Chapman has been my dream school throughout high school and I was accepted as a spring admit. While it’s awesome that I got in, it kinda sucks because I feel like the fall semester of freshman year is the most exciting and fun. I got a big scholarship at Redlands (18k per year) so I visited and fell in love with it. I really love the vibes at both schools and I think I would fit in and be happy at either one.
Here are my big pros of chapman: it’s more prestigious, it’s my dream school, and it’s in a FABULOUS location (near Disneyland, shopping, the beach, etc.)
Pros of Redlands: starting in the fall, big scholarship, and a STUNNING campus
Do you guys have any recommendations? Pros/cons you know of either school? Experiences at either school will be helpful. I’m pretty torn so I know I can’t go wrong with either choice but I need to make a decision ASAP! Thanks 
Did you originally apply for the spring and now want to change? Or did you apply for the fall and they rolled you over to the spring?
What was your UW and Weighted GPA?
How much would you be paying for Chapman?
@EYeager I applied for fall and they placed me in the spring and put me on a fall waiting list. I would be paying full price for chapman (the only perk of starting in the spring would be saving 30k by not attending the first semester). My gpa was a 3.4 and I got an 1860 sat score.
Although Redlands is ranked lower, I am sure you can still get a good education there. We toured Redlands, but my daughter did not care for the area (Orange may seem similar to Redlands but she liked the beach, Disneyland, and shopping being closer). She also was looking for a bit larger undergrad population. So she did not apply to Redlands. But if the fit is good for you, then you should consider it. The money difference should be considered. I would let Chapman know of Redland’s offer and see if they will reconsider giving your some scholarship or grant.
Hi! I cannot tell you about Redlands but I love Chapman so far. It is very small and has a sense of community. I joined Greek life and met most (if not all) my friends that way. If you are a woman, formal rush is in the spring anyways and if you are male frats rush both semesters. The greek community is very accepting and the chapters are diverse among each other. Everyone is super friendly even if they are in different chapters or not affiliated at all. At my boyfriends school, greeks think they are superior and hang out at some designated spots but its not like that AT ALL at Chapman. However, the neighbors of the city of Orange have it against the students and just recently passed an anti party law that states that everyone in an off campus party gets a misdemeanor if the cops are called. But I havent heard of anyone getting affected by this and parties here usually dont get crazy.
Academic wise, Chapman is great and im already using the stuff that I learn at my internship. The students here at very driven and successful, and usually get great internships. There are tons of ways to get involved on campus and Chapman offers great opportunities for its students to grow academically and professionally. Also, my professors truly care about the students and want everyone to succeed.
Feel free to message me with any questions or concerns about Chapman!
Hmm, if Chapman ranks students it would be unlikely you will get off of their fall waitlist. Is this a 3.4 Weighted or Unweighted?
You won’t be saving any money by skipping first semester since you would have to make it up somehow. Either having to go a 5th year of college or taking summer classes.
Your best option might be going to Redlands and then transferring to Chapman for either the Spring or the following year. Plus you got a really good scholarship to Redlands so might as well take advantage of it 
Even if you don’t transfer, Redlands is still a great college.
i have been accepted to both in the same way as you, and my scholarship is also bigger at redlands ($26k i think). i’m bummed about chapman and haven’t decided what i’m doing yet… i have other options but this was at the top of my list. BUT what i wanted to say–i have a friend who graduated from redlands last year and she loved it!! she thought the people there were fantastic and it was overall a great spot for an awesome education for non-A+ high school students (she had a 3.9 when she graduated)
@EYeager is that true? can you explain what a ranked waitlist is because i have no idea what to expect really. i was also admitted for spring after applying fall
(i have a 3.76 weighted and 2150 if that means anything)
“it’s more prestigious,” What does this even mean? The good news is that there are about 25 schools in the US that may be worth attending for the “prestige” value. Outside of these 25, really, none are so well regarded that simply having that name on your resume means anything. There are the IVY League plus schools, CalTech, a couple of UC schools, Michigan, Wisc, UVA, Chicago, Juilliard , Berkeley. West Point and there would be disagreement about which exact schools are in the top 25 but I can tell you that neither Redlands nor Chapman are on that list. And that is a good thing. Your deliberating does not have to be influenced by which is more “prestigious”. Outside California, there would be no difference in how the names of the two schools were viewed. So you should probably stop worrying about “prestige” and consider which you’d rather attend. Which do you like better.
Which school (chapman or Redlands) will better prepare you for the LSAT or GMAT? Which school will better help you improve your writing, reading, and critical thinking skills?