Chapman University probably has one of the best programs in the nation.

I love Chapman. I really do. It was a great decision for me to come here and I am glad I chose it. Of course there are days where I cannot wait to get out of here and join the real world. I feel like I'[m trapped in a Chapman bubble at times and will never be allowed to escape. But I am so glad that I came here, met the people that I did, and was able to experience the classes that I did. I have had an amazing experience here and would not have changed my decision for the world.

I think the day I won't forget on campus is when I came to visit for the first time. I flew down and drove myself from Newport Beach to campus. I got here and was about to take the tour when they offered me a personal lunch with a student and to go on the tour after. I had lunch with a group of students in the cafeteria and it was very pleasant. The students were genuine and nice, they answered questions without hesitation. Next I went on the tour to see the beautiful campus, which truly won me over. I loved the openness of the piazza with the water fountain and lots of places to sit. I was impressed with how clean and put together the campus was. I remember buying Chapman gear, calling my mom and telling her I had decided that this was the school that I had decided to go to.

Honestly, Greek Life is huge at Chapman. 40% of the student body is greek and chapters range anywhere from 80 to 170 members. The greek community has 7 sororities and 7 fraternities and plans to bring on more in the future to accommodate the high demand for greek life. I am in a sorority here and I can honestly say I love it! It was probably one of the best decisions I have made while at Chapman so far. I feel very connected to my sisters and the other chapters as well. We do not have greek houses here since 6 or more girls living in a house in Orange is considered a brothel, so it gives us the opportunity to live with whomever we chose, whether they be greek or not. There are many clubs t join on campus as well, a few of the more popular ones being Invisible Children, LBGTQA Safe Space, Hawaii Club, Black Student Union, Floor 13 Dance team, and the Sustainability Club. Students get involved with a bunch of things on campus at once such as intramural sports, greek life, clubs, chapman radio, dance teams, and academic things. Something Chapman is very good at is having amazing guest speakers come on campus and speak to the student body. Rainn Wilson from the show The Office came and spoke about his Baha'i Faith. Elie Weisel, a Holocaust survivor, author, and nobel peace prize winner comes each year and speaks to our campus. The speakers are amazing and definitely something worth going to. Parties are always going on at chapman if that is something you are interested in. There are many house parties surrounding the campus on weekends, however they usually end by 1 or 2am because Orange Police are sticklers. So there definitely is a party scene at chapman, however you don't have to be a part of it to be social. There is plenty to do in the surrounding areas on a Friday night. Some of my greatest memories is just hanging out with a few close friends on a Friday night watching a movie or doing something totally random. A big tradition followed here at Chapman is the biannual Undie Run. Every Wednesday of Finals week at 12am both semester students put their favorites underwear on and run around the Orange Circle to celebrate the end of the year. Tons of students show up for the event and the Orange community comes out to witness the immense amounts of students running around in their underwear. It is quite a funny sight to see.

Again, while classes are small, it is likely every professor will know your name. Apart from my acting classes (which are in itself some of the best in the country), my favorite ones are the screenwriting classes in which everyone participates to both give and receive invaluable information for each other. There are many students who are passionate about their majors and many who are not. The level of stimulation from intellectual conversations is varied, though if you want to, you can find yourself gravitating to the students who share the same amount of passion as yourself, and if not, then you know you are the most passionate and a step or two ahead. Professors will always be there to share your passion when other students' just are not enough. I am always grateful of Chapman's general academic requirements, as I feel it has shaped me into a more scholarly individual. Last but not least, for my major especially, I feel Chapman spends a great deal of time teaching the craft the best they can, but also preparing a student for the real world and getting a job -- though they can only go so far. Character comes from within regarding that department, and only so many students will strive to achieve a job after school.

Our school president is a little construction crazy, so there are always bulldozers on campus. But even with a few roped off areas, the campus is beautiful. It's small enough that you won't be hiking for miles to get to class. You will more than likely get fed up with dormlife after two years and move off-campus - right now it's nearly impossible to live on-campus after sophomore year because of housing shortages, but the new dorms should be finished by next year. What we don't have is a scarcity of parking - we have a massive parking structure built underneath the football field. Chapman's Study Abroad program is wonderful in that they offer lots of program options, many of which you can use your scholarships towards, but an absolute horror to deal with unless you have your mind completely decided; they will say they are there to help you, but their version of helping you is making you find everything out for them.

I think it is important to mention that Chapman is full of leadership opportunities and if you want to be an emerging leader Chapman is place to make that happen. It is easy to get involved and easy to make a difference here on campus.

I have really enjoyed being at Chapman. There are things that can be approved upon at every college, but I think that Chapman is a really great school. I am really excited to see how what I have learned here translates into a career and life in the "real world."

Chapman is an amazing place to be. If you like california beaches, nice weather all year long, great facilities, experienced faculty that know what they are talking about, beautiful and nice people, then there is no reason really why you shouldn't want to come to Chapman. Sure it is expensive, but well over half of the students here receive some form of financial aid. Sure it may seem a little small, but there is tons of social events happening every week and the personalized education really goes a long way. I am so happy I choose Chapman that I am still living out here in California now looking for a job. It is a tough time right now but I have been getting plenty of interviews and lists after lists of opportunities because of Chapman, whether it be from professors helping me out, to people just lending me a hand and giving me some great advice, to the career development center providing me with plenty of companies that are looking for employees. Chapman provides each student with so many opportunities just as long as you put the effort forth and are interested you will find what you have been looking for. GO PANTHERS!!!

Chapman is still a small enough school that by the end of your first week you'll be seeing the same faces and have the same people in your classes, which in the long run will result in strong friendships (and business connections) that will last long after graduation.

