waitlisted: to stay, or not to stay?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Pepperdine University
1

<p>I was just waitlisted, which was a surprise. I'm not trying to be immodest or anything, but I really thought I had a fighting chance - 35 on my ACT, lots of ECs and awards, and I had just gotten rejected from Columbia (my first choice) so i was REALLY frustrated.
I already sent in my decision to stay on the WL, but now I'm wondering....I already sent in my tuition deposit at TCU and I got a large scholarship and wouldnt be in debt if I went there.....only its in Ft. Worth. Except Pepp costs wayyyy more and I obviously wouldnt get scholarships if I am WL, even if I do get accepted.</p>

<p>Anyone else waitlisted and not sure if they want to go? Why/ Why not?</p>

2

<p>D WL last year, glad she did, but she was only one of two accepted. CHeck with your admission counselor on what the chances are this year. I was at the Malibu Reception on Saturday and they said they had a larger than normal turnout...not good for WL people, but you never know. Most of the people were still undecided however. Good luck in your decision.</p>

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<p>I'm surprised you got waitlisted with a 35. Was your GPA low?</p>

<p>My daughter won't be going to Pepperdine after all, so her spot will be available.... She did not get an academic scholarship, and I just can't justify spending 45K for Pepperdine since she did not get an financial aid. It looks like being a member of COC is a huge help with the scholarships. Many students with lower scores than my daughter got academic scholarships, but they are COC, and therefore get priority.</p>

4

<p>so sorry kmkord, I love Pepperdine, my D is really happy, but I agree COC seems to get priority despite lower scores</p>

5

<p>For the record, unless things have recently changed, I don't think a student's specific religion has much to do with the scholarship amount that Pepperdine offers. My daughter received the second highest scholarship that Pepperdine offers last year, and she is a Roman Catholic.</p>

<p>However, she ultimately decided to not attend Pepperdine, thereby (hopefully) freeing up that money for someone else.</p>

6

<p>I was told by the admissions office that the cutoff for academic scholarships for non-COC member was a 4.0 and 32 on the ACT or 1420 on the SAT. My daughter had a 4.0 and a 31, so she was not offered any academic scholarships. She found several people on the Pepperdine 2011 facebook group who has similar or even lower statistics who got academic scholarships. Most of those people were COC, and when I questioned the scholarship committee, I was told that they get money from a separate pool even though the scholarships are call by the same names at the non COC scholarships. Supposedly, they offer the academic scholarships to the top 10-12% of admitted students. They must have an awful lot of students with a 4.0 applying. It also would be nice if they would have given prospective student an idea of the scores necessary to get the scholarship. They should also be upfront that COC students can get scholarships with lower scores.</p>

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<p>KMKORD--I feel your pain......just returned from the admitted students day. We talked to everyone we could regarding the money situation. It was odd how everyone seemed very uncomfortable with the subject. It was driving me crazy. Now, that I'm home, I realize it is the whole COC thing. I wish they would just be more upfront as well. It would have saved us a lot of time and money that I spent on two trips to LA.</p>

<p>Also, wasn't so impressed with the admitted day. We are somewhat disappointed and slightly confused about this whole Pepperdine experience.</p>

<p>Good luck to your daughter.</p>

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<p>lhg, why didn't you like the reception? I'm just curious to hear your opinion. I'm trying to make a decision on Pepperdine.</p>

9

<p>My Daughter had talked to a lot of students regarding the scholarship. There is also a facebook group for Pepperdine 2011 students. People had posted about getting scholarships there, which made my Daughter question why she didn't get an academic scholarship. When they say they offer scholarships to the top 10-12% of students applying, they don't really say that the COC students have an advantage.</p>

<p>I don't mean this to come of as cocky or anthing, but I guess I have a hard time believing that my Daughter didn't fall into the top 10-12% of ALL students that were accepted. She will graduate number 1 out of 500 students, and performed well on the ACT. I think Pepperdine needs to be clear about the scholarships that are available, who gets preference and provide as many details as possible about how the scholarships are determined. The way that they dealt with the whole thing left a lot to be desired. If you tell students that religious affiliation doesn't matter, then is shouldn't matter.</p>

10

<p>PianoClassic,</p>

<p>First off, let me say that I am a mother, not a student. Pepperdine has been first choice for DS all year. I went to Admitted Day with high expectations. I think that is my problem.</p>

<p>I've searched the internet all year and read things like "dorms like palaces"....etc. The dorms are like every other dorm. It is a suite situation, and it is nice to have a living room. I guess I thought they were going to be furnished much nicer. Home decor is my passion, so I am a little particular.</p>

