D and I had a horrible campus tour at Chapman. It was very unorganized, plus very hot that day to the point my daughter broke out in a heat rash. Neither of us thought it was a very pretty campus either. The issue is that on paper, Chapman offers everything she’d like to study. In fact, on paper it couldn’t be more perfect. We are now wondering if it’s worth a second look, and thought we’d reach out and ask if any of you have ever hated your first campus tour, only to return and love it?
She also loved Occidental and Scripps for reference. However neither of those schools offer design programs like Chapman’s.
On average, Scripps is much hotter than Chapman.
Chapman’s campus is what it is. It grew up recently in an established suburb and has had to make do with limited space. What is more important, a nice pretty tree filled campus or the program?
Thanks for the weather information, that’s good to know. The campus just added to it the overall impression, wasn’t the main thing that caused the negative take away…the poor organization of the tour and how unhappy the kids looked contributed as well.
Sure, go back if you can. Try a late afternoon or morning tour and no matter what, be sure to stop at the dining hall for coffee or soemthing.
I think you just got a lemon tour. We had very pleasant tours there (I have done at least a couple there). Although it was quite hot when we were there too (I remember the sweat well). But you start and end in the student center with the wonderful air conditioning. Go to Bruxi’s (literally across the street) when done and get the best waffle sandwich ever or amazing milkshake. Yum. Don’t know how all those OC gals stay slim there, maybe the hot weather keeps that freshman 15 off.
Thank you. I appreciate you all taking time to answer my question. I’m glad to hear you think we had a lemon tour, and that we should give it another shot.
We toured Chapman in 2005. We thought the students there were amongst the friendliest we met anywhere. DD met with faculty in the music department as she wanted to play her instrument…but not major in music. They were very very nice!
Our tour was your standard tour. Our tour guide happened to be hilarious, so it was fun.
In the end, our kid did not apply there because their sciences were just not strong enough for her tastes.
Here is what I would do…
Apply. If she gets accepted, and it’s in her top three choices, revisit after acceptance. Her perspective will be different anyway. I would NOT revisit now.
In the end it wasn’t a fit for D, but I did like how they housed by major and the housing itself seems very nice. Great location, D has a couple very close friends that went there and they are very happy. One an art major (maybe design, idk) and another business major who wanted to be close to the LA scene as she works in it.
And feel free to post your tour experience here - it is a judgement free complaining zone - even about a school you love, but just hated something about it!
thumper1-thanks for your advice. We both think it’s a great idea to wait to revisit the school after (if) she gets accepted.
- and CADREAMIN--thanks for the link to the complaining zone...sound like my kind of place.
I think it’s definitely worth another visit. My DD had a bad college tour at Columbia. She hated the tour guide. Columbia had always been her dream and she loved NYC and the program Columbia offered for her major, but the tour was a major turn off. Upon revisiting during accepted students days she ended up loving it.
@Mimi2018, Good idea to go ahead and apply and revisit if she is accepted. It’s hard to fall a love with a place in the midst of a heat rash. It’s wet and dreary outside my window right now. If a student visited a school on a day like this, I doubt they would fall in love with it. Yesterday was spectacular.
Some things are not going to change - the weather, the buildings, the gloomy looks on the faces of other students. How much are you willing to overlook? At the pretty campuses are you wiling to overlook the programs?
Go back to Chapman and don’t go on a pubic tour. Arrange a private one or just look around.
If you can find a school you like more, then you can start narrowing it down by tour guides and shabby buildings.
Thank you for your fantastic advice.
TTG- You’re definitely right about the heat rash putting a damper on things. Nothing seems right with a massive heat rash all over ones legs and arms.
twoinanddone-We are new to this process, so I never would’ve thought about arranging a private tour of the school. I think that might make a world of difference.
Tt was just one of those days, unfortunately.
Thanks again for taking time to post suggestions. You’ve all helped a lot.
I’m glad you’re going to give Chapman another chance. Heat rash and any other physical problem could certainly impair the ability to objectively appreciate and evaluate any setting. Good luck with your next tour! I know several kids who are very happy there.
HImom-thank you! It’s great to hear you know several kids who are happy there. I keep hearing that from other people too, so we really must’ve had an all around lousy visit there. We did see the Dodge College, which was amazing.
BTW Just made our reservations for our summer trip to the Big island!
Well, if you’re stopping in HNL, let me know. Maybe we can meet up.
I didn’t really like any tour that we went on…and we toured a lot of colleges. Lol. We had some fun tour guides but didn’t learn much about the schools or we had bland tour guides who were knowledgeable but not fun. I guess after the first few, we just got used to it. Chapman can be hot but OC tends to be cooler than inland by a few degrees. I think Occidental and Scripps would be hotter. San Diego is cooler, but there are some hot days and many dorms do not have a/c there. That was a huge plus that all Chapman dorms have a/c because my daughter hates to be hot.
My daughter fell in love with Chapman but she came from a small high school, so she liked the compact nature of the campus yet still has enough students (mid-size). I think the Orange Circle kind of sealed it for her…she loves all the shops and restaurants (lots of sweets too). She said it felt like a community to her. She hated Loyola Marymount because it was so isolated and she couldn’t walk anywhere. So I guess it depends on what kind of environment matters to your daughter. Other than sophomore housing, my daughter has been very happy there.
Thank you HImom-that’s very thoughtful of you. We fly direct to KOA, but maybe one day we’ll feel adventurous and head your way.
Outwhere–What did your daughter study at Chapman? What is the deal with Sophomore housing? There was another post not too long ago from an unhappy student regarding sophmore housing. Do they only have housing for Freshmen?
That was my post on the housing. Freshman are guaranteed housing if they apply by the housing deadline. Sophomores are not guaranteed but we were told they have always had enough. This year I guess the freshman class was larger ( and I know that is difficult to totally control) so some did not. My daughter got housing but it was not her first choice.
My daughter is a Health Science major and she loves it. Very supportive professors and she has learned a lot. The new science and technology building will open Fall 2018 and it is amazing.