Vanguard University of Southern California

I attended a Work Life Transition Workshop last week at Vanguard University. It was hosted by the Clinical Psychology Department. The workshop was very good with speaker Thomas R. Williams, a former NFL football linebacker. His speech was inspirational. The individualized coaches for resume, LinkedIn, and cover letter was great. I hope this becomes a continued workshop for years to come.

still loving it here. all my professors are amazing and often will pray over the entire class. you really do form friendships here. i have developed a special place in my heart for vanguard university. hats off to professor sim in religion department!!!

I love this school, I went here for undergrad and loved it. After transferring over from a city college this made me feel so unrushed… No rushing for parking, for books, or to class. Everyone is helpful and you feel as though they want you in the school and not out.

A friend recommended me to check out Vanguard. Never heard of it at that time. Toured the campus and classes and knew this was the right fit for me right away. I came from typical public school with large classes. First thing you will benefit from at Vanguard is small classes, dedicated professors (especially in the Business Department) and a nurturing Christian school. I was supported all throughout my academics with amazing and inspiring professors, who challenged me every day and encourage me to go beyond my expectations.
I truly am thankful for my education at Vanguard.

I’m a graduate of VU and it was a waste of money and time. This isn’t really a university. It’s library is super small, each academic department is small, and their religion department all have degrees from Fuller Seminary, not actual universities. The school almost closed while I was there and nearly lost its accreditation. Most of the classes are super easy, but you won’t learn anything. Current administration is building big structures, but faculty are leaving. I doubt this school will be around in 5 years.

Vanguard University creates a learning environment that allows students to capture current cultural views in our society, as well as provides a biblical perspective in order to form our own opinions and incorporate that into our lifestyle and careers. Fantastic University that helps people stay relevant, purposeful, and have vision for their life!

For clarification, I have given Vanguard 4 stars because I believe there is always room for improvement.
Vanguard is a small, private university that is still growing. This means that you can walk across the entire campus in about five minutes, the classrooms aren’t as large as ones you’d find at a state university, and VU does not have the widest variety of classes offered (although VU now includes fitness classes like rock climbing and paddle boarding – pretty cool if you ask me). Since VU is still growing, it is unfair to expect it to function exactly like UCLA.
I’m often astonished by the negative reviews that are posted on Unilocal pages, and I was especially surprised by the negative comments I found on Vanguard’s page. I’m here to give an honest review, but I don’t believe rudeness or negativity is going to help aid someone’s search to find a good school. So I’m not here to blast the imperfections of VU (all school are imperfect, after all). I’m here to celebrate what it does well.
1. Vanguard’s small campus makes it easy to connect with others.
There are so many opportunities and ways to get involved on campus, and since VU is small that means you have a good chance of finding one that fits you. Here are only a few opportunities: Student Government Association, Diversity, Spiritual Formation, and Student Life, as well as on campus jobs like the mail room, the caf, the library, and event relations. I personally served in Student Government for three years behind the scenes as a graphic designer, and worked on campus for all four years in various capacities.
I highly recommend getting involved in something, because you get out of your college experience what you are willing to put into it. If you don’t think you fit the stereotype of a student leader in that you’re not super outgoing or widely known across campus, take that as a challenge and apply anyways. These positions aren’t a popularity contest, they are about your heart. And from a person who is pretty reserved herself, let me encourage you that your gifts and talents fit perfectly into place here. There is a place for you.
2. Vanguard doesn’t pretend to be the best, but offers something better: authenticity.
As a film major, this especially impacted me. Although the variety of film equipment at VU is not as extensive as the equipment in UCLA’s film program, I take that as a blessing because I have learned how to use WHAT I HAVE to its maximum capabilities… and I believe my art is better because I wasn’t given every new gadget and I was forced to be more creative with what I had.
Similarly, my film and communications professors are not celebrities, but you know what? They should be. I have gleaned so much knowledge from them because class sizes at VU are so small, that there is actually time for personal interaction with professors. That is an incredible benefit to attending Vanguard – the ability to build authentic relationships that foster true growth, even if we don’t have the best «stuff.» To me, true knowledge happens THERE. That makes my entire amount of student loans completely worth it.
3. «Vanguard is a safe place to have a spiritual crisis.»
Someone once told me that and it’s always stuck in my brain. When I reflect on my experience at Vanguard, I can see that statement is true.
We’re at VU to study, yes, but our journeys with Christ are the most important reason for why we are there. While at Vanguard, I was so encouraged in my spiritual walk by my entire community – my friends, my professors, my supervisors, my leaders, my coworkers, and my bosses.
During my time at Vanguard, I became closer to Jesus than I have ever been before. Out of everything, that is the most incredible thing Vanguard has done for me.
Last thoughts…
To those commenters before me who posted about a bad professor or a poor campus experience, I want to apologize. I’m sorry. You should not have been treated that way. That is unacceptable and unkind. I’ll be honest and say I’ve experienced a few things like that and have even had some bad professor experiences as well, so I know they are not unheard of or fabricated stories. Sometimes, these things happen. It doesn’t make them okay. So on behalf of Vanguard (as a student and as a student worker), I apologize to you for that.
I would also like to ask for grace for these people. We are all sinners, and we are all imperfect. Everyone makes mistakes. I hope that you would remember that one bad experience does not reflect the university as a whole, and that for every negative interaction and experience, there are several wonderful interactions and experiences.
I can say that with complete faith and honesty because I’ve experienced it. I will always be a Lion.