Every year during the first week of school we get a comedian to come. Last year we had Joel Mchale and the year before that Daniel Tosh performed here. Associated Students usually does a great job of bringing awesome entertainment to the school which often provides a much needed break from studying. One unique thing about Chapman is our Holocaust studies minor which has brought us a variety of very unique speakers. We have had multiple holocaust survivors speak including Elie Wiesel and Leon Leyson, the youngest member of “Schindler’s List”.

I think it is important to mention that Chapman is full of leadership opportunities and if you want to be an emerging leader Chapman is place to make that happen. It is easy to get involved and easy to make a difference here on campus.

I came to Chapman for the small class sizes and the ability to get hands-on instruction as a freshman. I started as a broadcast journalism major interested in radio and had no problem getting on my own show on the campus station right away. This was great experience that I probably would have had to wait years for at another institution.

The big picture for Chapman I think is a big time school feel but it really is a smaller sized school. The size I think is perfect. Tons of opportunities are available, people can travel abroad easily, get involved with greek life, athletics, clubs, and much more. I was a lacrosse player so I spent most of my time out on the field and using all the facilities Chapman has to offer. The location is really nice too I think. we are only 15-20 minuets away from the beaches (Newport, Huntington, Laguna) A lot of kids live within a couple miles of school so there is plenty of social life. I think there is some good school pride, but I wish there was more. Chapman was the perfect fit for me. Its hard to think of the bad when I ended up having tons of fun and got my degree in 4 years.

I am very involved in the LGBTQIA community here at Chapman and sadly my perspective is very unique, as there is only a few of us who are. There is a community here, although it is very small and relatively quiet. There is no overt animosity towards the Queer community and at the same time there is no outward exclamation of its presence. We do not have a resource center for LGBTQI students nor do we have a resource center for anything else. We did however this year get our Associated Students to fund most of our Pride Week activities and I believe that with our efforts more of a voice has emerged! We had the comedian ANT come and perform as well as organized a silent candle light vigil in remembrance of the Stonewall riots! Not only that but we had 200 students participate in our Day of Silence on campus. We are making progress here at Chapman but there is still a ways to go.

The best thing about Chapman is the location, opportunities and personalized education. It is large enough where you don't feel pressured to talk in class if you don't want to, but small enough where you can feel comfortable approaching a teacher for help and expect to get something substantial and not be brushed off. Teachers genuinely care that students comprehend the material and they they think critically about what they're learning. Students have the ability to make the campus what they want it to be. They can take leadership positions and make a positive difference in things like student government, orientation, the newspaper, residence life and pretty much anything you can think of. If we want something changed, with a little work, students can usually make something happen. When I tell people I go to Chapman, they often haven't heard of it unless they're from Southern California. However, if they HAVE heard of it, they are very impressed and often ask if I'm part of the business or film schools. They often comment on the quaintness of Orange and its ideal location. Orange is a very cute town with great food in the circle. Everything you would ever need is in Orange or very close -- grocery stores, Target, Trader Joe's, etc. Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and some great concert venues are all very close (the Honda Center, the Grove and every infamous LA theater is only about 35 minutes away on a good day.) The Anaheim Ducks hockey team plays at the Honda Center and Angels Stadium is five minutes away. In general, the students who attend Chapman are very proud of their university. Though the school spirit can be a little higher when it comes to supporting division three sports, there is an obvious pride for Chapman in general.

Chapman is an amazing place to be. If you like california beaches, nice weather all year long, great facilities, experienced faculty that know what they are talking about, beautiful and nice people, then there is no reason really why you shouldn't want to come to Chapman. Sure it is expensive, but well over half of the students here receive some form of financial aid. Sure it may seem a little small, but there is tons of social events happening every week and the personalized education really goes a long way. I am so happy I choose Chapman that I am still living out here in California now looking for a job. It is a tough time right now but I have been getting plenty of interviews and lists after lists of opportunities because of Chapman, whether it be from professors helping me out, to people just lending me a hand and giving me some great advice, to the career development center providing me with plenty of companies that are looking for employees. Chapman provides each student with so many opportunities just as long as you put the effort forth and are interested you will find what you have been looking for. GO PANTHERS!!!

I was pretty shy in high school, so I was a little worried about college. Fortunately, Chapman helped me to become a lot more social. I met my closest friends through Greek Life. Sometimes it'd be at parties, but other times it would be at barbeques and philanthropy events. Greek life has a large presence on campus, but it is definitely not the only way to make friends. I think we are looked at as a positive force on campus, we have fun but we aren't all crazy partiers. Some of our sporting events are under-attended, but others, like lacrosse, are extremely popular. If I am ever awake at 2 am, it is because I am gossiping with my roommate. On the weekends, some people go to parties and others stay in. When I don't want to go out to a party, I watch movies with some friends or go out to dinner in the Circle, where there are lots of restaurants (and frozen yogurt!!!) :)

The professors are excellent at Chapman. Since you're in a class with a dozen or so people it doesn't take long to get the know the professors and have them there to help you at any time possible. You don't run into the problem of having to deal with TAs, you really establish a lasting relationship with professors from day one. The journalism department is rigorous. Of course, the best experience you'll ever get is working for the campus newspaper, The Panther.

When I was looking for colleges a small student body was a priority. I didn't want to feel too overwhelmed by a massive number of people when moving to a new city and starting a whole new chapter in my life. And the atmosphere here at Chapman was just what I was looking for. Sometimes however, after being here for 3 years it tends to feel a bit like I'm inside of a bubble. This of course is something you will find at all small schools and I believe that the trade off is totally worth it--safety, security, and a friendly atmosphere. The city surrounding Chapman is cute but sometimes I get frustrated by the conservative attitude that consumes Orange County but Chapman itself is a fairly liberal place which is nice.