<p>Going off what carolyn said, here's my .02 about UCLA really quick--My parents are both UCLA grads from back in the late 70's=early 80's and they both got really involved in the Inter Varsity Christain group. They still look back on those times as some of the best of their life, and are actually still very close friends with their college friends and have reunions every year despite living all across the country. Of course, that was 25-30 years ago, but I'd imagine your daughter could easily find really good Christian friends anywhere she chooses to go. Still, based on what you've said about your situation, I'm not sure UCLA is the best choice, but don't rule it out yet :)</p>
<p>Unfortunately, D wasn't able to stay overnight at either UCLA or Pepperdine. She did stay overnight at Baylor and USC. Wish we could've had her stay overnight at UCLA and Peppedine for her to get the full flavor of the schools and students who attend there.</p>
<p>We did drive though UCLA last Sunday, and we are attending the Honors Day at UCLA on April 18 fronm 9 - 2. </p>
<p>We visited Pepperdine last Sunday morning too but was not able to talk to any students or get to visit any classrooms. We did go to an info meeting sunday afternoon in Irvine and spoke to parents and alumni there. Unfortuantely, we can not go to Pepperdine's student admit day this Saturday as we are already headed to our vacation on the east coast. She just got asked to be in Pepperdines' Great Classics seminar ( a small discussion seminar facilitated by professors), so that is another plus for Pepperdine.</p>
<p>For Baylor, D is enrolled in the Honor's program there. The size of Baylor is nice too-- bigger than Pepperdine, smaller than UCLA (Too bad, she didn't get a bigger scholarship for USC, she really liked that place)</p>
<p>Somebody asked about UC Berkeley but d has said of the UCs, she prefers UCLA (UCSD is her distant fourth choice, d got the regents scholarhip there which is $2k,year plus preferential class registration and guaranteed housing). She is worried that at UCLA she may not get the classes she wants and will "just be a number" -- anyone know if this would be true? Perhaps we will know more after attending the April 18th event. . .and if she enrolls in UCLA's Honor's program, hopefully that will provide the sense of "small community" that she prefers (eg the small community atmosphere that some of you posters said that she can still get at a large university such as UCLA).</p>
<p>D has shown an indication that she may want to attend an university closer to home so she can stay in touch with her close friends -- most are staying in California. . . If so, that will knock Baylor off her list. (hard to give up the full tuition scholarship Baylor is offering, though).</p>
<p>I can see why it is hard for her to make up her mind -- there are good points about all of her top three choices. Again, if she really had a preference for one school over another, I won't have even started this thread. . .sigh.</p>
<p>The Honors program at UCLA offers priority registration beginning the second quarter and additional counseling.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ucla.edu/up/honors/%5B/url%5D">www.ucla.edu/up/honors/</a></p>
<p>Found out last night that a friend who is a USC prof has a daughter who just decided to go to UCLA. Betrayal in the family.... It will be interesting to watch now come football season.</p>
<p>please come back and post when all is said and done and let us know the final decision...... as one parent to another, I have said this before on other threads, and will repeat myself here, the toughest thing about our kids is not knowing what is in store for them......the entire period of time between selecting schools to apply to, completing apps and then waiting from fall to spring to get answers....and then 1 more month to get to final choice....is a huge nebulous space for us 'rents. I really was surprised by my discomfort with not knowing....because I was so excited about all of the possibilities ..... I equate it with those afternoons or evenings where we just don't know where our kid is... when they are out with friends, when they are off skiing with a pack of wolves, when they go sea kayaking.... its a vague sense of unease that gets replaced by all the new thoughts about the new school once a final decision is made.<br>
I remember we had the option at the end of kindergarten to choose a 1st grade with phonetics or whole language orientation.....I was very frustrated that the school couldn't recommend which would be better for my child.....finally, a college roomie who was an elementary school teacher in another state hit me upside the head and told me that it was not a life altering decision...my child would read and would get a very good education......as great as the choices are, they can also be paralyzing.....
so, my net point is to keep the faith cause your D is going to be just fine.....there will probably be something at the school she goes to, that will turn out to have been really important later on when seen with hindsight, that was not on her current list of requirements!! Best wishes Mom on wonderful options for your DD.</p>
<p>maineparent, what a great post. I know you wrote it for the OP's situation , but it's ringing in my ears , too (and I bet several other parents facing the same issues) . Especially this
[quote]
there will probably be something at the school she goes to, that will turn out to have been really important later on when seen with hindsight, that was not on her current list of requirements!!
[/quote]
Thanks for posting.</p>
<p>My son was looking at Pepperdine, Harding, ACU and OCU. Pepperdine was simply too far away although it was a good fit otherwise. His top choice was Harding as it offered many of the qualities your daughter was looking for but it was bigger than he wanted. I think fit is the most important thing and it sounds as if your daughter is leaning toward staying a bit closer to home than Baylor would afford her although I do think Baylor is a great school. If you are looking for a Christian atmosphere at a public univeristy the campus ministries are a great source. </p>
<p>I think all of the Church of Christ schools are a bit on the sheltering side, but then again I think many of the parents that send theirs to PU from my area are looking for sheltering and familiar. </p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>Sheltering is not altogether a bad thing. It's really a matter of degree. As long as it's not extreme, like Bob Jones University or Pensacola Christian College, Pepperdine may be the campus environment that best matches your Ds' social, moral and political comfort levels, thereby going a long way toward insuring a good fit over the course of four years. </p>
<p>Of course, it is not necessarily a bad thing for her to be exposed to a learning environment that challenges her to put her values and long assumed paradigms to the acid test, as long as that environment is not a polar opposite extreme, such as Wesleyan, for instance. Pepperdine probably doesn't boast the range of political, cultural or ethnic diversity present at some of her other choices. If any of these things is important to her, she may want to seriously consider alternate acceptances. I've seen many film images of Pepperdines campus, and its beautiful Malibu setting, however, and I think I'd be hard pressed to cross it off my list of options. </p>
<p>Good luck to your wonderful D, Mom of four. She's faced with some wonderful choices ( a very enviable position, given the limited options of many others) , so she can't really loose can she? I wish her all the very best.</p>