I know these are all different - small, medium - large. But where do you think the education is the best? Political science and media? Connections? Best reputation?
Also looking for an assessment on social life and diversity (thought, hometowns, culture)
2 weeks to go!!! Please add any information that may be helpful!
In the order you have it.
But what about cost?
Are you willing to play along with the religious culture requirements at Pepperdine? I donât know if they still do it, but last I knew, they require daily visits to chapel and monitored it via ID swipe.
Payscale published a report on career earnings of alumni of a long list of colleges. Hereâs how these 3 ranked:
I would take Payscaleâs report with a couple of barrels of salt. Self reported salaries taken from samples which are not even close to being random are not data from which you can produce any reliable conclusions.
Iâd take ANY feedback about which one of these is âbetterâ with that same dose of salt. Whatâs best is highly dependent on whatâs important to the student. The OP didnât give enough background on what they want their experience to be like to give an informed reply.
Do you have a better source of data? Iâd love to see it. I posted that information because the OP seemed interested in outcomes among other things. Payscale reports data. Otherwise weâre left with anecdotes, dubious ranking systems, etc.
If youâre taking Payscale with a couple of barrels of salt, weâll have to bring in truckloads for all of the other opinions posted here with far less basis in real world outcomes.
Payscale reports flawed data, but everything else you said was trueâŠtake EVERYTHING you here on this forum about comparing schools with a grain of salt. Most opinions are based on anecdote and confirmation bias (including some Iâve written 
)
How religious are you?
Whatâs your parentsâ budget and how much does each cost?
If you are looking for post-graduation pay, Payscale results for entire colleges are not too useful, since the mix of majors is a big influencer.
For post-graduation pay levels by major, take a look at College Scorecard, although it only includes graduates who received federal financial aid.
However, since two of the colleges are religious colleges of different religions, the OP needs to consider how much of a fit their religious beliefs are with the religious environments of those two colleges. This can greatly increase or decrease their desirability.
Of course, net price at each and how much that matters to the OP and family can matter.
HI - I purposely didnât tell you any more information because I wanted honest feedback. I am the mom. My son is choosingâŠand we are advising (nudging) and donât know which way to nudge!
LMU - We live about 25 minutes from LMU. It was one of the few schools that we got a tour of before the pandemic. He loves that it âfeels like homeâ to him, but then said, âwell, to be fair, it is practically home.â
Is LMU a good school? We are from NY so donât know anything about it. Is it the Fordham of the west? I think he wants to stay in LA, but if not, does it carry any weight nationally?
Is it full of locals or does it have some geographic diversity?
Pepperdine - he threw in this application on a whim. According the US News, it is ranked the best of the 3. I know US News is bs, but my husband lives by the rankings. Is this the most well known nationally? My son came from a large high school where teachers and advisors didnât really know the kids, so he wants a smaller school. Maybe not as small as this? ReligionâŠis it really religious or just spiritual? Is church that bad when he is overlooking the Pacific - can he just meditate? I canât get a feel for what is really required. We are not super religious, but not opposed to going to church.
SDSU - we would be much happier with this in state tuition. My son likes it. We were able to walk on campus last week. It seems massive and manageable. How are the class sizes, academics etc.? It doesnât rank that well, but it is getting very competitive to get into.
We thought it would be better if he got out of LA, but when we were driving around, he mentioned that if we wanted him to get a different life experience at college, this âwasnât it!â because it was similar to where we live now.
If money were no object, where should he go? We donât have the savings for the private schools (thank you COVID) but if he LOVES one of the others and they are significantly better for him, we will make it work.
He thinks he wants poli sci with some media. Possibly law school.
How would you âmake it workâ? If it means taking parent loans, or compromising your retirement savings or college money for other kids, that does not seem like a good idea.
A Place of Faith | Pepperdine University | Seaver College explains the religious aspect of Pepperdine.
For comparison, Our Mission - Loyola Marymount University is how LMU describes its mission.
I think your and your husband concerns about ranking and regionality should not be a concern. All are fine. Pepperdine has moved up but other than being the âstudioâ for teenager shows on Nick itâs not really known moreso than LMU.
Are there other optionsâŠmeaning farther from home with good cost with a solid name ?
If your unweighted gpa is 3.75 or more and you do quickly, you can apply and get into Arizona. Not home but not far. Great merit. Very respected flagship although I think your three are fine. The app will take 30 mins or lessâŠcan use common.
It will be more like SDSU but a better name nationally. Iâd assume based on size SDSU abd AZ will have larger classes, especially intro types.
Finances and then fit should be your focus, especially with the three you put out there.
If he did end up in law school all will be fine. Elites get you a leg up but after that anything solid is fine. And these are all solid.
By the way u have to be admitted to an by May 3 so act quicklyâŠif that were aN option. I know u did not ask but threw it out there as a compromise.
WRT Pepperdine
no you canât just meditate 
â Chapel is mandatory and counts in your GPA, all dorms have Christian spiritual advisors, LGBTQ students are referred to as âexperiencing same-sex attraction and dysphoriaâ (there is also a code of conduct that prohibits any sexual relationship). Professors and administrators must sign a creed. Religion and Western Civ are mandatory classes during your 1st year. The college is non denominational Christian in its teachings (Churches of Christ affiliated), offers service opportunities, seeks to be open-minded, and takes faith seriously. Itâs excellent if you want to grow in your faith, itâs fine if youâre Christian, but if youâre spiritual without a faith education, or if faith doesnât matter to you or youâre not religious (donât listen to Christian music, donât attend church regularly, donât pray/do devotions, etc.) itâd likely be a bit much. Also, out of respect for the school, itâs probably not a good idea going there thinking âcool viewsâ and ignore the religious aspect, which is central to their mission.
Your characterization of LMU as Fordham of the West is spot-on. 
Well, West Coast style.
SDSU: did he get into Honors?
We are waiting to hear about SDSU honors. I think that is a game changer.
I am sorry, but bad data is bad data, and the fact that it is the only data that is available does not magically turn it into good data.
He seems to want to stay is Southern California, since covid. He also got into University of Washington, SMU, U San Diego, Fordham. Waitlisted at University of Miami & Wisconsin and UCSC (which should have been a shoe in.)
Very odd mix, I know!
Itâs hard for me to see how SDSU is âjust like home,â but Pepperdine and LMU arenât. Can you explain more about that?
As for Pepperdine, heâd be in for a rude awakening. Iâd eliminate that one. Itâs hard because the campus and location are so beautiful, which is probably why he chose it. Heâd be miserable though. Nearly all of the people who go there live their religion. I canât think of anything tougher, other than maybe trying to attend BYU without being a member of the LDS faith.
Az is an hour plane ride. Easier campus to navigate than SDSU. donât know the finances but UW is outstanding and thereâs tons of cheap flights home.
Part of going to college is a little space. Heâll be ok.