We recently visited Pepperdine for an audition and I was struck by a couple of things. The students were extremely well-mannered and seemed friendly both to each other and to us. Most appeared well-dressed, proud and focused on the task at hand, their education. The staff was also most cordial and bent over backwards to make our stay pleasant. The audition evaluator has toured with several well-known bands and was eminently professional.
Security was tight as the horseshoe-shaped road serving the campus offered only two ways in or out and there was a guard stationed at entrance stopping each car. One has to be there for a purpose and you have to give the name of the professor you are doing business with. Campus security was always in earshot and visible during our 3 hour stay. There were no homeless on campus unlike public universities we visited where we would often see dozens.
It goes without saying that the Pepperdine campus is beautiful beyond words. I didn’t see many distractions so one had better be really, really interested in their major because diversionary activities may be sparse. Estimated costs are now $72K annually (gulp).