Hi everyone, seeking some wisdom from this group. We spent the week visiting SoCal colleges and added Chapman to the list mainly to get a range of different sizes and types (UCLA, Oxy, CSULB, etc) for my son who is a junior in HS. Didn’t know anything about Chapman before the visit and his college counselor was weirdly negative about the school, described it as very preprofessional, not very good academically, very conservative, not very good school – normally she is both pretty accurate and pretty neutral, so this was surprising. Even more surprising is how much we all liked it - size seemed perfect, campus is beautiful, students were very friendly and seemed quite diverse, academic programs seemed really solid - hard to tell, of course, but the kids we talked to seemed engaged in their studies and connected to their profs. My son is not looking at, nor would he be competitive for Dodge which seemed incredible - he would probably be doing a liberal arts program such as Poli Sci. So I have two questions: 1. Is the school actually very conservative socially or politically? I didn’t see signs of it, but that would be good to know. 2. Has it changed in the last couple years? I am still trying to get my head around why I haven’t ever heard of this place that seems pretty great, and also why the counselor might have had such a negative impression. Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
Greetings! My son is a freshman this year at Chapman. This school (about 7k undergrad) has been on our radar for many years as parents of friends in my daughter’s grade (she graduated 2023 from UC Berkeley) and previous had kids who came attended here. Everyone really had glowing reports and felt it was a great place for their children so we were interested, as we and our daughter only are familiar with Cal and all its issues being a large public institution (struggles in getting classes, housing, advising, etc). My son has a 504 so the smaller classes and more intimate environment has been truly amazing. He is studying Data Science and Business (also not Dodge) and the classes seem rigorous though he seems to be well supported, just as the students you talked to appear. He is enjoying social life also-has friends from all majors inc. Dodge - and is actually sad that freshman year has passed by so fast. 1)the school does not seem very conservative. They support a diverse student body with a broad spectrum of beliefs (when you have so many kids from the arts and entertainment industries, it is natural there are many beliefs expressed on campus - LGBTQ, etc) and they have an interfaith religious center that supports many religious groups, their website says “Chapman University is not a Christian college, but a church-related school” as founders were from United Church of Christ. So not religious, like LMU or USD, which we had also considered 2) I think the reason why this school lies low is the smaller size, which might feel too small for some kids who like a larger more “rah-rah” school with the football games atmosphere, etc. As parents, the freshman orientation drop off included us in talks, meals, a special candle-lighting ceremony, and a convocation fireworks send off, where we were able to meet many other parents. Chapman has also made the effort to have regional meet ups in areas outside So Cal - so we have met up with other parents from other grades and gleaned more useful tips and info. The culture overall is friendly, engaging, while also reminding us parents to let go of our students so they can be independent. The parent Facebook pages are really active with lots of questions about everything but respectful, so we feel informed but we are not doing everything for our son.
One very recent issue was a former Chapman Dean of Law school John Eastman, former Trump lawyer and Chapman Law School dean, faces possible disbarment - CBS Los Angeles. was in the news. But honestly, I don’t believe his political stance or beliefs represent Chapman as a whole in any way.
I am not sure why the counselor would have a negative impression about the school other than that it is not on the prestigious lists currently. As your son selects a major, I do urge him to reach out to students in that school to get a feeling of what their experience is (there is a feature on their admissions page my son used where you can reach out to current students and ask them questions and they actually respond! - he had questions about their data science program which is very new and what the courses involved, etc.) Please feel free to PM me if you have questions about anything - we are now talking to a couple kids who are seniors now making their selections and looking closely at Chapman - so maybe can forward you to someone who might help you also! Good luck!
A smaller, wealthier student body attending school in Orange County conservative? Couldn’t be, could it? 
Actually, according to the niche poll - doesn’t mean it’s right, 10% are conservative, 35% moderate, 19% liberal, 29% very liberal and 6% don’t care.
A little over half get need based aid and many get merit aid (discounting to ward off the competition).
Chapman is a fine name but yes, business is it’s biggest major so that would give off the preprofessional vibe - and it’s also known for film, etc. And many of its majors are pre professional.
That doesn’t make it not right for poli sci…you might ask the school for your student to speak to a student ambassador. You might also look at offerings - do they offer enough breadth to meet your student’s need? And what are their career outcomes for poli sci kids?
It’s a fine name but definitely a more regional name and not as well known as other so cal schools, including the jesuit schools. And I think also an easier admit. I have a HS friend whose daughter goes for elementary ed and they’ve been pleased.
If you find a place that your student would be happy then two things:
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Can you afford it?
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What other schools are like it - so you can expand your base of potential schools.
Are you looking So Cal only? For poli sci, U of Denver comes to mind.
But just because someone doesn’t have strong feelings for it doesn’t make it not right for your student.
