<p>I have heard from a friend who has toured Chapman that one downside to Chapman is the lack of immediate off-campus housing for juniors and seniors. For those who live there right now, would you agree? </p>
<p>My friend said that many of older students commute into Chapman from 30 to 40 minutes away. </p>
<p>Our family will be visiting this spring since our senior has been accepted with a good aid package. </p>
<p>Anybody with real experience here? thanks!</p>
<p>Yes and no, I think there is plenty of housing around Chapman and if someone wants to live within walking distance they can easily do that. Thirty minutes away is the beach (with traffic) and my guess is that by the time you are a junior/senior you are making lifestyle choices that may take you further away from campus. It’s just more fun to live close to the beach (fun!) vs. Orange (quaint!). What that does mean is that your child will eventually need a car if that is a choice they make.</p>
<p>thanks for the quick response. I think our concern is more for kids who live outside California and are less likely to go home on the weekends. Is there a community that sticks around or do many go home for the weekend for example? Just wondering about the “commuter school” aspect.</p>
<p>We really have not noticed that. We are local, and my son shows up usually once a week or so (usually on a Sunday night, never on a Friday or Saturday night) with his laundry- he does not like the facilities at Chapman- says they shrink his shirts. But he really would much rather be at school than at home on the weekends. Everybody is off to college so to come home would pretty much be hanging out with his parents. We had heard the term “suitcase school” with respect to Chapman and had concerns too, but those concerns did not seem to be warranted based on our experience. There seems to be enough happening there socially to keep kids there.</p>
<p>Down Town Santa Ana has a lively night life on Thursday, fri and sat nights.</p>
<p>LOL…maybe but it definitely appeals to a unique artsy group. And you need a car to get there. I think the OP is asking if there is enough to do in the immediate area that keeps kids around campus, not if there are things to do in SoCal :-). I think that kids have fun around Chapman.</p>
<p>sunnyinseattle,
2flipper2 is spot on. Students can always find things to do within Chapman. Whether they choose to participate in a fraternity/sorority or not, there are plenty of other organizations or clubs they can join, in addition to attending sporting events, shows, and guest speakers on a regular basis, and so on. Depending on the student’s major, for example, the film students at Dodge College are busy working on their set, they barely find time to eat (that alone kept them going). Based on my student’s experience, freshman year’s load was a little less compared to sophomore year. This is to allow the students to get acquainted. That was ideal for DS.</p>
<p>As for housing for juniors and seniors, there are houses for rent within walking distance to Chapman, so if your student can team up with a couple students or dorm friends, they can rent a house. They just need to find them, but they do have them. Hopefully the filmmakers’ village will be completed by 2013, that will help to accommodate more students, otherwise, DS and friends will be renting a house.</p>