<p>Hi everyone, I apologize for the delay in my response. I will try to answer each of your questions in turn.</p>
<p>teriyakibeef, all the LGBT students I knew at Pepperdine were quite happy. I never heard of any homophobia from the student body or the administration. In fact, the student body tends to be accepting of LGBT students. I knew a kid that was comfortable enough to come out at Pepperdine because of the support from his friends. </p>
<p>That said, there is no officially recognized LGBT organization on campus. The administration hasn’t recognized an official group because it would probably receive some sort of funding from the university. However, there have been some excellent conversations about this very issue on campus. Last spring the administration held a conference on this issue and invited LGBT students to speak to the administration. I thought it resulted in some very productive talks, and we may eventually see a formal group on campus. However, I can’t say that for certain. Other than the lack of a formal organization, the LGBT students generally have no problems at Pepperdine. There may be some exceptions, but I have never met any of them.</p>
<p>nkayy, congratulations on being a National Merit Semifinalist! That is a nice accomplishment. As far as aid goes, I am not certain how much aid Pepperdine gives out to NMFs. I had a buddy in school that was a NMF, and he received some sort of scholarship though. They may give out a separate scholarship or they may give you added consideration in divvying up Regents and Deans scholarships. The best place to get this answer is to email or call the financial aid office and ask them about their policy for NMFs. You can reach them here: <a href=“mailto:finaid2@pepperdine.edu”>finaid2@pepperdine.edu</a>. The people in the office are really nice and were always very helpful to me. They should be able to give you an answer. If not, I can ask my buddy how much money he received and get back to you. But email them first and see.</p>
<p>Of the Regents Scholars I knew, the only two that ever talked about their scores had around a 2200 SAT score and a 34 ACT score. That is only anecdotal evidence. I have no idea what the rest of their application package looked like. There may very well be people who get Regents Scholarships with lower scores. I just don’t know. However, if you want me to take an uneducated guess, I would say that you should at least get a Dean’s Scholarship, given your whole package. I can’t see how Pepperdine would allow a NMF to get away without offering fairly substantial financial aid. I hope that helps.</p>
<p>I knew several people that double majored. It is doable if you plan your schedule correctly. Depending on how many credits you have coming in, you may have to take a couple of summer school classes. However, one nice thing is that there are a lot of the same requirements for both majors because Pepperdine is a liberal arts school. One added benefit of the Music program is that you can get music credits out of the way in the summer study abroad program in Heidelberg, Germany that is designed specifically for the Music majors. It is wildly popular in that department and an excellent experience. Our Music program is actually very cool. I know you didn’t ask about this but we have a special classical guitar major that is taught by Christopher Parkening. He is the world’s premier classical guitarist and hand selects a few students each year to study under him. It really is a unique program. As a whole, I get the sense that Pepperdine takes a lot of pride in its music department. It goes to such lengths to ensure that there are great programs for the students and gets some very well known faculty to teach.</p>
<p>Our theatre program is very good. They always put on excellent productions. I believe the theatre program puts on at least one musical a year. Last year, the musical was Hello Dolly and the lead actress was a Music Major. I don’t have any inside information about how these productions select their casts, but I do know that they have people act in the musicals that are not theatre majors. Depending on your experience and fit, you would probably have a shot to continue with musical theatre at Pepperdine.</p>
<p>I never thought the campus seemed too small. Then again, I really enjoyed the community feel and seeing people I knew every day. If I ever wanted to get away, my apartment was a great place to go, or there were plenty of places on campus to hang out where there weren’t many people. Your experience will depend on how much you like the small school atmosphere. I was more introverted and did just fine with the close community. Some people may feel a little claustrophobic, but they just leave for the city on the weekends. I hope that answers your questions. Let me know if you have any more. Also, check on that financial aid thing with the office. They really are helpful and should give you a straight answer.</p>
<p>Cgjackson13, you sound like a strong candidate. Some of this will depend on what your SAT/ACT scores look like. If you get strong scores, you have a great chance of getting in. Your standardized test scores can go a long way to helping you get merit aid. However, if your family is struggling financially, you may stand to get a lot of need-based aid from Pepperdine. I recently saw on Forbes that Pepperdine is listed as one of the best value colleges because it gives out a lot of need-based grants (you don’t have to repay those). According to Forbes, over 25% of the student body receives need-based grants at an average discount of 70% from the cost of attendance. My advice is to study hard for your standardized test of choice and see if you can’t get a combination of scholarships and need-based aid. Other than that, you look like a strong candidate so far.</p>
<p>Again, I apologize for the delay with the responses. I will try to respond more quickly next time around.</p>