang for the buck
Come have a lot of fun and make Christian friends that will serve the Lord with you.
Tips for prospective students
Come ready to learn and to be challenged with the Word of God. This is not a place to just hang out, although we do have a lot of fun activities going on, but a place to get serious about serving God and preparing to serve him better.

Rachael from Watertown, WI

a current student here
3 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
In three sentences
Maranatha Baptist Bible College is an incredibly rigorous in their academics. Their student life and atmosphere is entertaining and encouraging. The teachers at Maranatha are very personal and perform their duties with academic excellence.
Tips for prospective students
Tip 1: Make sure you come with the mindset that it's only four years. There are
some very annoying rules, granted, but for the quality of academic and
biblical education you receive is well worth it.
Tip 2: Come to Maranatha with a willingness to learn. Be willing to learn not only
academically but socially and spiritually! These qualities are essential in any
college experience, but even more so when you bring God in to the picture.
Academic Rigor
The academic rigor of Maranatha is impressive! Not a week goes by without a project, test, or group study to be done. This may seem overwhelming at first, but as you progress it becomes fun and you will realize the importance it has.
Dorm Life
Dorm life is pretty great at Maranatha. There is definitely room for improvement, such as a later dorm lock and more freedom, but every school will have things you do not necessarily like. Overall, though, the people and atmosphere of a dorm at Maranatha is an exciting experience you won't soon forget!
Food and Dining
The food at Maranatha is astounding! They always have a salad, pizza, sandwich, and rotisserie bar for every meal. Also, a demo and rotation station changes daily. The only complaint I would have is that their spinach is sometimes very wilty--a sad situation really.
What to do for fun
This is an area of Maranatha where I can not give raving reviews. Really, the only things to do on campus are working out or being at the coffee shop. I will say, however, that there are movie theaters close by, bowling alleys, skating rinks, and parks all within 5 to 10 minutes of campus. There are also many restaurants with great deals especially on the weekends.
Bang for the buck
Overall, you get a very good experience for what the cost is. If I could make a suggestion to the college, it would only be to invest in some more things to do on campus. Those who do not have cars, or friends with cars, don't really get to do much.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
It's not really unusual, but I do find it awesome that Maranatha has it's own Facebook meme page. Everything funny that happens in the student body ends up on there, and it is indeed hilarious.
Great for these types of students
If you are a musical or sporty student, this is the Christian university for you. They have frequent fine arts activites available for attendance, and are also NCAA 3rd seed in basketball, voleyball, and soccer. Maranatha has also just recently added a men's volleyball team to their schedule!
Clubs and Activities
This is definitely an area for improvement at Maranatha. I give three stars because we do have societies, but rarely do they meet and have activities. They do have society sports that rotate through the semesters, but if you're not a sporty person you are out of luck.
Greek Life
I will be honest and say I have no idea what this means. I'm guessing we don't rank very high on it.
Campus Safety
Campus safety at Maranatha is excellent! It helps that we are in a very small town with minimal crime rate, but we do take steps to prevent anything from happening on campus. As soon as dark settles in, security can be found at all major places and by the girls dorms.

