<p>Hi everyone! I thought I'd take shakespearefan up on her idea and open a thread so that I might be able to help answer questions that any accepted students (or parents thereof!) might have. Would have been a huge asset to have last year, at any rate.</p>
<p>A bit about me:</p>
<p>-My name's Luke, y'all can call me that (StrangeBro is kind of a weird thing to go by anyway).
-I'm a freshman from San Diego, CA, majoring in theater.
-I applied on the day of the EA deadline and got my packet by mail on January 19th. Many others were accepted before me, though, so don't lay too much stock by that.
-Standardized tests were really my strength in high school, and my scores were very high. My grades were good, but not spectacular, and significantly buoyed by AP classes.
-I'm living on-campus.
-I have a campus job.
-I'm reasonably social, so I can tell you about what's going on outside of the classroom too!</p>
<p>Anyways, I'm here to help, so just fire away with anything you'd like to know! Here's to many happy returns and future Panthers. :)</p>
<p>@Barca33: Everyone’s been really great to be around so far. The vibe on campus is distinctly Californian-- relaxed, mellow and friendly. Even during the crunchiest part of finals week, people were chilling out and playing basketball or volleyball on the Res Life course. There are certainly a lot of wealthy kids here, and the campus is predominantly white, but as a whole everybody is very open and accepting of other colors, cultures, and tax brackets.</p>
<p>So, Long Range, Tell us if your S was in the Undie run! I saw Strange’s (Sorry Luke, I like Strange), photo, but no one else I recognized. My D did not participate because she had an exam early next day, and besides, it was raining, she said. I think she’s developed the SoCal aversion to precipitation!</p>
<p>Hey Luke, I’m British and I’m completely alienated by SATs and cover essays about myself. Do you know anything about what scores Chapman would be looking for ? And what I need to write in this essay ?
Thanks muchly ! :)</p>
<p>I don’t know how much detail you want to go into this haha but… what was your very first day at Chapman like? I just placed my enrollment deposit and now I’m so nervous picturing the first day, where you don’t know anyone, really! Did you make friends quickly?
Also, what do you think of having a triple (for dorms)? Does it feel cramped/would you prefer a double, or do you like being three? Also, do you have a private bathroom, or shared with connected suitemates?</p>
<p>@skippy: First things first, congratulations on officially declaring! Welcome to the Panther family. :)</p>
<p>The very first day-- move in and all that-- was a whirlwind, as was most of Orientation Week. The OAs are all incredibly friendly and helpful, and they’re constantly shuttling you from event to event to event, so it’s easy to get caught up in all that. Your orientation group is made up of the students in your Freshman Foundation Course, which is a core-curriculum class you’ll take for the first semester; this has the helpful benefit of connecting you with a bunch of people you’ll be working closely with early on. As far as meeting people the first few days goes, I found it pretty easy-- I’m naturally a pretty gregarious and easygoing person, so that might just be me, but everyone is friendly if a bit shy. Remember, all the freshmen are going through the same thing in terms of knowing practically nobody when they arrive, so put yourself out there, make introductions, and it’ll all come together soon enough. Also incredibly helpful in getting to know your classmates is Facebook. I imagine an official Chapman Class of '17 page will be turning up soon enough, and you can start talking to people and finding people from there. I found it very fascinating to talk to people on the Internet and then go out and meet them in real life, so that’s definitely a useful icebreaker. </p>
<p>Regarding dorming: The rooms are actually really nice, even triples. You can pretty much feng shui the room any way you want so it doesn’t end up feeling cramped; the amount of floor space you have is going to depend on whether or not you keep the beds bunked, or loft them to put storage underneath. My roommates are good guys, but we keep to our own schedules, so we’re not the best of friends, although I know a few people who are inseparable from their roomies (and a few who started blood feuds within weeks… so that’s just a matter of luck). Bathrooms in Glass Hall and corner rooms in Pralle-Sodaro and Henley Halls are private; most of Pralle and Henley (and all of North Morlan) have suite-style bathrooms.</p>
<p>@Abskybabs: I’m not sure what the foreign equivalent of the SAT is, or indeed if there even is one. But Chapman is generally looking for a GPA above 3.5, and the middle 50% of SAT scores range from 1700-2000 (composite). Worth noting, you can offset less-than-stellar scores with a high GPA or vice versa (I was a few shades below average GPA when I applied, but scored very well on both the SAT and ACT, which I believe really helped).</p>
<p>As for the cover letter: They’re just looking to get a handle on who you are as a person. There are a lot of applicants to Chapman, and the numbers can only get you so far when evaluating-- this is where supplemental materials like cover letters come in. Write about your interests, why you’re planning to study whatever it is you’re majoring in. Where do you hope to go? You can allude to significant experiences in your life, but it’s better to go in-depth on these in the personal statement. Good luck!</p>