<p>The weight room was closed that day. We know it is small, but I thought it was odd not to be available for show. The reception was mostly like an after concert event in high school--punch cookies, fruit.</p>

<p>Everytime we call one of the offices, a student answers, and is not authorized to put me through to the staff member I am looking to speak with. I think that is odd. All the other admissions offices and fin. aid offices have been more than willing to help out answering questions. On our initial visit, we were not offered a dorm tour, overnight visit, a meal or a class visit. Al this I also find odd compared to other schools.</p>

<p>The grounds , I really don't find all that beautiful, compared to two other schools on DS's list. I wonder how it will be without a car, stuck on that hill. It's quite a hike to Ralph's or CVS.</p>

<p>We did meet with a prof. He was great. If that is any indication of the teaching staff, then I feel good. The classroom itself--not so nice. There were water stains all over the ceiling. It was like an old high school classroom.</p>

<p>I think their study abroad program would be fun. Does that look good to a potential employer? I don't know. </p>

<p>Overall, I think the profs will be caring, and the classes interesting. We just didn't feel all that special on Sat. </p>

<p>Ask me any questions. My hand is now too tired to go on.
Good luck to you.</p>

11

<p>Well, I know I have said a lot about Pepperdine on this site, but I will still chime in on this post. I was at the reception at the end of the day in Malibu, so I can't say much about the whole event. I did not attend last year because D was on the WL. I can say that the Orientation in August was exceptional and confirmed for us that our D's first choice was the best for her.</p>

<p>I have always been able to contact whomever I needed for any situation at Pepperdine with ease, yes there are students often answering the phones, but they are polite and knowledgable for general information. The use of students is common practice especially at private colleges.</p>

<p>When my question has gone beyond their realm of information, they have either connected me or directed me to a superior. I have found so many people go out of their way for both my D and myself. The list would include finance, tech, student services, dept. chair, athletics and parent program.
I have found that the best means of communication is email. My D had excellent communication with the admissions advisor when she was on the WL. We have found a very personal touch.<br>
We went the summer before she started to drop off some forms and ask a couple of questions. We had people (non-student employees) give personal escorts to show us where to get the info we needed. The tech dept was in the middle of moving building, but yet stopped to help my D with her computer and software. We visited the Museum and left with my D being hired to work there parttime when school started. The woman who oversees the museum came outside to meet me and express what a wonderful young lady my D was after the impromptu interview. We were blown away, as were her friends who are at other private schools, how we were treated by people who weren't even expecting us.
The dorms are just dorm...it was a magazine article that made the statement about them, not the school. At the last forum at the reception, they jokingly alluded to it and pointed out that it was the students votes not the university. I think the dorms are fine and functional and allow for personalization. The common areas are kept very clean by the service and the suite style helps the kids to bond quickly. There are repairs that do seem to be neglected, such as blinds and closet doors, but most of the kids don't notice or complain. Can't beat the view! Sorry!</p>

<p>My D loves most of her instructors and has found them very personable and helpful. The class sizes are great for her and had only one class in the one large assembly room, Elkins hall.</p>

<p>Most of the kids I have encountered rave about their experience oversees. Transferring as Soph. My D did not go oversees. However, she is going this summer for one of their summer programs in Florence. The attending professor who will travel with them is Dr. Benton, the school president. He attended the student info night and then gave a dinner in his home for the 50 students that are going. There is certainly a sense of comfort that he cares about these kids.</p>

<p>My D's dept chair worked with her to straighten out her schedule the first day of orientation. She has continued to be her advisor and meets personally with her.</p>

<p>I know i am prejudice, but only because our experience has been nothing but positive. Is it the best school for everyone, no. But it has been an exceptional experience for my D who had been at a school that never knew she existed her freshman year, in classes where the teachers never knew her name and dormmates who didn't care about their education and just hung out and partied. </p>

<p>So there it is. Good luck with your decisions, find the school to fulfill your dreams...</p>

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<p>JC,</p>

<p>So glad your daughter is happy with her choice. Thank you for your insight.</p>

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<p>i saw someone was told that the cutoff for academic scholarships was a 4.0 GPA and a 32 ACT or 1420 SAT. i'm rather leary of those numbers, to say the least. i was offered the regents' academic scholarship (24k per year) and my stats were rather lower than that: 3.8 GPA, 31 ACT, 1340 SAT. i'm a roman catholic, not church of christ (although i do have a history of church of christ in my family). i don't know where those numbers came from, but they can't be accurate.</p>