Dominique from Menomonie, WI

a current student here
3 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
In three sentences
Maranatha Baptist Bible College and Seminary is a Christian college that not only prepares people for church ministries, but also educates people to obtain degrees in areas like Nursing, Education, Business, Science, Music Performance, and more. The staff and faculty take to heart the success of their students and are willing to go above and beyond to help the students improve academically and spiritually. Any student who is looking for success and comes to Maranatha will surely find it.
Tips for prospective students
My tip for prospective students would be to start looking at Maranatha's online classes before they even get to college. Maranatha offers many general education courses online that can help a high school student get ahead before they even get to college. The best part? Online courses for prospective high school students are at a 50% discount. If a prospective student starts early, they can save a lot of money over their college career.
Academic Rigor
The classes at Maranatha are at a level that a college education should be. Every class challenges you to learn, but the classes are never so rigorous that it is impossible to succeed. If a student does have problems keeping up academically, however, the teachers at Maranatha are more than willing to help their students and there is also a helpful tutoring program that is offered to students.
Dorm Life
Dorm Life at Maranatha is a very fun and encouraging environment. The dorms are set up so that there is a main leader for each dorm, floor, and even room. The leaders are there to not only get to know each person and spend fun times together, but also to be there if someone needs help spiritually, emotionally, or physically. Whether you are in need of some entertainment, an encouraging word, or a friend to walk you to the health center, you will always find what you need in the Maranatha dorms.
Food and Dining
When students go off to college, often there is a joke about gaining the Freshman Fifteen, meaning that the freshman gain 15 pounds from the food at their school. At Maranatha, the joke is actually the Freshman 25 because their food is excellent. Every student who lives on campus is part of the meal plan which means that those students get 21 entries into the dining hall per one week. The dining is buffet style and the cooks continue to improve their food and dining room set-up every year.
What to do for fun
On-Campus at Maranatha, there is a lot of activities that students can be involved in for fun. Throughout the year, the Office of Student Activities puts on various events for the students to participate in. There are also a variety of sports events to watch including basketball, baseball, softball, wrestling, cross country, soccer, volley ball, and football to watch all throughout the year. There are also many recitals and plays throughout the year for students to attend. Maranatha also happens to be situated about 45 minutes away from two major cities in Wisconsin, Madison and Milwaukee.
Bang for the buck
The best part about Maranatha is the environment on campus. Everywhere you walk people are always smiling and genuinely enjoying life. The people at Maranatha make it a priority to love others and treat others like Jesus Christ would treat them, which makes it an encouraging and enjoyable place to live in.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
One of the main buildings on campus is what the students, staff, and faculty call 'Old Main'. The building used to be a catholic church and still has gorgeous stained glass windows inside that make the building very enjoyable to the eye.
Great for these types of students
Maranatha is great for students who want to take their education AND their life seriously. Maranatha is a great place for students who want to learn more about God and also what their purpose is for life, and why getting a college degree really matters. Lastly, Maranatha is a great place for students who want to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and want to live their live for his glory.
Clubs and Activities
Maranatha has a multitude of sports, like football, basketball, soccer, etc., to be involved in, as well as a host of music ensembles (orchestra, band, percussion, and choir) and drama plays to be a part of. It is not uncommon to see groups of students just get together for bible studies, homework study groups, or just to hang out and have some fun.
Campus Safety
All around campus it is not uncommon to see security guards walking around, patrolling campus. At night, the security guards patrol around the ladies dorms and graciously walk women back to their dorms to provide safety and peace of mind. While they do not carry weapons on them, they are trained in how to handle a dangerous situation and are easily able to communicate with other guards on duty should trouble arise.

Amanda from Conneaut, OH

a current student here
3 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
In three sentences
I love this school!!
Great faculty that works with you and is super friendly.
Fantastic sports program and student body!!!
Tips for prospective students
Take a tour of the campus if possible, and stay in the dorms. It's an incredible experience!!!
Academic Rigor
Great variety of subjects to study and a fantastic faculty that helps you learn.
Dorm Life
I wasn't sure at first how it would be living in a building with 30+ other girls because I've had my own room for 10+ years, but I love it!!! The fellowship and fun that we have. You develop such good friendship and become like sisters. Our dorm superisor is awesome!!! She seriously is like an older sister too. You can talk to her anytime. I just can't say enough good about it!! :)
Food and Dining
The food is fantastic!!!! I have friends that attend other colleges and they all say that the food at their colleges isn't that great. At Maranatha we have roticery chicken, a pizza buffet, salad buffet, friut, vege's, taco bar, sandwich station, dessert bar, plus different hot food for breakfast, lunch, and supper!!!
What to do for fun
We have sports going on all the time, not only teams but also groups get together just to play for fun. There are dramatic production events each semester plus music events. Madison and Milwakee are an hour or less away, and there are stores and coffee shops within walking distance from the campus.
Bang for the buck
In my opinion Maranatha is work every penny!!!!! You can get scholarships from outside sources as well as school scholarships such as a work scholarship to help pay for college.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Each semester we have spirit week where they assign a different topic for each day that week and we can dress up like the topic. There are so many things that are awesome that we do that I can't even describe it.
Great for these types of students
Everybody!!!
Clubs and Activities
We have 5 different guy's societies and 5 girl's societies. Each society does different activities including helping in the community.
Campus Safety
We have security that starts patroling the girls side of campus at around 6pm until 7am every night. They also check the buildings and periodically patrol the guys side. They are awesome!!! You become friends with them, and it definately makes you feel safe to know they are out there in any weather!!