<p>Ok, I’m not the One and Only StrangeBro, but I wanted to add (for skippymanie) that the North Morlan dorm is an older building, but all rooms there are fairly spacious doubles: two rooms share an adjoined bathroom (for four residents). </p>
<p>Thanks for the info guys! And StrangeBro the orientation group thing makes me feel a lot better haha! I know everyone’s in the same boat but you can’t help still being nervous about that first step onto campus ;)</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m just slightly worried because I got As and A*s but I also failed a couple of GCSEs, do you this that will make a difference if the GPA (however I figure it out) is alright ? :s I’ve booked in to do an SAT at this centre near me outside of London, do I need to do both SAT and ACT, or is just the SAT fine ? Also, sorry if this was previously mentioned but what course are you taking at Chapman ? :)</p>
<p>Are people at Chapman academically inclined, or are most people pretty relaxed and not very concentrated on school? Also, I’ve heard that Chapman runs a little conservative, and I’m from a very liberal city, so would I stick out? I guess I’m also wondering if the school is filled with dimwitted surfer guys and blonde barbies since that seems to be the general stereotype of colleges in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>LAorbust, let me try to answer those questions one at a time:</p>
<p>-The general mood on campus trends toward “relaxed”, but that doesn’t mean students aren’t serious about being here. Remember, it’s no walkover to get into this university, so everybody here has the capacity to be academically inclined-- which leads to some funny moments around midterms and finals when you see a brigade of beer drinkers and hell raisers huddled around a table in the library with their heads in Business Law books. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that academics are not a singular obsession for most students, although pretty much everybody seems to pass their classes.</p>
<p>-Yes, Chapman (and Orange County in general) do lean a bit to the right, but that really manifests in a noticeable population of conservative individuals, rather than an overarching culture of conservatism. It’s not like a school in the Bible Belt where all the womenfolk wear ankle-length dresses and drop out after finding a husband their sophomore year. There are plenty of liberal, moderate, or libertarian students on campus as well and you should fit in just fine regardless of your geographic and political background.</p>
<p>-“Dimwitted surfer guys and blonde barbies”-- well, this is a bit of an uncharitable description, but there is a vein of truth in there in that there are lots of typical California bros and babes on campus; that said, there are just as many or more who are atypical, and if you go in with preconceived notions you’ll be very surprised to learn that (for example) the bubbly Hollister model who lives on your floor is also a Dean’s Lister and that the frat boy you see skateboarding to breakfast every morning is double majoring in Physics and Biochemistry. I’d hesitate to ascribe stereotypes to anyone here, because it’s not often that they hold true. (And when you find the people those stereotypes DO apply to, they’re easily avoided.)</p>
<p>-One final note. Chapman is not an LA school. Chapman is in Orange, which may only be 40 minutes from downtown in no traffic (so, about 60-90 minutes on a normal day) but is a world away in terms of culture and attitudes. [Sorry, pet peeve of mine-- as a San Diego kid, I deeply resent when people make the assumption that Los Angeles encompasses all of Southern California!]</p>
<p>Hope this covers what you wanted to know. If not, feel free to send me a private message as a followup!</p>
<p>Abskybabs: The difference between an A- and A won’t damage your chances too badly as long as your application is strong. Just the SAT is fine, but if you feel you’ll do well on the ACT, it helps. And I’m studying Theatre. :D</p>
<p>So the fact that I failed Religious studies and physical ed but got high As in maths and English won’t do that much harm? Its not that I’m bad at sports, I actually got Bs for that side of the course, it was the exam they screwed up for all of us >.< Ahh okay, I’ll see what I can do. Ohh that’s so cool :D</p>
<p>Jboeding: I can’t speak as to undergrad research opportunities firsthand, but I know that’s something the school touts as being on the leading edge, so I would assume it’s quite good. Biology is more than respectable but smaller than a school like UCI or UCSD.</p>
<p>Kaitlyn: It’s actually a fairly small scene (only 25-30% of students go Greek) but very active, with parties, fundraisers, and philanthropy happening just about every week. That being said, Greek life absolutely does not run the school and I’ve never heard of someone being an “outcast” just for being unaffiliated.</p>
And StrangeBro the orientation group thing makes me feel a lot better haha! I know everyone’s in the same boat but you can’t help still being nervous about that first step onto campus ;)</p>