Pepperdine University Admission
Pepperdine University Undergraduate Program
Pepperdine University Application

The Facts

Pepperdine University is a cross between a country club and a college, located in the beautiful and affluent Malibu, California. It is a small university, housing about 4,000 students in the undergraduate college (Seaver College) and graduate schools of business, education, psychology, law and public policy. The school is a private Christian institution run by the Jesuit church; however, students say the religious influence isn’t a hugely invasive part of campus life unless you want it to be.

The academics are increasingly strong, with 36 majors offered to all undergraduates. The departments of business management, communication and the humanities are the university’s biggest draw. Some of the most popular majors include business, psychology, international business, political science and biology. Many students complain that the school’s required classes take valuable time away from the study of their majors (up to four semesters) and that they aren’t challenging enough.

The entering class of 2004 had average SAT scores ranging from 1090 to 1300 and average ACT scores ranging from 23 to 28. The students had an average GPA of approximately 3.61 and over 72% of them were ranked among the top 10% of their high school graduating class. Admission is quite competitive, although not compared to the California state schools. Last year over 6,000 students applied and only 2,102 were actually admitted.

The Social Scene

The campus itself is located in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains on a hill overlooking Malibu and the Pacific Ocean. Many high school seniors are drawn to the spectacular location, rather than choosing Pepperdine for academic reasons. The school is less than an hour away from downtown Los Angeles; however, many students don’t venture that far. They also say that without a car at your immediate disposal for transportation, you will definitely feel frustrated. The campus is also notorious for being strenous to get around; because it is located on a hill, there are many many many stairs to climb, so you can be sure that after four years of trudging, you will have iron calves.

Greek life is big at Pepperdine; however, there is a strictly enforced “dry policy,” and many students say they don’t really throw many decent parties. In general, students complain about the lack of excitement on campus, as many students are quite religious and tend to exercise restraint from partying hard.

Students are mostly wealthy and white, and the parking lot lined with new BMW’s is a testament to that fact. The guys and girls alike are generally bronzed beauties with strong Christian values...Catholic schoolgirls anyone?

What’s Good

“The setting is phenomenal. You can see the ocean from anywhere on campus.”

“The classes are really small and the teachers really genuinely care about their students.”

“The campus is really relaxing. There is no sense of rushing through life here.”

What’s Bad

“There is literally nothing to do. I’m a senior and I’ve been to one party so far.”

“The campus can be really hard to get around, and after a long day of zipping up and down stairs, all you want to do is sleep.”

“The more religious students can be really prudish and treat the less religious students like degenerate sinners.”

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