<p>Does anyone have any personal knowledge/experience/opinion regarding Marymount College (2 year private in Palos Verdes, CA)?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.marymountpv.edu%5B/url%5D">http://www.marymountpv.edu</a></p>
<p>Despite having gone to school in SoCal for four years, I've never heard of the school. I was very impressed by a quick bout of research, but I'd really appreciate other thoughts!</p>
<p>I live in Palos Verdes and from what I hear it's really good for a community college. I don't think it's worth the extra money to go there for two years instead of a regular community college though. Also, housing around there or anywhere in Palos Verdes is extremely expensive so keep that in mind as well.</p>
<p>An overpriced 2 year daycare center for wealthy, spoiled, underachievers (or kids who just aren't very smart) who think they are too good for community college. A lot of Marymount students end up transferring to USC, Chapman, Redlands, Pepperdine...</p>
<p>Lots of drug use going on at Marymount. You basically pay for your grades there.</p>
<p>Definitely interesting opinions, and kind of my original thoughts, also. But let me put my question into more of a context:</p>
<p>My sister was rejected from 4/4 schools. She is AWESOME...like, really, truly awesome...at what she wants to major in (a very select department), but her test scores lag far behind those of the places she wants/needs to be for her department. She's proven herself in summer school and she has extremely positive faculty recommendations from the departments of both schools to which she wants to transfer. These professors want her (after her rejections, both made personal appeals on her behalf) and have told her that if she's able to stay in SoCal, they'll work with her to make sure she has the best shot possible when transferring time comes. Meanwhile, both professors told her that Santa Monica City was the CC feeder to their schools; one of the school's admissions offices also noted Marymount College as a feeder. Both admissions offices said that they would take a qualified transfer from a CC before taking her from a 4 year college. My family is more than a little bit worried about my sister's prospects of success at a CC away from home, where she would not be held particularly accountable and would veeery easily lose focus. It's not a lack of ability or a lack of dedication...but it's a very valid concern, given her personality.</p>
<p>So in a sense, "2 year daycare center" is appropriate. A place to cover GEs, prepare to transfer, but not be lost in a crowd or left unprepared for a transfer (through either the school's fault or her own). She needs the attention/accountability of a LAC, minus the admissions criteria/deadline, so the extra money wouldn't be so much for quality of education as for quality of environment.</p>
<p>While the school never attracted my sister or our family's attention initially, it seems like a very interesting option at this point. The list of 4-year schools to which it has recently sent students is very impressive, and indicates that it's definitely not the school for unintelligent/underachieving types that it might seem. But despite all this, info on the school is relatively hard to come by, which is always a bit worrisome. </p>
<p>So...given this weird and fairly unfortunate situation, I'm still very interested in hearing opinions. I'm certainly still open to those like Worried Student's, but I wanted to flesh out the story a bit more since my initial opinion might be similarly negative/wary if I didn't know the kid. Because I do know the kid, I'm not really interested in tough-love "let her go to CC and if she flops, she flops" responses, well-intentioned though they may be. Trust me, they've been covered.</p>
<p>Thanks to above posters for their quick and helpful responses :)</p>
<p>I'm a current 2nd year student planning on transferring this fall to a private school so I have a few things to add. I choose to go here instead of UCSB out of HS because I thought I'd have a better chance of transferring to one of my top choices. I guess I'll see if I made the right choice in June when they send out letters. So about the school..</p>
<p>Overall Academics: Most of the professors have impressive degrees from top schools and hold doctoral degrees in their fields. I've had some really amazing professors and others that made me question why I'm wasting my time here. The school provides additional resources like tutoring in the learning center so if you're dedicated it's not hard to get good grades. Most professors are strict on attendance which kinda sucks. I've taken Bus Calc at SMC and the caliber of teaching and students at SMC makes MM look like a joke. I'm not saying MM students are a joke.. last year I met a girl who turned down Stanford for MM for financial reasons, and after 2 years successfully transfered to Stanford.</p>
<p>Student Life: Drug use is inevitable on any college campus but from what I've seen it's gone down quite a bit. I made a lot of older friends my freshman yr who have since transferred and from the stories I've heard MM was practically a top transfer school to rehab centers. The class of 09 is pretty straight edge and a bright group compared to 07 and 08. Hopefully this trend will continue. The dorms are run down old military housing in San Pedro which a lot of students move out of by Spring. I moved out after a month to an apt in DTLB my first year. I'd say the majority of the student body are commuters. It's also pretty diverse, lots of international students. </p>
<p>Bottom Line: If you want to transfer to a private school and can afford it go here. It's probably one the easiest ways to get there although from talking with successful transfers it will be a struggle once you're there. Classes are generally small and I've never had a problem getting into a class I wanted which is a big advantage over other JC's. For UC's I'd suggest you look else where, preferably a JC with a TAP program. </p>
<p>Theres a lot more that could be said about this school but I think this will suffice for now. Feel free to post or PM me with any other questions. I'm happy to shed as much light on this school as I can because I remember how frustrating it was for me to find info on it when I was looking into it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, JTS! My sister is currently attending, and while it never did become her first choice scenario, she concedes that it was the best option available to her at the end of last year. </p>
<p>From what I've heard, there is still a very high amount of drug use, but it's basically confined to campus housing (she commutes, which has made for a difficult social transition, but she's very glad not to be in the apartments). She's met nice people, all of whom have come to Marymount for different reasons. She's had very good luck with professors. She's in the Honors program, she's attending on a merit scholarship...things worked out quite well, considering her position as of last spring.</p>
<p>The above point re: transferring is a good one. The upside to my sister's situation is that if she does successfully transfer into the major of her choice, her last two years will be mostly classes in that field (no problem for her...it's the GE's that more often give her trouble). Meanwhile, Marymount is giving her enough of a challenge that her brain isn't turning to mush while also allowing her to build up the self-confidence that she lost during HS.</p>
<p>It sounds like an interesting place. Not right or necessary for everyone, but very helpful to certain individuals and/or under certain circumstances. After hearing about my sister's experience, both #2 and #3 seem like fair (but very incomplete) assessments. JTS, your firsthand info is good to have. Thanks again, and good luck with the transfer :)</p>
<p>Glad to hear your sister found a nice fit here. I just noticed I did chime in about a year late to be of any help with the decision haha sorry about that I rarely frequent this forum.</p>
<p>In regards to the drug use and overall level of "craziness" it has definitely declined greatly. The stories I've got about the years past are insane.. but I don't want to scare off any prospective students nor give the school a bad reputation just yet anyways. I wish I knew not to live in the student housing last year. I ended up having to pay a grand to break my housing contract as well as pay for the meal plan that I never used. </p>
<p>I wouldn't worry too much about the social transition.. students are always transferring in and out and I'd say the majority don't end up staying the full 2 years. I commute a good 30 mins one way and am only at school long enough to attend class and get work done. A lot of the friends I made last year didn't end up coming back this year which has actually been a good thing for me because I have less distractions. It can get really boring at times but I think it's worth it if it leads to a successful transfer.</p>
<p>I'm in the honors program too and I'd recommend it. The classes aren't much harder than the regular ones and usually the only difference is an additional essay or research paper. </p>
<p>It is indeed an interesting and unique experience. Thanks and best of luck to you and your sister.</p>