So iv just been accepted into Eckerd collage Florida (with a hefty scholarship) as well as applying to UCLA, Berkley, UCSD and Pepperdine (which I’m waiting to hear back from)
Now I know I’m defiantly going to America for uni I was wondering if anyone could help on what to expect as a British student going the States. Iv been attending boarding school all my life so dorms will not be a shock and both my parents went to Stanford so I’m up to date on what it was like 30 years ago but not really now.
yep fees are not an issue as I knew this before applying as for the religious thing is everyone at Pepperdine religious
or is there an element of inclusiveness
Welcome, @jessie1010. Yes, we will love your accent, and I apologize in advance for the many appalling things you will see and hear here. Just consider them part of your education.
Pepperdine is a religious college for devout Christians, it has mandatory religious obligations. So it all depends on what you mean by ‘inclusive’. (The general level of religiosity in the United States is usually a shock to British students so I’m not sure how it’d feel to you at an especially religious university). Pepperdine is an odd combination of glitz&glamour and conservative Protestant beliefs. (Like, it’s not BYU or Hope).
Eckerd is very different from UCs. It’s smaller, more personal, on the water. You’ll get to know your professors and classmates well, you’ll probably be involved in research (there may be a separate application). It’s freewheeling liberal/hippie, very different from Pepperdine. Student may be religious but it’s not a focus and there may be as many atheists as Christians and Jews.
It’s not so much a matter of inclusiveness- people at Pepperdine will be friendly and welcoming- but there is an explicitly Christian mission (“Pepperdine is a Christian university committed to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values, where students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service, and leadership.”), Even those who say ‘oh, I’m not religious’ will have come from active Christian backgrounds (and a lot of them from Texas).
So, for example, are you comfortable with bowing your head and holding hands around a cafeteria lunch table while somebody freestyles a blessing on the meal? (of course, not everybody does that- but most will be completely comfortable with that- it will be a very tiny minority who are not). The (gender segregated) dorms have (voluntary but heavily attended) weekly Bible study in the main lounge. The convocation program requires weekly attendance at an event designed to contribute to your spiritual growth (your grade is based on swiped in & out attendance). IMO, most Brits will perceive to be very stereotypically “American”. Pepperdine students generally really love their school- b/c it ‘fits’ them. But it is a school with a strong culture, and it is important that it fit you.
Congrats on the acceptance & merit money. Your choices are somewhat eclectic by US standards (hard to see somebody being equally happy at UC Berkeley & Pepperdine or Eckerd, for example). By any chance was geography a key metric in your choices??
There will be a big difference in the ethnic mix of the student populations at a UC vs. a private like Eckard or Pepperdine. Also, the 3 UC’s you have mentioned are very large research universities - Berkeley (42,000), UCLA (45,500) and San Diego (35,600). That is a big difference from the 1,000 something small liberal arts Eckard College or the 3,000 something Pepperdine. If money is not a factor, you will need to decide the size of campus that would appeal to you.
Few teachers take attendance in college - especially in a class of hundreds. You may be kept track of with quizzes or iClicker questions; success is generally predicted by your attendance, however.
Health insurance will be offered through the school. You will need it - no socialized medicine here. On-campus health centers can deal with every day medical issues.
As for the campuses themselves (California only):
Berkeley - urban, close to San Francisco and other northern California areas, decent public transportation
UCLA - in the heart of Los Angeles, between Beverly Hills and Brentwood and tonier areas, northeast of Santa Monica (the beach)
San Diego - close to the beach
Pepperdine - beautiful campus in Malibu
Driving on the right, drinking cold beer (eventually ;)) ), cosmetic dentistry, washing machines not in the kitchen, these are all harsh realities of life in the US.
One of my suitemates from last year is English but had spent several years in the States before college. I grew up as an American in a foreign country. Both of us were constantly complaining about the lack of good international food (both restaurants and grocery stores) in our area. When he found Heinz Beans in an Asian market he got about two dozen cans so he could have beans on toast. This will vary by region, but make sure you know of an import market around, or have your folks send you your favorite foods.
@ChoatieMom The young lady has likely spent her life reading vulgar, hyperbolic, vitriolic newspaper headlines on every street corner. I highly doubt anything she sees or hears in the US is going to shock her much.
Hmm, what do I think would shock a British student coming to the US? The fact that it’s called college when you’ve been going to college for seven years already. People yell at each other on the street for even the tiniest missteps. I find that odd. Though Americans criticize the lack of friendliness overseas, the salespeople aren’t really quite as friendly as the lovely ladies selling intimates at M&S. Nobody is going to call you “love” at Nordstrom or Macy’s. Nobody uses the word lovely. There is a sort of attitude that such words are snobbish. Take the choice at your average large Tesco’s and multiply it all by five! Buying laundry detergent requires an enormous amount of knowledge about the various functions laundry detergent can execute. 18-20 year olds can’t legally drink but they do anyway. They just can’t go buy it for themselves. Almost all the kids drive. Many people look down on public transportation. The courses are much broader, as you already know, I’m sure. Residence life is much more micro-managed. Having a roommate, as in sleeping in the same room, is totally normal. Beans for breakfast is not really a thing. People get angry a lot more often (I’m sorry everyone this is my experience as a longtime expat who only comes home every few years). I’m sure I could think of many more. Americans have a very, very romanticized idea of the UK – or they think it’s a crumbling hellhole. You’ll likely spend a lot of time dispelling myths.
As many have already mentioned, Pepperdine is like nothing you will have ever experienced. It’s known as one of the least gay-friendly schools in the US.
@jessie1010: All of the schools you’ve applied to are in sunshine states, so be prepared for lot of it. I’m in Dublin right now (not UK, I know), but after four weeks I’ve seen NO ONE, not a single person, with sunglasses. Yes, I know, the evil yellow ball doesn’t visit here often, but I HAVE seen it a couple of times. I am used to popping my sunglasses on the minute I’m out the door just because it’s daytime. Foreign concept here. Get some sunglasses if you don’t have any; you’ll want them the minute you leave the airport. You’ll also want a vat of sunscreen.
Thank god. Every morning, there are beans and what look like stewed tomatoes on the breakfast bar in the hotel here. And something called “bread pudding.” Just yuck.
That’s because outside of a few big U.S. cities good, extensive public transit is unknown. As @Kardinalschnitt posted, everyone drives. Unfortunately, the car (personal autonomy) is king in the U.S., and the car companies have a vested interest in keeping it that way. Terribly unfortunate.
Anyway, I’m sure you’ll have a lovely (<see what I did there) time in the U.S. We DO use the word “lovely,” but I don’t understand the UK’s use of “brilliant.”
Many boarding schools (if founded in the Episcopalian or Anglican tradition) have chapel talk. So going to Pepperdine where they may have routine chapel time won’t be altogether foreign. It seems like you picked beach towns. Even Berkeley where my student attends has a shuttle to the Berkeley marina for water sports. Berkeley has a whole International House dorm devoted to Internationals, so you’ll feel right at home. Malibu of course is delightful and SD is a nice beach spot as well. May have wanted to add UCSB to the mix. All of these would be great. Let us know where you land.
@ChoatieMom it’s black pudding for breakfast not bread pudding which is a dessert. I agree black pudding (blood sausage) is an acquired taste but an integral part of what is a “full English” breakfast, my dad loves it, unlike bread pudding which he had everyday for 2 years in the RAF…
(disclaimer: my mother is English, so I do get a yearning for some UK goodies every one in a while) Try Cost Plus World Market for a small but consistent selection of UK foodstuffs (you will definitely find them on the west coast, plus it looks like a sprinkling in FL). Otherwise, if you are looking beyond that, Berkeley has some GREAT restaurants - we’ve eaten Thai, Japanese, Korean, Louisianan (New Orleans being a culinary world unto itself), Italian, Mexican, Ethiopian, you name it. Prices tend to be reasonable around the campus because college students usually have little money, and there is a fair amount of churn in the restaurant business there (rents are probably sky high), so there is always something new opening up.
Can’t speak to all the schools the OP was accepted to but, there is definitely another side to Pepperdine. I know there are non-Christians who attend there. -and even one current student who focused on another religion in her application. The students I know are happy with the school.
Also, there is a serious party scene if you are looking for it. -off campus
Pepperdine may appear to be a religious school but, for better or worse, there is far more to the campus culture than the previous posts suggest.
