Chances at Pepperdine...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pepperdine University
1

<p>GPA: 3.5 UW - 3.75W
PSAT: Predicted 1280 (I didn't study), but I'm hoping for a 1350.
RANK: Top 5-10% out of around 650 students</p>

<p>AP/Honors Classes: HL Pre-Calc, AP Calc, AP US, AP Eng, HL Chem, HL Span 3, AP Eng, AP Stats, AP Gov/Econ</p>

<p>EC's/Community Service/Awards: Tennis, CSF, Foreign Foods Club (VP), Journalism (Focus Editor), Early Academic Outreach Program, Relay 4 Life, Key Club (VP), Random Acts of Kindness Club, Conservation Club, Certificate of Scholastic Achievement, Circle B Athletic Award, Block B Academic Letter, and "Most Consistent Player" - Tennis.</p>

<p>Also 2 immediate family members had/have cancer during my high school years. My essay topic is about Relay 4 Life....I will have done it for 5 yrs, and the team I'm on with my high school friends should have raised over 50k dollars.</p>

<p>I also have some major negatives. I got a D in Calc one semester (however this semester I have a B, and I'm sure I can pass the ap test)...And I don't really have church involvement stuff like church community service or a recommendation letter from a minister or priest.</p>

<p>So what are my chances? Right now, Pepperdine isn't my number 1 choice, but I would be devastated if it wasn't one of my options later on...bc I really love the school.</p>

2

<p>JC* or ennaxor....I know you guys are really familiar with Pepperdine, so what are your thoughts?</p>

3

<p>Hi SoCal,
With Pepperdine, it is a little random how they select. It is my impression over the last few years, they are upping the academic standards as their application pool increases.<br>
Their data set (2005) says they consider the following very important:
academic record
test scores
rec's
essays
character
talents
EC's
Also important but not very is: religious affiliation and volunteer work
Work experience, alum affiliation and minority status are somewhat considered
They do not interview or consider class rank</p>

<p>Your test scores are borderline, but you have time to work on them.
According to data from 2 years ago the average gpa was 3.6</p>

<p>I think the essay is critical. Make sure it is focused and personal and not too broad. It must really help reflect who you are and what you bring to the community. Make sure you have someone in the English department review it with you. No grammatical errors! </p>

<p>As for the D in calculus, does your school average the grade on your cum file? If so you will average out as a C if you finsih the year with a B and it won't show on your transcript. Ask your counselor.</p>

<p>If you have no religious affiliation, why are you looking at Pepperdine, LMU and USD? Just curious. I think religious affiliation is actually weighed more than than they state in the data. It was pretty clear in the prospective student day that faith is core to their philosophy.</p>

<p>LMU may be a little harder to get into because their admissions seems to focus strictly on academics. I am currently in their grad program and was an undergrad ions ago. </p>

<p>Go talk to the dept chairs, or any one in the depts that you are interested in. Make an appt. That really helped my daughter get a better feel for the schools she looked at last year.</p>

<p>I find Pepperdine friendlier than LMU, but Pepperdine is not for everyone...it is a pretty tight knit community and the "fun" they have is different than what I have heard on other campuses, but my D is always busy and having a great time. trust me they still party hardy! And there is always the weekends in Santa Barbara. She is not Church of Christ and was worried about being treated different, but it has not been an issue. </p>

<p>So basically, I would hope you have a good chance. You still have time to work on your gpa (your a junior right?) and the SAT.<br>
Pick you recs carefully...someone who knows you as a person and academically...and someone who can write well! (not all educators write well)
Hope this helps! Good luck!</p>

4

<p>My Calc grades shows up as 2 semesters, not an average.</p>

<p>And I'm Christian. I'm sort of undecided on which specific sector I want to be a part of though. Whether it is Church of Christ or something else. I'm not the most religious person, but I am interested in taking the religion courses at all three of those schools. I'm thinking those classes will be very beneficial.</p>

<p>However, I don't do community service with my church, I just go there. My community service is school based (key club, conservation club, and rak club), as well as, Relay 4 Life (my main thing).</p>

5

<p>Like JC* said, it is a little hard to predict for Pepperdine. Your grades and scores are borderline (average GPA for fall 2006 was 3.8), but I'd say your ECs and such look pretty good.</p>