While I have never been a student here, I have been a parent of a high school club soccer player playing a game on their facilities. As I was warming our goalie up in the softball/​baseball nets which I have been doing at other sites for years (a soccer ball does no damage to a net and less damage than a baseball — which does no damage either), a perfect place to warm a goalie up. A Vanguard employee drove up, stopped in the middle of the nearby street and told me to get out. I said «sorry, I was just warming our goalie up, we would get right out and I didn’t know it was not ok to kick a ball in the nets» and she began to berate me, called me names and told me she was calling security and was kicking our team off their campus. I apologized profusely, but the lady kept calling me stupid and threatening me. I guess kindness and Christian principles are not needed for employees. My kids will never be allowed to go to Vanguard…

Wish I could give this school no stars. Unless you can afford to pay for school after they find any reason to try and take your aid away go here. The student population is mostly snobby I am better than you christians judging everyone. The ra’s are a joke! I have seen boys go into girls dorms and stay for the entire night! And yet premartial sex can get you a hefty fine so can drinking even if you are of legal age! This school wants to control your life and treat you like a child while they suck every last cent out of you! also all those forced religion classes wont transfer so save your money and go to a good school instead of this poor excuse of a university.

I had such a horrible experience at this school. The classes were okay but the admissions and financial aid staff were dishonest. It’s so unfortunate to have experienced this at a Christian school… Business is business, I guess?

Best decision of my life was not to attend this college. The cost was going to be anywhere from 75,000−100,000 for a BA degree in English… Their English department (at the time) had a grand total of maybe 3 professors. Moreover, no one gave me any clear idea about loan payments, etc. they just talk to you and act like that elephant in the room does not exist at all. While everyone there was friendly, they also do a poor job of matching you with a roommate who shares similar habits. I remember, prior to saying «no» about attending, my future roommate called me, they were a late night zombie and enjoyed loud music and whatnot… if you are going to pay 38k a year, they should at least match you with someone who has similar habits. I ended up telling them forget it and not going… Which I’m glad about, this school almost lost its accreditation in 2009, and again in 2012. A decade later, I have a BA, MA, and two certificates, and zero debt, all from instead attending a local state college… Really think about coming here before you sign on the dotted line. My babysitter went to this school in the 1990’s an still has student loans she is paying on…

Absolutely a joke. I took the course as an add on to my degree. I am qualified to teach the course. It was a joke. Read this and answer a few discussion questions. The papers were a joke. I am hoping high school students would be able to produce a paper. The professor posted questions and comments that were generally filled with spelling errors. HELLO, you are teaching an education class. That right off the bat spoke for itself. The professor was unclear on many dates stating in so little words, memorize the policy and procedure manual. Who actually has memorized the entire policy procedure manual for a university? For someone who believes in Jesus, this professor sure needed him. Maybe if she prayed she would be able to spell and relay information clearly. I do not quite get the whole «tie religion into the topic bit». I do not believe in God or Jesus or any of it (I took the course because it was cheap and quick and other peoples beliefs are not my business and will not get in the way of my certifications). She was nice enough to pardon me form having to quote anything biblical. I’ll give her that, and she didn’t try to shove her beliefs down my throat to some extent (minus the whole I hope Jesus leads you to the light comment). But throwing in a bible verse here or there does not make this course religious.
The online tests you get multiple tries. You try once, write all the answers down, try again and get a 100. All they do is scramble the answers. Ingenious.
Pros… complete a BS course quickly and get the papers cheaply.
Cons…if you are not doing this as an add on for state requirements, you are falling short on your education. You might as well just read the book and answer the text questions. Registration messed my paperwork up multiple times as well. I had to re fax or scan or mail various things.
DO NOT FORGET TO READ THE POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL IN FULL AND BE ABLE TO RECITE IT AFTER A LONG DAYS WORK.

