@brazos21 I toured both Chapman and LMU (and USC) and I really disliked Chapman. A complete lack of professionalism and seriousness about academics and they tried to make up for it with their facilities.
@Cameron121 He, haha. Exactly. LMU has been around longer and has a good reputation, and hopefully will be a good place from which to transfer to SC. They’ve also offered me a half tuition scholarship, so that doesn’t hurt either.
Oh my goodness have you guys seen the USC blog with the photos from shipping out the acceptance packages? My admission counsellor is in one of the pics…this is agonizing.
@cameron121 Chapman ranks ahead of LMU for film in virtually every ranking out there, also passed UCLA in some rankings. That school is rocking lately, lilke USC, well funded, so on the rise. LMU is pretty passive, may want to take another look at both for substance and connections.
@FilmMaker1 Duuude. They’re SO being a tease. I can’t. Have you looked at their instagram? I would die for a spot in USC… Never have I ever seen a yellow envelope so golden. D:
@blueskies2day Yes, they’re very well funded and have outstanding facilities, I just didn’t have a strong feeling about it. I would have applied if the university itself appealed more to me. I had a pretty awful tour guide, so that really turned me off, because I thought it would be great. LMU has a good rep in LA, too, which is good.
I agree. My son looked at both LMU and Chapman. Chapman , for him , was a much better fit. (Small and personal) He is waiting to see if he gets in his highly selective major at USC- but he will probably go to Chapman even if he does get in SC. For his major, all three are very selective and each have their attributes. It’s more of a personal decision what is the best program.
@SoapyMango I do live in Tennessee currently, but I’m originally from SoCal
@tychofighter I got scholarships to both Oxy and Chapman, so I will definitely be studying the two to decide between them if USC doesn’t work out. Sadly, they are the only two campuses I haven’t visited! Also yeah @Cameron121 that Dartmouth opportunity is extremelyyyy tempting…
@gamink348 I KNOW. It’s so exciting and nerve wracking and AHHH
@2015TxMom It’s certainly about what is best for you personally. For me, LMU has a more academic focus than Chapman, and Chapman has more of a focus on the art itself. I’m more interested in the critical/theoretical and academic/business side of film, but I still love the art, of course, which is why applied to the Critical Studies program at USC.
I wonder if schools realize how important the tour guide really is? This is my third child to go through this process= and I have heard so so many stories where students changed their minds completely because of the tour guide! For us , Chapman had a lot to offer my son. The tour guide was not a deciding factor- but it helped that he was the only one on the tour with at student who is an actor from a very popular sitcom (my son had no clue who he was or why people were wanting to pictures at lunch. He just thought he was a very informative guide!)
@katcon There is an old saying…“If you get into an Ivy, you go. Period.” Nothing, and absolutely nothing, outside the Ivys (ex Brown), Stanford and CalTech/MIT, would compare to Dartmouth. Can’t believe you are even waffling on this one. It’s a no-brainer. Especially with a big $$ offer!
And, yes, I know there are other considerations, but weather shouldn’t be one of them. Have you ever seen New England in the fall? And built a huge snowman? C’mon dude, this is your future, and a Dartmouth ticket beats an E-ticket hands down.
I get one thing with Chapman is it’s size and they aren’t the wowy zowy school USC is (no one is really) but they are growing like crazy with a couple new giant facility additions, a performing arts center and a new science building, which they are really in need of. But gotta love the proximity to Orange, cute town very shi shi, safe area. For that and the personal education it gets solid points, professors rate really high, seems quality if the school fits ya. Still love USC, but have a love/hate with the school sometimes after being involved with it for years. Not everybody gets into USC obviously, then there’s the neighborhood, the price, limited scholarships - it’s good there are other options out there…Chapman gives great scholarship money it seems.
We live 1 hour from USC and they just switched our mail delivery time from morning to late afternoon, like 4:30 ish. It did not bother me a bit until today The wait is killer. Good luck to everyone!
Dartmouth has its issues, I don’t think it’s a slam dunk. It’s social scene is quite predictable and fits the stereotype. go to a Dartmouth sporting event and you see it (and you thought USC could be snobby/excessive/disorderly). You also make connections where you go to school and risk getting stuck in that part of the country, meeting a future spouse there and getting stuck who knows? All a sudden you are raising a family thousands of miles from your own. I know that is way too conservative thinking for those ready to venture out. I like that some people know where they want to be. That seems nice. Restless can be hard. I was the restless one. Fun young, harder later. Heavy topic, sorry just passing time.
@2015TxMom You are SO right about the tour guide…we had a phenomenal guide at Chapman, and the worst guide at LMU…so bad that the HS counselor called them to tell LMU that it was a deal-killer. It was that bad, as if the guide was instructed to make LMU as unappealing as possible.
@2015TxMom @Milyd1 I completely agree with the tour guide post! My D was excited to tour Berkeley and after such a disappointing experience with our tour guide (she was a freshman and couldn’t answer any of our questions) she has had a hard time seeing Berkeley in a positive light. On the other hand, the amazing tour guides she has had really sold the school and made it very desirable. It holds a lot of weight on the overall feeling you get from a school.
Yeah I’m also worried about the rurality. I’m a total big city, beach, warm weather person, so I understand that the educational opportunity is amazing, but I also don’t want to be possibly miserable for 4 years. Also networking is huge and it would be a real benefit to network where I plan on living! I’m just thinking out loud here…lots of things to consider and options to weigh!
My son is interested in more of the art and construction of film- his major typically only lets in 11-16. In ANY school. So we feel very lucky he has choices and some scholarships. Chapman has a new facility and a remarkable faculty for his major. LMU had a delightful tour guide but something was just off. My son sat in on classes in his major at both schools and I think that truly was the deciding factor.
My son fell in love with Chapman’s facilities, the town, the faculty, the way of life for four years, etc…he did the Chapman Summer Film Academy his Junior Year. With a Dean’s Scholarship in hand, Chapman will be hard to turn down…will be tough if USC comes through in film production.
Never have I ever seen a yellow envelope so golden. D:
