Any thoughts on why Chapman ranks #125 in USNWR while Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara are #64 and #54 respectively? All three universities went from Regional to National university status in 2020 and all seem relatively comparable. My daughter loves Chapman, but I’m wondering why the large gap between Chapman and LMU and SCU?
Of the three, SCU is the overall better college, is more selective than LMU and Chapman, and its location in Silicon Valley is a plus for many employers. They also just got a 250 million for their new engineering school.
Btw- USNews rankings are misleading as it doesn’t include all colleges in its rankings. Forbes rank SCU #51, LMU #124 and Chapman #178.
As a Santa Clara alumnus, I am going to say that the school learned how to game the rankings. And the costs are similar to Stanford/Ivies.
If Chapman has the majors that OPs student is interested, then apply.
D20 liked both schools (we’ve visited), but she felt the area surrounding SCU was sleepy. As an alum, do you agree? She likes the internship opportunities at SCU, but likes SoCal better (overall). All three offer good programs for her area of interest (English major with journalism/digital media minor or double major).
@cuppasbux Chapman and USC would be better for anyone interested in multimedia/film studies.
Santa Clara is not the most happening place, although it’s less than an hour away from San Francisco by train.
Hi OP, we didn’t focus very much on rankings but more on our visits and our own research and findings. My D is a junior at LMU. She loves it. I think her only complaints would be housing was hard sophomore and junior year, possibly due to construction/renovation which will solve the problem in the future but caused a shortage during her time. She also visited and liked Chapman a lot, knows several who go there and who are very happy.
It is important to realize that the US News ranking are a marketing tool, designed to sell subscriptions… Schools are ranked based on a set of criteria they have deemed appropriate. They may, or may not, be well aligned with what your daughter is looking for from her college experience.
All 3 of the schools are fine… assuming you aren’t’ financially constrained, and they’ve all accepted you, pick the one that best fits her criteria. Honestly, it won’t maternally impact her employ-ability after she graduates.