Emily from Cody, WY

a current student here
3 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
Academic Rigor
The Bible classes that I went to here were just amazing! If it wasn't for our youth pastor making us do a study on a few theologies, I would have been lost.
Will enjoy being here
It was a nice place . The kids weren't very approachable but they were also at the end of the year finals. I personally would not have chosen this school for me . It is in the middle of town and I didn't really want that but, this is where God wants me.
Bang for the buck
Ya know as far as the money side goes. You can't really put a price on learning about God.
Tips for prospective students
Don't be afraid to ask questions.
Don't be afraid of the teachers.
Great for these types of students
This place is great for anyone who wants to know why they believe what they do.This can help when people ask you hard questions and you can give them a Bible answer as to why you do something.Instead of saying 'well that is just how I have always done it. They will have a chance to make God personal if they haven't already.And if they have they will get to become even more closer to God.

Holly from Chetek, WI

a current student here
2 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
In three sentences
Great Environment. Great People. Good grub.
Tips for prospective students
Go out of your way to meet new people, build good relationships, and take advantage of opportunities.
Academic Rigor
It's pretty hard, but that's coming from a public schooled kid...study, take good notes, and don't wait until 12:30am to do homework
Dorm Life
Most of my friends are in my own dorm, and one of my best friends happens to be one of my roommates!!
Food and Dining
Better than average, just don't expect to have your mom's best casserole ...
What to do for fun
the sky's the limit!! My best and favorite weekend was when me and a big group of friends went to Madison, WI for a day filled with state street shopping, mall shopping, and going inside the capital! We've also gone to plays in the Madison area which is a great experience.
Bang for the buck
If you can afford it...than go here, however it is quite expensive and coming from someone who is paying for college herself...I'll probably graduate with quite a big debt...
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Apple Bees for after 10 appetizers and Volleyball and Basketball games are where the fun is at!!!!
Great for these types of students
Academic, Christians who want to grow in their faith, people who want a good college experience.
Clubs and Activities
I don't really participate, although I have heard the drama program is pretty great. Thats about it though...
Campus Safety
There's quite a few security guards and I've never felt in danger

Kimberly

researching this school
2 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
In three sentences
It seems like a great college. I know students that attend here and love it. the teachers that I have met are great.
Tips for prospective students
Don't let the strict miles stop you from following GOD's leading. It this is where you are supposed to be He will work it out in the best way possible.
Food and Dining
The food is great both spiritually and physically!
Great for these types of students
Great for students who want to grow in their spiritual walk.

Bryndal from Apple Valley, CA

a current student here
2 people found this review useful
CategoriesComments
In three sentences
a great, christ-centered school.
Tips for prospective students
find a balance between work, school, devos, leadership roles, and extra curricular activities.
Bang for the buck
expensive, but god provides.
Great for these types of students
those wanting to by stretched.
Campus Safety
very safe!

Thomas from Abilene, KS

a current student here
1 person found this review useful
CategoriesComments
In three sentences
Maranatha has been such a huge encouragement to me. I am very thankful for what I have learned so far.
Tips for prospective students
COME HERE!
Academic Rigor
The standards are very high.
Dorm Life
Awesome.
Food and Dining
Great selection, buffet-style cafeteria. A little low on gluten-free, dairy-free foods though.

What to do for fun
Sports, bowling.
Bang for the buck
It's very expensive.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
Old Main
Great for these types of students
Students who Love God.
Clubs and Activities
We have very active societies and focus groups.
Campus Safety
They have very efficient security that keeps a close eye on the campus.