Amazing community that have made countless warm memories, caring and passionate professors that give their all to pour into the students, lovely and peaceful campus conducive to a great college experience!

I’m in the SPS program and so far so good. I’m in the religion and church leadership major. I came here because BIOLA sipped their professional studies program and wasn’t able to so their traditional program due to time. That 5 freeway for a commuter is traffic hell! The program seems to be growing and developing still and you experience it as you go through the program BUT the professors are amazing in their knowledge about the subjects studied in class. I like that Vanguard is Assemblies of God. To me I feel there a little less rigid and conservative in their spiritual views in comparison to Biola, which was way too conservative and dry for me with exception of one or two professors.
The main problem I have with these private universities is that they are not culturally and ethnically diverse. It’s saturated with white culture and you stick out like a sore thumb if you’re a person of color, unless your Asian which is typically the largest minority group on any campus.
Another thing that’s kind of annoying is that if you do traditional program and you’re a little older you’re stuck taking classes with kids that were forced by their parents to come to a Christian school but who are usually jaded at life and don’t want anything to do with God and can’t wait till class is over so they can smoke a bowl or go have sex with their boyfriend or girlfriend because they have freedom for the first time in their life and they’re going crazy. If you can get passed that then this school is for you.

Its alright. Campus is too small. The campus is dominated by Caucasians and all the guys like guys but the girls are hot hot hot

So i order grilled chicken upon request and the worker told me to wait 10 minutes so i came back in 10 minutes and she told me to wait another 10 minutes. This is an outrage… I demand my chicken now!

This is a university the way Dr. Pepper is a doctor. It used to be called Southern California Bible College. I’m sure it’s pleasant and full of positive atmosphere (if you are an evangelical Christian.) but that should not be the basis for choosing your college. Faith –based educational institutions are by definition exclusionary in recruitment and biased in the scope of the material presented to students. Hence, 1 star.
BTW: Calling a faith-​based school «Vanguard» (defined as: «The foremost position in an army or fleet advancing into battle») is either ironic or. threatening.

I thought it would be a great idea to review Vanguard as it is the source of so many great memories for me. I see it like most schools, it has its great aspects, and its not so great. Does that really make it any worse than another… not at all. Vanguard is a wonderful environment that you are lucky to be a part of. The people are pretty consistently the sort that you will discover and essential for your life, even though many students will feel otherwise during the process… we all thought we knew everything right.
My experience really honestly prepared me. I was a kinesiology/​pre-​physical therapy student who took my career into the chiropractic field. I can honestly say I came out way way way ahead of the individuals I met in grad school. I had no problem getting into Chiropractic school, and honestly I breezed through it and passed boards without a hitch. Vanguard truly prepared me in a way other schools don’t. They provide above average attention to the individual student, and if you want to learn and actually apply yourself, you will succeed.
So for me, undergrad led to grad, grad led immediately to a job as a doctor and a practice which is growing. I now get to work with many students and staff members in my office. I love that I get to still feel a part of the program.
On the tough side, it is a private education which equals out to a costly education… pretty standard. It is a small school too, so you will get that «bubble» effect unless you are aware enough to step out on occasion. Rules are tough for some students who think they shouldn’t have to follow them… ie the no drinking rules.
The financial aid really works hard to make it affordable for every student though. Teachers are exceptional. You will be prepared for the next step when you are done, and that is what it is about.

I am a student in the Hybrid MA program in Religion in the area of leadership. This graduate program is excellent and I am completely enjoying the journey. I would recommend that anyone who desires to be better equipped in the area of Leadership must explore this program.

Vanguard is a place where you can develop your mind and heart with an amazing faculty. Students develop lifelong relationships with each other and the faculty. With an almost, 90-​year history, plenty of alumni are available to assist new graduates get their start. If you are looking for a place where you are much more than a number to the faculty, this is an excellent place to study.