Good luck
DD had Chapman on her college visit list. So we have been there. Our visit was in 2005.
The students were the friendliest we met anywhere. When we looked perplexed as we arrived, a couple of students came and asked if they could help us…and they did.
We never got the vibe that this was a school of “wealthy, conservative” students.
Our kids was able to meet with department chairs, and other faculty in her areas of interest. Tour was given by a great and knowledgable student.
We all liked how compact the school was, we all loved the location.
Our DD was looking for a stronger sciences area, which I believe the school now has.
They provide very good need based and merit aid.
Most definitely would have been a contender for DD if the sciences area had been stronger.
I think it is a CA hidden gem.
I don’t even think I had even heard of Chapman back in 2005 (son was born about then) but your description of what the culture like is still spot on now. Friendly! Not a wealthy conservative vibe, but campus is tucked into a residential suburban community that does make it feel quite safe. Also agree that they have worked really hard to improve sciences (manifested in a recently built very impressive “Keck Center” science building) and the programs. The other school my son really liked for its size and friendliness was LMU, where we visited and the program approach to his major, Data Science was really different - the major is still much smaller (only a handful of students currently) and the science building did look very tired, dark and dated. That and LMU’s very heavy math curriculum for DS (not a bad thing, just a different approach) swayed his ultimate decision.
tsnba44’s point that admissions to non-Dodge is an easier admit than many other schools (especially in CA where getting into any publics now is insane), which might have counselors categorize it in other ways?
I don’t know anything about Chapman, so will offer this. It’s very likely that your GC knows or (more likely more than one) student that did not have a good experience and it’s colored her view of the school. Does this mean YOUR student will have that experience? No. But if you can find out why she feels this way, you may be able to see how much of it may apply to you.
For example, there is a school not too far from us that people ask about. I have a very negative view, but it’s based on athletes that have attended. If your kid isn’t an athlete, my concerns probably don’t apply to your kid, yet it if you ask me about this school, I’m not going to give a glowing review.
My D24 has been accepted to Dodge and it is her first choice by a mile. Granted, she is not there yet, but it is worth noting that Chapman stood out during the recruitment and admission process. Everyone has been friendly, informative, enthusiastic and happy. The State of the University address was well-informed, data-driven and inspiring. All signs point to a school on the rise. We almost didn’t apply because of rumors like the ones you have been hearing, but thanks to some wise advice on here and some basic research, we quickly found out that rumors often lack basis. We could’ve easily missed a true gem of a school. I think maybe it flies under the radar of some school counselors. We’ve been able to chat with current students and alumni during the admission process, so definitely use the available resources. Good luck!
Your experience can be very true - and associating people in an unfavorable light will really color one’s opinion. On the flip side, I have also had unfair, negative opinions of people/places I know very little about except some negative hearsay (for example, school rivals, states I have never visited, entire sections of the country) that were not based on any personal experience. I am curious what may colored this counselor’s view. Frankly, I really haven’t heard any bad reviews of Chapman myself although it’s impossible that it’s the perfect fit for every student! But I know students who decided to transfer out of great institutions (including the ones on OP’s list of UCLA, Oxy, CSULB - all great schools) too, so maybe this counselor might know something we haven’t heard about yet.
My D23 was accepted to Dodge and we attended an Admitted Student event in NYC last spring. We had been to a number of these events hosted by other schools, and I must say it was the most pretentious and least fun one we attended. They held it in a rooftop restaurant, but they only provided dip and chips to eat at an 11:00 a.m. event. The room was cramped and L shaped (so not everyone could see the speakers). Most of their young alumni spoke about their Greek experience and social life at Chapman. They were friendly but didn’t seem down to earth. We just felt that they spent all their money on the event for the view but put little emphasis on the families’ experience. My daughter chose another top film school, in part, because of this experience.
Thanks, everyone - this is very helpful! I will keep gathering information but these perspectives are a helpful way of filling in some of our impressions. Increasingly I do think this may be a school in a bit of a transition - on campus you see it in the buildings - their brand new engineering and science buildings and theater are just phenomenal spaces, truly impressive - and in the tour guide emphasis on collaboration and community as well as what appears to be a trend towards more diversity (tho still seems pretty far behind LMU or Oct on this)…I have a suspicion that they’ve gotten some kind of massive capital campaign and they are using it to try to bolster their image and play the USNWR game better. Which, you know, does happen - back when I was a kid in Boston, Northeastern was a commuter school - but how that all plays out remains to be seen. Given that, as others have mentioned, CA kids have it a bit rough with our state schools being so difficult and unpredictable around admissions, it’s great to know that there may be some hidden gems still out there. Thanks again! Appreciate all the thoughts!
