Honestly, I’m not hearing a compelling argument for Chapman here.
It’s a good school, but it’s not a particular heavy-hitter for your interests, just a normal-good school like many others. If you were an aspiring film major and had gotten into Chapman’s program, for example, then I would see why you’d want to make sacrifices to attend (although 100K in debt would still be very problematic). But I honestly don’t think there will be a tangible difference in the undergrad poli sci education you can get at Chapman vs. FSU. You’ll get as much out as you put in, at either school.
Sure, California is nice, but you don’t even want to live there permanently; why choose a school that will make it harder to network toward jobs back east?
And familiarity breeds contempt and all, but Tallahassee is the seat of state government in Florida. The state capital in California is Sacramento, which is over 400 miles from Orange County.
I’m simply not seeing selling points that come close to balancing the difference in cost, even if you had the cash to fund Chapman without debt. The fact that you would have to borrow about 60% of that cost… I wouldn’t advise doing that to your parents (as it will be their debt too) or to yourself.
Chapman has a large Greek population too (although I’m pro Greek so I don’t see that as a negative).
Although Chapman is in a cute town, it is not near the ocean and it will take you a lot longer than 45 minutes most of the town to get to LA. Maybe you can do that on the train, but everything in Orange County takes longer to get to than you think.
The debt problem is even worse when you factor in interest. If you borrow $100,000 over 4 years the interest still accumulates and is added to the principle. You would leave college with around $125,000 assuming the college has no price increases each year. Most do. Two things have to happen for you to attend a college. You have to be accepted (congratulations) and it has to be affordable. In my opinion if you have to borrow $100,000 it’s not affordable.
(1) You probably shouldn’t be thinking about a Poli Sci degree without also thinking about a graduate degree of some sort. The jobs you can get with an undergrad poli sci degree are not that plentiful. Not being a jerk, but think seriously about how you plan to make a living when you are done.
(2) Chapman sounds like a lot of fun, but it cost $100K. You can have a lot of fun at FSU too if you’re willing to borrow/spend $100K to do it. Most people won’t borrow $100K just because it’s more fun. I suggest go to FSU and every month for the next 10 years after your graduate write a check for $900 and send it to yourself, with “No Thanks, Chapman!” written in the memo line. That also would be a lot of fun.