What's New - Fall 2005

RACU Greets 46 Incoming Freshmen

RACU’s tenth academic year is underway, with 46 new students in its freshman class. Twenty-two of these incoming students are business majors, 14 are social work majors, and 10 are English majors.

The application process for admission to RACU is a rigorous one for these young people. On the first day of the entrance examinations, applicants are required to write an essay in Russian on one of a number of topics, most of which are related to themes in Russian literature. The students are given four hours to prepare their answers and write their essays, which are then rated by two of RACU’s Russian language professors. Each essay receives two grades on a five-point scale; one for content and a second for grammatical accuracy.

The next day, students are given a general knowledge examination that involves 100 multiple choice questions on a wide range of subjects including history, current events, Biblical content, mathematics, etc. These examinations are then graded by RACU faculty and the students are ranked according to the results of both days of testing.

If they receive passing grades on these two examinations, applicants are then invited to a personal interview with the Admissions Committee that consists of RACU staff members, department chairs and two additional faculty members. The interview is designed to learn more about the student’s character, leadership qualities, and personal goals. Once the interviews are completed, the decisions of the Admissions Committee are announced and the students are informed of their status.

If accepted, the students are then invited to one more examination – an English language test that determines whether or not they will be accepted into the regular freshman program or need to first spend a year studying in RACU’s preparatory English program.

RACU’s Provost, Dr. David Broersma, reports that the overall quality of the new students “is higher than it has been in past years,” and that there are some “shining stars” among the applicants. He also notes that the university has never had a stronger team of staff and faculty and he expects this to be one of RACU’s best years.

Warm welcome and hearty congratulations to RACU’s 2005-2006 freshman class!