My D24 has been accepted to Chapman as an Applied Human Physiology major. It’s also become her number one choice among other more selective schools. We also visited not knowing anything about since we are from OOS. I was also extremely impressed with the campus, especially with the new STEM building, but also with the investments they are making with their new health campus in Irvine and new student housing. We visited Occidental the day before and there was a huge difference in the campus energy and ‘happiness’ of the students between the two schools. I work in higher ed administration and it is clear Chapman has an ambitious plan to move up the rankings to a top tier research institution. I think they still have a ways to go, but from what I can tell they have a very strong donor base and the resources to invest in building and sustaining new programs.
This may help as well. I found the information about their 5 year plans helpful.
I love this response! It is so helpful to hear different perspectives and see how the “vibe” for your kid really can matter. I hope that has played out for you at film school, too. ( I like to think their gut feelings are good ones). We, too, eliminated a few popular choices after attending a few events. My daughter had a very different impression at our Chapman oos event and it sold her previously unconvinced Dad. BUT, ours was very personal, not crowded, well catered and she clicked with the alumni. Maybe your feedback helped with the catering for us. 
My D24 also got accepted for the same major. She is trying to decide between Chapman and UCLA. We are going to tour UCLA next weekend. She was 
sold on Chapman until she got the shocking acceptance to UCLA.
Maybe ask the counselor why she has this impression of Chapman.
Yep, the college rankings can definitely be gamed, most important is endowments which is why the Ivies stay at the top. They also look at quantity of low-income students and other things. Here is an article about how the president of Northeastern had a focused goal on moving their school up in the rankings: How Northeastern University Gamed the College Rankings
Perhaps the counselor knows that it’s a tuition mill and not a respected educational institution besides their film and drama schools. It’s way overpriced, the administration doesn’t treat the students like a private school would and the professors are low quality. They hire 4 staff and call it a department. My daughter attended and there was so much bad that she finally transferred out. People she knew didn’t enjoy it either. We had heard such great things about it but in retrospect, they were males in frats! And speaking of, the partying starts on Wednesdays because so many SoCal students go home for the weekends.
The administration is bad and that affects the overall experience. Many are Chapman graduates. The school is beautifully manicured, the students seem to have good social skills, the tour makes it seem wonderful. But once school began, the incompetence appeared. Move-in-Day was a disaster. There was no help for move-in day like many other colleges have that are completely organized. The next year we were waiting for my daughter to receive an email so she could check into the on-campus apartment (Davis Hall, it’s like a Motel 6 quality), the housing told us to just go home and wait (we are not from SoCal, they assume everyone is). The weekends were a ghost town because of so many people going home. The downtown is not very good. The surrounding areas is sketchy, you need a car. The RA didn’t even allow students to prop open their doors because of it being a fire hazard. The RAs and RDs are ineffective, they wait for the problem to resolve on their own. Even the female dean was incompetent and dismissive when we had an issue with bullying. So you may think it’s an issue with my daughter, but it’s not, we are reasonable, courteous people and my daughter is very sweet. There is off-campus housing but it’s Panther Village (20 minutes away, under a freeway) or Chapman Grand (beautiful apartments but quiet, commuting 20 minutes). The dining hall is a revert-to-high school-cafeteria scenario and there is no food nearby besides a couple of places downtown. There isn’t enough parking so commuters have to arrive early. Per your question, Orange County is generally more conservative but that didn’t play any factor in the experience although it’s predominantly white, SoCal people.
So don’t be fooled by their good admissions advisors and the beautiful campus, this isn’t a real college for education, it’s a poser for those who can afford the tuition and whose kids just need a degree. And the worst part is feeling ripped off. We have had experiences with 3 other colleges (ASU, UofA, UofMiami, SCU) and I would never recommend Chapman.
Might I suggest Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. My sons attend there and it’s a real college with a beautiful campus and well-balanced students, more intelligent than the Chapman students. SCU undergrads can proceed onto Ivy League grad schools. The administration is much better.
I grew up in OC, my sister has an MBA from Chapman about twenty years ago. This just popped up.
Yes, your gc is right that that is the traditional view of Chapman. It used to be much more religious-identifying, much more conservative and likely more so than you saw, and trying to carve out a niche as a something university when their hook “protect your kid” from the rabble at the “Junior College” is less popular now. They have a pretty campus and film is a popular major full pay major so that are try to change their image.
I can’t speak at all what the school is like now. But GC is spot on for the past.
It worked for Northeastern! That article is 10 years old now and I haven’t seen the link posted here on CC in about, oh maybe, two weeks. It is a very positive article about Northeastern once you get past the clickbait headline.
Well, there’s a virtual copy of the above rant about Chapman posted three years ago on another social media site in which the child was referred to as having attending “a few years ago.” A ten year old article may have been timely then. Not sure the post is representative of “recent changes.”