So I am having a lot of trouble making the above decision.
I know that Pepperdine is generally ranked higher in education than Hofstra, but I feel like Hofstra has the better program for my major. Is there any truth to that?
However, Pepperdine is also in a good area for technology in general, so there is the possibility of a great internship.
I have also been accepted into ASU, but based on what I have read the would be the least prestigious option in terms of education, despite the financial incentive in comparison to the other two universities.
Lastly, I am planning on transferring being a real possibility in my college career. I applied to UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, and Northeastern but got declined from all of them. I have a 2060 (superscore) SAT, 30 ACT, and a 3.4 unweighted GPA. If I do well at Pepperdine or Hofstra, how realistic is a successful to transfer to any of those schools?
Follow-up to #1: are you instate for California schools?
And, as dadof1 asked, are you committed to growing in your faith (Pepperdine is a conservative evangelical college that’s excellent for conservative evangelical students who want to nurture and grow in their faith).
Hofstra: $33,161 per year
Pepperdine: $42,352 per year
ASU: $30,362 per year
My parents are willing and able to pay for every school through loans. I am not in-state for California schools.
I was raised Catholic, but no I am not very religious. I suppose I wouldn’t mind the religious stuff too much, but it is not really a benefit for me either. I would probably only do what was required of me regarding religion. Also, I am sure (although this is a significant assumption) that there are many kids who go there that are not very religious, and that would be more than enough close friends for me. I mean I don’t need to connect with everyone on all levels, haha. I will say that what is larguably the nicest campus in the US is a big part of what Pepperdine makes very alluring. Perhaps I’m being naive, but if I could get a good CS education there, well, the location is a big incentive to choose it over most other places.
Do any of them have high GPA requirements to renew scholarships, or enter the CS major if you are not admitted directly to the CS major?
Pepperdine appears to have some deficiencies in its CS offerings. For example, there are no courses on algorithms/complexity, databases, compilers, graphics, artificial intelligence listed in the CS section of the catalog.
Pepperdine is not a college where you go if you’re casual about your faith (and some students may consider that Catholics are not really Christian).
Did you apply to Barrett (the honors college)? It’s strange you didn’t get in. If you didn’t apply, do so ASAP. Plus you might get an extra scholarship if you get in.
In my opinion, it’s betwen ASU and Hofstra academically for CS, with ASU Fulton having an edge, and since you don’t seem all that committed to your faith, I’d say Pepperdine is a bad fit.
Please disregard some of the above comments regarding Pepperdine and religion…sheesh. I have 3 nieces and nephews whom have all graduated within the last few years from Pepperdine and none of them are “super religious”. Here is a thread you can reference on the subject that might help.
However, Pepperdine is the most expensive and has the most limited CS department, so it may be the least suitable on those bases, even without the religion aspect.
@moscott : can you clarify, as this would be important for OP (use your best guess based on what you know about their upbringing, your brother/sister’s philosophy, what the kids have shared with you…)
do your nieces/nephews own a Bible?
do they read it occasionally? or at least once a week? more?
do they know Bible verses by heart?
do they read Christian books, do Bible Study?
did they attend church every week while growing up?
do they currently attend church once a month or more? By choice or because they're required to?
did they go to Sunday school?
did they go to Bible camp?
did they attend a church youth group?
do they belong to Young Life, Cru, FCA..?
do they believe that education can't be separated from faith?
do they say grace/pray before they eat (or did they while growing up)?
do they support "religious freedom" clauses that allow businesses to refuse service (ie., did they support the baker in the Colorado case)?
do they support "religious freedom" clauses that allow wider discrimination against LGBTQ people (such as were passed in NC, KS, or MS)?
are they prochoice?
do they believe that, in order to go to Heaven, you need to be saved? Or do unsaved believers go to Heaven too? What about atheists?
do they consider that an atheist can be as moral and upstanding as a Christian?
do they pray? Do they know prayers? Do they pray with others as a youth group activity?
do they consider Intelligent Design a scientific hypothesis equal to Evolution?
do they believe in "Young Earth" (Earth being about 6,000 years old)?
do they listen to Christian bands? Exclusively? In part?
do they object to Harry Potter? Have books they consider "off limits" as being unchristian?
Most, if not all, students attending Pepperdine would have very clear answers to these questions. These questions would matter to them and be part of who they are. Taking religion and your faith seriously is important to the Pepperdine ethos, rather than the casual way OP refers to faith (“raised catholic”, “wouldn’t mind religious stuff too much”, “not a real benefit”.) I personally wouldn’t consider OP a good fit for Pepperdine if growing in his/her faith is seen as “not a real benefit”.
Regardless, those are important facts for OP, so your answers would be very useful.
No…they are what we call Chreasters…they attend church on Christmas and Easter
I would say 1 attends maybe once every couple months…the other 2 no church
When they were very little they went to Sunday school sometimes
1 went to Bible camp…other 2 no
Absolutely they seperated their education from their faith
No grace before meals
Don’t know their views on the topic but overall 1 is very liberal the other 2 moderate politically.
Yes…they believe you must be saved to go to Heaven.
All 3 have G&L friends and associates
2 pray…1 no
no objections to Harry Potter lol
Their father is very religious…mother less so.
Niece #1 is now in her first year of residency at Vanderbilt
Niece#2 received her degree in criminal justice and is currently a Sheriff in Malibu
Nephew #3 was a Google challenge winner and currently is a Digital Strategist
All of them LOVED their time at Pepperdine and had many other options to choose. None of them would describe Pepperdine as “Uber religious”. There a lot of high quality character student both religious and non who attend Pepperdine.
Thank you so much. It’s very useful.
Everything I know about Pepperdine tells me it’s not for the casual Christian so your niece/nephew’s experiences are a great counterpoint.
Has it become closer to lmu?
You shouldn’t borrow more than 5.5K for your first year. You can work - part time now till graduation, full time over the summer, and work study during the year. If your parents can’t pay 20K out of pocket, then you’ve got no affordable choices and you must either choose a community college or take a gap year. (During the gap year, you work, perhaps retake the ACT or the SAT, and apply to a different list of colleges after running the NPC to make sure they’ll be affordable.)
So I guess I should figure out if I should remove Pepperdine from my choices at this point. The only things that would keep it in for me are:
Possibility of an internship in California
Possible easier transfer to other California schools (this is just a guess, I would love some info on whether or not the location of the school effects, in any way, your transfer possibilities. For example, let's say I do well at Hofstra or Pepperdine. Am I better off at one or the other for transfers to USC or Berkeley?).
The experience in Malibu being very positive and enjoyable. I'm confident that I would be happy here and hey, I think that's worth something.
Also thanks for the info on the religious stuff moscott, very comforting to know that there are people who are more similar to me religiously there.
Also interesting that you guys say that ASU is probably better than Hofstra for CS. I will apply to the honors college tomorrow when I get a chance. Super late of course, but I’ve got nothing to lose.
Lastly, I have to say i am surprised at the the dislike of loan usage. Isn’t this what most families with relatively academically successful child do? However I did word that rather poorly. My parents will likely take a loan the first year and then be able to pay most of the tuition upfront for any of the schools after that. I’m an only child and will likely do work/study to help pay off my direct student loans.
Students can get federal direct loans up to $5,500 first year, increasing to $7,500 in the last two years. Parent loans or parent-cosigned student loans beyond that are usually not advisable.
If CS is your priority, choose between ASU and Hofstra. Why pay significantly more at Pepperdine for a much weaker CS department?