<p>I absolutely love Pepperdine, and it is my number one choice. I love CA and can't wait to be there, but my only issue is that I'm from the East Coast. I was wondering what type of student went to Pepperdine, because they say the student population is diverse, but that's the school talking. Does anyone have any insight into what the typical Pepperdine student is like, and what I should prepare myself for if I attend? What is the biggest stereotype that is true on campus?</p>
<p>well I'm not a student there, but by looking at other forums and considering the location of the school, the common stereotype would be a white student who is very wealthy. They drive BMW's and Cadillacs and wear all the trendy clothes.</p>
<p>I was curious about the same thing, and will stick out in my accord :). I'm also from the East Coast (NC).</p>
<p>diverse? ha the opposite
if you are super religious and white then it should be a good match</p>
<p>During our visit this past fall we noticed that there were virtually no junker-type cars anywhere students parked, and a whole lot of Lexus, BMW and other high end SUVs as well as some rather nice sports cars. We saw one girl in sweatpants; everyone else seemed to be wearing nice or very nice clothing, including jeans which D told me are quite expensive. (I'm old enough to have no clue about discerning the price of jeans when someone is wearing them, but apparently that's not hard if you're in high school.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, people were uniformly nice -- anytime we got lost (which was way too often given the construction & resulting closed-off pathways) there was always someone who would get us headed the right way, and quite often walked along with us until we reached the next branching point.</p>
<p>As expected, most of the students we saw were Anglo -- and a whole lot looked like typical California blondes. There were a number of African-American students, but I can't recall seeing any visibly-Hispanic students, which surprised me a bit.</p>
<p>The affluence issue is still a bit of a concern, since we're decidedly middle class and Midwestern. If D ends up there, she certainly won't be doing any clothes shopping nearby, unless there's a great consignment shop handy. But, the classes seemed very interesting, the activities were plentiful, and the niceness of the students we met all were pluses. The dorm arrangements seem a bit stilted, and the dorm we visited didn't have a real warm feeling to it. (A cement box. A cement box with views of the ocean, but still, a cement box.)</p>
<p>I just got back from visiting. I honestly have to disagree with the stereotypes that people say about the school. Yes, most students were white. However, I didn't feel the whole "rich and snobby" vibe AT ALL. There were nice cars mixed with Hondas and Toyotas too. From what I saw, the most designer any students were wearing were True Religion jeans and that was only on two girls. Many students had Pepperdine clothes on and a lot of girls seemed like they were athletes by the sporty clothes they were wearing. Obviously, from what I saw during my stay wasn't the whole school, but I think the stereotypes are off.</p>
<p>Ararab, that is really weird about the dorm you visited. The dorm I was in was suite style and completely decorated by the RAs which our tour guide said is one of their duties. I got a very communal effect from it and all of the dorms are supposed to be decorated according to a theme, so I find it weird that you would refer to it as a cement box. Perhaps they were doing construction?</p>
<p>We were not allowed to view any of the dorms on my formal tour last year. (I guess I could have asked a student)</p>
<p>Re the cement box dorm</p>
<p>We were taken into the ground floor common room of one dorm and it really was just a cememt box -- and wasn't under construction. There were some handmade posters up around the walls, but it sure didn't feel like a place where I'd like to settle down with a book or with a friend. We didn't get to go upstairs, possibly because we had a male on our tour and the dorms are rigorously single-sex. (Or, it could have been because we had the world's weirdest tour guide: the dorm was one of the very few buildings we ever went in. D and I joked that it was the famous tour of the exteriors of Pepperdine buildings.)</p>
<p>Aw, that's a shame - maybe some dorms are newer than others. We were really lucky to have a great tour guide. I believe we only went into the dorms and chapel too. Oh, and we were all girls and they still didn't take us up into the actual rooms. Pepperdine is a beautiful school; good luck to your daughter! :)</p>
<p>As a former student, I can honestly say the population is NOT diverse. They are the typical SoCal population, and everyone wears masks. </p>
<p>Be prepared to have everyone smile and be friendly with you, but half of that is genuine, the other half is hiding something. I have organized events like IM sports tournaments, community service events, outings like hikes and camping trips where 50-100 people will sign up and agree to go. On the day of, a handful shows up. They make all kinds of excuses, rather than just telling you the truth that they do not want to do it. </p>
<p>I grew up in SoCal, so I am used to it. It might be a shock for people not from the area. I know a lot of international students from Europe felt that way.</p>
<p>I think it's true that the typical Southern California kids attend Pepperdine. They are pretty materialistic. Based on what my friends who go there have told me, kids are two-faced in that they act Christian and moral around campus, but you can see them on weekends/facebook getting drunk and stuff off campus.</p>
<p>^ thats like every christian ive met....</p>
<p>In regards to the dorms, I really miss my freshman dorm! There really was a strong sense of community between most of the suites, and we had some really great dorm-wide activities. However, some of my friends are RAs this year and complain about how hard it is to get their residents involved, so a lot of it really depends on luck of the draw and who you end up with.</p>
<p>The RAs are responsible for decorating the dorm to a theme, but some do a better job than others. And most of the decorations are in the lobby area, and then signs on the doors; if there's any decorations up on the walls of the suite common areas, it's probably done by the residents of that suite.</p>
<p>As for the type of students, you do have a lot of the stereotypical Southern Californians, but I'd argue that there is a lot of diversity in regards to where students are from, and their lifestyles. You have those who like to party, you have those who honestly came to Pepperdine for the religious affiliation, and there are some who are a mix of the two, or neither.</p>
<p>ennaxor, are you enjoying Pepperdine?</p>
<p>TheBlackLantern, haha surely not EVERY one, but I agree that many are hypocrites.</p>
<p>eyebeg2differ - I love it at Pepperdine!</p>
<p>I've made a lot of really great, genuine, friends. I'm not into partying, so none of the restrictions in that regard bother me. I spent both semesters last year in London, which was amazing, and I'm going back this summer with a great internship.</p>
<p>I disagree with some people here. Most Cal schools are diverse as hell and this certainly isn't one of them. It seems so out of place. So many whites -- must be because its religious.</p>
<p>My D's 1st year, her roommate was Brazilian, suitemates from Spain, Korean/Australian, and Asian. 2nd year her roommate was African American, suitemates African American and white, 3rd year white, Asian and ???? Her best friends that she does not live with, Asian, African American, white, middle eastern. So there you go.</p>
<p>@ bxkxrxxx I agree with you here. Pepperdine doesn't boast its diversity. And if it did, it would be lying. They really have an idea of what students they want, and if you don't fit that mold, you don't qualify. </p>
<p>In my application, they actually asked for a photo before accepting me into the program. I can only imagine that A) they wanted to keep their campus beautiful, or B) they only wanted certain "types" of students. Why else would they need photos before sending out acceptance letters?</p>
<p>And EVERY school in California can boast more diversity than Pep. Even private schools like USC and Stanford. Lets not kid ourselves by saying that there is any kind of diversity here. They might have stepped outside the circle by accepting a few students not conforming to the rules, but they did not go far. To say that they are diverse is like saying my hatchback qualifies as a minivan cause it can hold a lot of cargo.</p>