<p>At the LJ for Chapman, I posted some questions and got some good information about Chapman. I thought I’d post some of the responses here to give people more info about the school. </p>
<p>"I don’t know if I’ll be able to fully answer all your questions, but here’s what I’ve experienced in the four years here. Hope this helps!</p>
<li><p>Academics are pretty good. Rate My Professors (<a href=“http://www.ratemyprofessors.com%5B/url%5D”>www.ratemyprofessors.com</a>) is your best bet when it comes time to register for classes. Some professors are great (the psychology department is good, Dr. Dana is highly popular, and I know Dr. Walker is good as well). Discussions/lecture, essays and tests depend on the professor. Some are engaging, others are not. Some might only give a midterm, final, and term paper, others have multiple tests and papers due throughout the semester. Sometimes class time selection is tough depending on what’s being offered. You might not always get to take just morning and afternoon classes, especially when fulfilling your GE requirement. I’m not a psych major, but the nicest thing about Chapman is how accessible most professors are, which is one of the perks of going to such a small school.</p></li>
<li><p>The dorms are alright, but it all depends on what you’re willing to pay. Henley and New (Glass) Hall are the most expensive, but considered to be the nicest in terms of amenities. Braden is on its last leg and is, pardon the phrase, a ****hole. It’ll be torn down after next year. From personal experience, Morlan is the best, but I’d suggest paying a little more for South Morlan over North Morlan, if only because you and your roommate get your own bathroom in S. Morlan. Pralle-Sodaro is a lot like Henley and also nice/expensive, and you usually end up sharing a bathroom with suite mates there.</p></li>
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<p>As for food, the school is serviced by Sodhexo, and the quality is hit and miss. Sometimes their food is good, sometimes not, but there’s variety in the cafeteria. Internet access is probably one of my biggest gripes with the school. We’re on a T3 connection, but the internet is painfully slow at times. You can get wireless in some places in the dorms, and its available all over the main campus, but again, its as hit-and-miss as the ethernet connection. As for downloading music, forget about it, unless you know someone who can get around the firewall Chapman’s set up to prevent it.</p>
<li>Since we’re so close to L.A., a lot of people go up there for the clubs. We’ve got several malls around the school as well, the biggest being Main Place in Santa Ana (which has Barnes and Noble) and the Block at Orange (which has Borders). There’s stuff to do on campus, but you really have to pay attention to the calendars to see when stuff is happening, because advertisements aren’t always made, or not made clear enough. Since half the school still commutes, it tends to get dead here on the weekends (Chapman’s what we call a “weekend commuter school” since most people here live in somewhere in LA, they go home for the weekends, and parties are usually held on Thursdays). The beach is easy enough to get to, just drive south about fifteen minutes on the 55 freeway. LA’s due north on the 5 freeway but good luck because you spend a lot of time sitting in traffic. SD is due south on the 5 freeway about two hours, but bottlenecks around Oceanside.</li>
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<p>We have public transportation (OCTA bus system and Metrolink railway will take you up to Union Station in Downtown LA), but OCTA’s sometimes slow. Orange isn’t exactly “bike friendly”, we have a lack of bike lanes and it can get sort of dangerous biking on the streets sometimes if drivers aren’t paying attention.</p>
<p>As for school spirit, we’re severely lacking in that department, which I believe is partly due to all the commuters. We do have sports teams (we’re pretty good in baseball, softball, and mens/womens basketball), and the sports department is trying to get bigger tournouts at key sporting events, but most people follow USC, UCLA, or other big universities.</p>
<p>. Weather couldn’t be better, but we’ve had a lot of rain the past month or so. Its usually in the 60s-70s in February through May, 70s-low 80s in June-August, and it gets really hot in August-September. If you’re not a SoCal native, be prepared for the Santa Ana winds, which start in September and can last through January/February. It’ll be nice and in the 60s for a few days, then the winds will start, the temp will go up to the 90s since the winds are blowing in off the desert, make everything ridiculously dry, and after a few days, the nice weather will return.</p>
<p>4 (continued). December through April is our raniest time of the year. Nights get pretty cold, especially in the winter months, so a jacket probably isn’t a bad idea for when the sun goes down.</p>
