<p>Please do not take this question the wrong way, but..... I am a little worried that Pepperdine may not have an active enough social life. Do not get me wrong, I am not a party animal but I do want to enjoy the college life. I am happy to be accepted and really looking forward to a new chapter in my life. Is Pepperdine too conservative?</p>
<p>socalsr, i feel the same way! i’m not by any means conservative and am concerned that it will be hard to fit in</p>
<p>Maybe some students will give us honest answers!!! I would like to make an informed decision. CONGRATS to us btw.</p>
<p>yes congrats! 
is pepperdine your first choice?</p>
<p>That is crazy I was just arguing with my mom about this, she wants me to truly stick with pepperdine, but I’m concerned about the social life as well. I don’t want to get here and people are scared to have fun just because they are religious. I’m not trying to disrespect anyone about their strong religion, I love God, but I still want to have a little fun.</p>
<p>Honestly UCLA is down the road (20-30 min) if you want some fun, and i personally have a friend that just got accepted to UCLA who will be going there next year. If you want to party (which i have absolutely nothing against (;…) you can always find it. And trust me you can find anything down in Venice about 25 minutes away. So cheers my friend!</p>
<p>caliemi16 & jac2011, if the three of us are asking the same thing, that may be a good sign. I am a little less worried I guess. You cant get a bunch of 18 & 19 year olds together with out having some fun! I say we give it a try??? decisions are soo hard!</p>
<p>OMg, I’m so glad I’m not the only one who felt that way. Pepp was the only school I applied to and when I started hearing about the lack of the social scene I started getting a little worried. but hey I agree with socalsr and y’all are welcome to party with me if you decide to attend. ;)</p>
<p>ive been thinking the same thing. with sports med i know i will have a lot of work but i still want it to be college of you know what i mean</p>
<p>I’m honestly having second thoughts about this school.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I DONT want to go to some boozehound party school, but an active social life is a key to a balanced life, and I think balance is extremely important. I plan to work very very hard in college, and because of this, I need to be able to blow off some steam on the weekends. Some of the student reviews for Pepperdine are unbelievably negative. Its been referred to as a conservative reprogramming camp, and while I know that anyone can write these reviews, I have never once seen anyone call it a fun school.</p>
<p>I really would love to go there, and I think its a wonderful institution, but I don’t know if it’s the right environment for me at this point.</p>
<p>Since pep is my only ticket to Cali I think I’m going to give it a chance, besides it’s like five of us on this thread thinking the same thing. I don’t believe there can’t be teens that attend pepperdine who dont think like we do. Besides I only need about two to three people to really have fun, go to parties in LA, and just have fun. I can always transfer to another school if it turns out badly.</p>
<p>you guys do realize what i meant when i said UCLA and Venice are down the street…its honestly not that conservative and all, its college and its in Malibu…need i say any more?</p>
<p>oh by the way for all you non so cali natives, Venice is where you go to get a $40 medical cannabis card, to smoke cannabis legally. And UCLA has parties every day…</p>
<p>I am a bit of a clueless parent…</p>
<p>Is everyone here is talking about the same thing? Are “social life”, “having fun”, “partying”, and “blowing off steam” all code words for drinking and doing drugs?</p>
<p>My daughter has been accepted into Pepperdine, and one of the things she likes about it is that it appears to not be a “party” school. </p>
<p>So, we are wondering what the truth is about Pepperdine. We understand it is a dry campus, and that this seems to be fairly strictly enforced, but wonder if most students simply go off campus to drink anyway.</p>
<p>It would be good if some current students (and alumni) could comment on this topic. </p>
<p>Do most students at Pepperedine party, but just do it off campus?
Are there “parties” held on campus that don’t involve drugs and alcohol?
And a more general question, what “non-partying” things do students do for fun?</p>
<p>Someone bring a car so we can all go out together! :)</p>
<p>@helidad – no, blowing off steam is not a euphemism for drinking or doing drugs, at least not for me. However, sitting around my dorm and talking about the weather is not how I want to spend 4 years of my life.
I’m not concerned about whether or not alcohol will be involved, I’m concerned whether or not fun people will be involved.</p>
<p>I currently live in the area surrounding a large state school. The party culture here is strong…to say the last, and if you’re ever in campus town on a weekend night it will be nothing but underage drinkers roaming the streets (you can get into bars here at age 19). The university turns a blind eye to this and I find it disgusting. I don’t think drinking in and of itself is evil or anything, but the way that kids get sloshed and get into trouble here is really quite sad. Tragically, just three weeks ago, a drunk 19 year old wandering around campus town was hit and killed by a car on a friday night. The school’s social atmosphere is the main reason I didn’t apply to it.</p>
<p>I’m sure the Pepperdine campus is extremely tame, and I highly HIGHLY doubt there will be much if any drinking/drug doing going on, on-campus. But as others mentioned, it is close to LA, which means its close to UCLA and USC, which are both pretty huge party schools. So ultimately no one will be exposing your daughter to drinking or drugs on Pepperdine’s campus. She will have to go seek them out deliberately.</p>
<p>To me, admitted students days, and to a certain extent, the essays, make it pretty clear what kind of students they are trying to attract. I felt the message was, don’t come here just because of the location.</p>
<p>With that in mind, students can have “fun”, but “fun” is in the eye of the beholder.</p>
<p>Disclaimer; My child was not a student there.</p>
<p>@TheGoodDoc - I understand your concerns about having fun, and I appreciate your perpective about underage drinking. From most of what I’ve read, I think your view of the campus and drinking is probably accurate, but I still wonder how much off-campus drinking there is. I am not so much concerned with my daughter seeking out alcohol, as I am with understanding how well she wil fit in, since she is not a drinker. For my daughter, the fact that it is a dry campus is in the “plus” column for Pepperdine, but if it turns out that most students are having their fun by going off campus and drinking, that would effectively negate that.</p>
<p>Anyway, we will try to learn more with a campus visit in the near future, but any input from current students on this forum would be appreciated. Note that we have never been there, since we are on the East coast…</p>
<p>I see what you’re saying helidad. Definitely a legitimate concern.</p>
<p>HeliDad and The Good Doc,</p>
<p>My freshman daughter attends Pepperdine. Couldn’t have been a better choice for her. It isn’t much larger than her HS. She too turned down UofI where the vast majority of her classmates attend. Professors are accessible and interactive with all students. </p>
<p>The ‘fun’ is not centered around alcohol and drugs for the vast majority… IMO
I am sure there are some that seek it but there are plenty that do not.</p>
<p>She has found an adventure seeking crowd… hikes, surfs, goes to the beach…when her facebook picture changed to jumping off a cliff into a lake I was concerned… but no broken bones or injuries occurred. She attends some of the sporting events on campus, especially men’s volleyball. She has been to dinner at a few of her professors homes.</p>
<p>You’re near LA…there aren’t many better places for concert venues. </p>
<p>The dorms for freshman are suites…4 rooms (2 students per) per suite with a common area and shared bathroom. I think there are about 6 suites per building making the number of freshman per building about 48. Her suite decorates the common area based on the season but that varies based on the RA. Especially early in the year the RA’s have scheduled activities with their students…BBQ, Disney, Beach, Museums…</p>
<p>I don’t know about internships but give the department for your intended major a call and ask. In the Natural Sciences there are opportunities for research and volunteering that help for building a resume.</p>