When your student goes to college, you want more for them than a diploma. You want them to be surrounded by people who lift them up. You want them in a community where their faith is respected, strengthened, and lived—a place where discipleship is the norm, not the exception.
For many Latter-day Saint parents and mentors, this is the part that makes choosing a college feel overwhelming. You want your student to have strong academics and career preparation, but you also want them in an environment that encourages spiritual discipline, strong moral character, and healthy friendships—not habits that distract from who they’re becoming.
Here’s the good news: there are college options where LDS values can remain central while students grow in knowledge, skills, and purpose.
This blog will guide you through how Latter-day Saint beliefs can shape the college experience, why choosing a faith-aligned campus is important, and what to look for as you help your student find the right fit.
Latter-day Saints' beliefs shape far more than Sunday worship; they directly influence how a student learns, studies, serves, makes decisions, and prepares for adult life. Education, in the LDS worldview, encompasses both spiritual and intellectual growth. That means college isn’t just “career prep.” It’s discipleship preparation, family preparation, and future leadership preparation.
For LDS students, this affects daily life in college in very real ways:
They need environments where faith isn’t sidelined, but strengthened alongside academics.
They need friends, roommates, and a dating culture that reflects their standards, not endless pressure to compromise.
They need professors and mentors who respect their beliefs and encourage them to grow as covenant-keepers.
They need education that supports service, integrity, and becoming whole, purpose-centered adults, not just test-takers.
If you’ve attended college, religious or not, you already know this instinctively: college is one of the most spiritually formative chapters of a young adult’s life. The values surrounding them will deeply shape the person they become. Choosing a college that supports those beliefs is choosing the right soil for their future.
Many parents of young adults worry about sending their students into an environment where their values are constantly challenged or diminished. Latter-day Saints colleges create a learning environment where faith isn’t treated as an extracurricular. It's supported, respected, and woven into daily life.
At a Latter-day Saints college, students are surrounded by peers and mentors who share similar standards, language, and expectations. They don’t have to constantly defend or explain their values because they’re among people who are striving to live them, too. This allows them to focus on becoming their best selves rather than constantly feeling the need to protect their identity.
Daily habits matter deeply in college (maybe more than anywhere else). Schools rooted in Latter-day Saint practices support students in practicing regular worship, attending church, adhering to meaningful dating standards, fostering intentional community, and choosing entertainment and social life that aligns with their covenants.
The most significant difference isn’t rules—it’s reinforcement. College serves as a training ground for adulthood, where students can develop faithful habits while preparing for future careers and family life.
Returned missionaries must navigate a very unique transition back into academics, social life, and routine. Latter-day Saints colleges understand this transition and intentionally support it. Whether it’s credit and course planning, community connection, or being surrounded by other returned missionaries, the environment helps them re-enter college life without losing the spiritual momentum they gained while serving abroad. Instead of starting over, they get to build on everything they’ve gained.
When you’re helping your student look for a college that reflects Latter-day Saint beliefs, focus on more than just name or location. Look for a place that will help them continue to grow in faith, discipline, and purpose. Here are a few signs you’ve found the right fit:
Faith integrated into campus life: Devotionals, service projects, and community standards that encourage discipleship and daily spiritual habits.
A code of conduct consistent with LDS values: Clear expectations around language, dress, dating, and substance use that reflect the same principles they’ve been raised with.
Professors who encourage faithfulness: Faculty who see spiritual development as an essential part of learning, not a distraction from it.
Opportunities for service and leadership: Clubs, missions, and mentoring that help students put gospel principles into action.
A supportive social environment: A close-knit community of peers who share their commitment to living the gospel and supporting one another in it.
By looking for these features in an LDS college, you can ensure that higher education becomes a continuation of your student’s spiritual foundation—not a detour from it.
There are hundreds of sincere Christian universities across the country, and your student will meet people who share a heart for Christ anywhere they go. However, Latter-day Saint students often find that a shared belief in Christ does not automatically mean a shared doctrine, shared practices, or a shared understanding of who God is.
Most Christian colleges teach from creeds and traditions that developed after the New Testament era. They may teach views on God, revelation, salvation, or scripture that don’t align with restored truths. For many LDS students, this can feel confusing or isolating. They might spend more time defending what they believe than deepening their understanding of it.
An LDS university offers something different. It provides your student with an environment where Christ remains at the center, complemented by doctrine, worship, campus culture, and classroom conversations that reinforce what they’ve been taught at home and in church. In other words, they don’t have to compromise faith for belonging.
If your student is ready to grow in human flourishing, academically and while staying grounded in their faith, Southern Virginia University offers a truly unique opportunity. As the only Latter-day Saints college in Virginia (and the East Coast), SVU combines the rigor of a liberal arts education with a Christ-centered community shaped by the values of the restored gospel.
Here, students are surrounded by peers who share their standards and by professors who see them not just as learners, but as future leaders and disciples. With small classes, meaningful mentorship, and extracurricular activities offered 10 times the national average, as well as a strong spiritual foundation, SVU helps young adults become confident and faithful contributors in every area of life. Here, there is something for everyone.
To learn how you can guide and support your student through their college decision, download the eBook: Supporting Your Student’s Journey: A Guardian’s Guide to Southern Virginia University.