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<p>The more I read about other students who received academic scholarships, the more disheartened I am about Pepperdine. We were told that the top 10-12% of students would receive merit scholarships. My daughter thought she had a great chance of getting one, since we were told that they are based strictly on GPA and test scores. My D will be valdictorian with a 4.0UW and a 31 ACT. When we first found some students who had gotten scholarships with equal or slightly lower stats, we contacted Pepperdine, and were told that those students were COC, so they drew from a different scholarship pool. We even had names of some students that we provided to Pepperdine. Since these scholarships are based solely on stats (according to Pepperdine) we felt that contacting Pepperdine for clarification was the best thing to do. That is when I was told by one of the people on the scholarship committee that the cutoff was a 4.0 and 32 on the ACT. Now we are finding other students with equal or slightly lower stats that have gotten these scholarships that are not COC. What gives? Pepperdine would still be my D's first choice, but if Pepperdine is not going to be fair about awarding merit scholarships, I don't think it is the place for my D. Any others out there get scholarships who are not COC, and have stats lower that 4.0 & 32 ACT or equivalent SAT? If so, please post here or contact me via PM, or even email me at <a href="mailto:kmmord@aol.com">kmmord@aol.com</a>.</p>

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<p>I think that when all things are considered somewhat equal they look at other factors to determine final scholarships as there are limited funds. So trying to determine strictly based on score is not necessarly going to clarify this situation. Pepperdine even in acceptance does not make decision strictly based on scores. So although someone may fall in the qualifying range according to scores, there are additional factors they are probably looking at to make final decisions which may give a lower score an edge. This is not a hidden factor in their acceptance policy, however I am not sure about scholarship. There are various scholarships with varying qualifications. </p>

<p>There are schools that base everything strictly on academic scores and that may be a better fit for you and your D. I personally was drawn to Pepperdine because they see qualities in students beyond scores and accept according to the culture of the school and probably offer scholarships based on scores and those they strongly feel they what to attract based on other factors to the campus. If you read other posts on cc in the parents section, you will find that acceptances and scholarships nationwide are quite unpredictable as it is difficult from year to year to predict what a particular school may need. For example if they are trying to build their commmunications dept., they may draw more communication majors into the acceptance and scholarship pool. If they are heavy on theater majors, it will be more difficult to get in and/or draw scholarship. This is not unique to Pepperdine as private schools go.</p>

<p>I know it is difficult when it is personal and affecting your child. There is no cut and dry explanantion for the final choices at any school that chooses their acceptance pool on a variety of factors, which in my opinion, is preferred over scores that only give a 2 dimensional picture of any student. There should be far more depth to what a student can offer a school beyond their scores. I am sure your D has incredible gifts beyond her scores and I would hope she would want to be evaluated beyond those numbers.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decision and the best fit for your D.</p>

16

<p>Given that I have two kids in college now, I can tell you with certainty that, well, there is no certainty about financial aid, be it merit or need money... no matter the school.</p>

<p>While we really weren't surprised at the merit money our oldest daughter received, given her academic credentials, we were in for a ride during our youngest daughter's quest last year to find the right college, both for her sake as well as her parent's sake ($$$), given her credentials (salutatorian at a private school with graduates going to Harvard, Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame-level schools, with enough AP credits to allow her to enter any university as a sophomore).</p>

<p>She applied to 9 schools (2 public in-state, 7 private), and received vastly different packages from all of them, making both her decision (as a matter of pride) and her parent's decision (as a matter of $$$) quite a difficult one.</p>

<p>Pepperdine offered her a very nice scholarship amount, which made the resulting cost comparable to the other private universities to which she applied. The real surprise to us was the lack of merit money from the in-state public universities, even though she was being heavily recruited from private schools... and one prestigious private university in North Carolina (who shall remain nameless) who didn't offer her one cent, making the cost to attend there to be in the mid-$40s. Hmmm...</p>

<p>In the end, she chose a school (Notre Dame) which was simply the best fit for her, and we as her parents coudn't agree more. This school doesn't explicitly offer merit aid, but it did offer some financial aid to make our decision easier to support her attendance there.</p>

<p>My advice - don't feel offended by the lack of merit money from Pepperdine, or anywhere else for that matter. Just try to roll with the punches, all the while knowing that you should feel proud of your daughter's accomplishments.</p>

<p>In the end, things have a way of working out :-)</p>

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<p>How much $ is the highest merit scholarship Pepperdine offers? Is there such thing as a fullride merit scholarship?</p>

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<p>I believe it's the Regents Scholarship, $24,000 per academic year.</p>