<p>Earthquakes…if you’re from out of state, the best thing to do is not think about them. I’ve got a few friends out here from back east who are scared to death of them, and really, the best thing you can do is just try to find a doorway or something strong to take cover. That said, you really don’t experience them too much, and in the four years I’ve been here, I’ve only felt two of them. The first time, I thought the neighbors below me were blasting rap music with a heavy bass, the second time I was on the top floor of the library and felt the building sway back and forth, but nothing too serious. Honestly, they’re kind of fun.</p>
<li><p>The people are good, and pretty diverse despite the school’s small size and location (Orange County is stereotypically known for being a white republican stronghold). You’ve got a pretty wide range of people involved in all sorts of different things on campus, and everyone interacts well. The campus is fairly moderate, you’ll find liberal outlets just as easily on campus as you’ll find conservative outlets (primarily through the College Democrats and College Republicans). The social justics groups (S.P.E.A.K., C.A.R.E.S.) tend to be liberal as well. There’s also a number of specialty clubs. People are usually very accepting, and despite the size, you do see new faces on campus. Like I said earlier, though, because there’s so many commuters, there’s not much of a “community feel” per se, even in the residence halls, outside of your group of friends.</p></li>
<li><p>Applying to the film school has, of course, become highly competitive, and even if you want to minor, I think you have to still apply. I’m not a film major, so I don’t know much about this area. The only thing I can suggest is to get in contact with Pete Weitzner, who’s the head of the broadcast journalism department. He’ll be more than willing to help you out and get you into something if you’re interested.</p></li>
<li><p>Financial aid packages are pretty stable, and scholarships vary from person to person."</p></li>
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<p>"1) I felt the academics at Chapman were adequate. Some were tougher obviously, like the sciences and math (personally), but it’s what you’d expect. I never felt like a course was impossible to understand, and it was rare that I felt that the class was a joke – although it has happened… but I believe that was more because of the professor. I really loved many of my professors at Chapman. The small class size made it a lot easier to get comfortable with your instructors, and there are definitely fun people around. Every class has its own grading rubric according to the instructor. It is possible to schedule classes that are only during a certain part of the day; this is common because people work in addition to going to school.</p>
<p>2) I would highly recommend the dorms: for the experience and the social aspect. At least for a year. The food isn’t disgusting, they actually do a pretty good job most of the time. After a while it can get boring though, but you find ways to get alternatives. If you’d like to keep expenses down, dorm in either Morlan Hall.</p>
<p>3) First off, let me just say that spirit for anything at Chapman is nearly non-existent. The general mood can be quite apathetic. Keep in mind that Chapman is located in Old Town Orange: lots of antiques and lots of elderly people. It takes a while to get around without a car, I’m gonna be honest with you. But it’s not the end of the world at all. There is a really close local coffee shop chain called Diedrich’s that offers wi-fi and a cozy atmosphere.</p>
<p>4) I bet that our rain compared with yours, wherever you’re from, is weak. Most days/nights are great walking around weather. Once May hits it’ll get pretty warm, even in the 90s. There have been a few small earthquakes in the past three years or so, if I remember correctly. Nothing to be afraid of. We do have Santa Ana winds which make everything gusty and dust gets in your eye, but that’s about it.</p>
<p>5) I did think that there was a community feel to the school, depending on who your friends were and if you joined any clubs/organizations. People are generally chill, but you have to make an effort to meet people and be friends. Dorming helps. I had a roommate who made no effort to meet people or even go out, and she ended up hating it here (she was from out-of-state also). There are lots of artsy people, whether it’s dance, art, film, theater… people in greek organizations, loads of rich people (for your own interpretation), and others. There will definitely people for you to bond with, there are a lot of people with your personality here, no worries! While a majority of people are from the area, there are lots of people from other states and some from other countries. I have never noticed any type of weird barrier between locals and out-of-towners. You do see a lot of the same faces.</p>
<p>6) That’s possible. Film school students tend to hang out together, because they have the same classes and sometimes work on projects together… and naturally they just find that they have stuff in common, just like any other group. But it’s pretty apparent with film students because it’s such a popular major here.</p>
<p>(continued)</p>