Chapman University Top Questions

What is your overall opinion of this school?

Chelsey

Great academics. The teachers are, for the most part excellent. It was great for the kid who loves a great and personal experience with their teachers. The center of campus, the plaza, is a great place with lots of fun activities all the time. The surrounding area is not a college town, but there are incredible opportunities within 30 minutes of campus. The president, Doti, is very involved and personable.

Gretchen

Chapman is located in Old Town Orange, which is an ideal college town for students. There are several eateries, shops, and interesting things to see in Old Town, all within walking distance. The size is just right as there's small class sizes but there's tons of people you can meet anytime, any where. The professors are dedicated to helping students succeed in their studies and are always willing to help. Even President Doti has a strong sense of school spirit. He is always encouraging students to represent their school well and takes pride in the talents of our sports teams, organizations, and individual students recognized in the community, state, and globally. What made me choose Chapman over other private small campus universities was when I was shadowing a friend in her classes and sat in on her Jewish Bible Studies class. I liked how the professor was full of energy, determination, and tried to make the lesson interesting. He discussed the assigned story of Jonah and the Whale that students had to read before class and pulled up on a music website Handlebars by The Flobots to point out how anyone can do something in this world that has meaning and an impact, good and bad. I was moved by his enthusiasm, energy, and his ability to make something very engaging for someone who may not study religion for their major or minor.

Lorraine

I love my school. I feel like there is a place for everyone here- no matter how different you may be. This school has really become my home. If I could, I would change the housing situation and make it so that there is more uniformity and fairness when it comes to choosing a place to live. Some of the dorms are very outdated, while others are brand new and beautiful. My school is just the right size. It allows me to connect with many kids my age, instead of just passing them in the hallway. Most of my time on campus is spent in the newly-remodeled student union. Its absolutely amazing and it's such a great place to get work done or socialize. Orange isn't typically a college town, but who needs a college town when you've got Old Towne Orange right down the street. It's quaint and full of history. The administration is great. The teachers are really devoted to making sure you understand the material and making the classes as enjoyable and rewarding as possible. The unusual thing about Chapman is that there are 3 fountains on campus- and students actually swim them from time to time! I will always remember the friends I met during Orientation week and have kept throughout my first year at Chapman.

Lorraine

I love my school. I feel like there is a place for everyone here- no matter how different you may be. This school has really become my home. If I could, I would change the housing situation and make it so that there is more uniformity and fairness when it comes to choosing a place to live. Some of the dorms are very outdated, while others are brand new and beautiful. My school is just the right size. It allows me to connect with many kids my age, instead of just passing them in the hallway. Most of my time on campus is spent in the newly-remodeled student union. Its absolutely amazing and it's such a great place to get work done or socialize. Orange isn't typically a college town, but who needs a college town when you've got Old Towne Orange right down the street. It's quaint and full of history. The administration is great. The teachers are really devoted to making sure you understand the material and making the classes as enjoyable and rewarding as possible. The unusual thing about Chapman is that there are 3 fountains on campus- and students actually swim them from time to time! I will always remember the friends I met during Orientation week and have kept throughout my first year at Chapman.

Gretchen

The professors want you to succeed and with the small class sizes, its easy to establish a close relationship with them. The school campus is fair in size - it is close to Old Town Orange and offers many things close by. President Doti loves his job as the head of Chapman University and really is excited when the students are accomplishing great things and representing the school. Although we're not as well-known as Stanford, UCLA, or USC, the curriculum offers many interesting courses and the standards are high.

elmer

Overall? You've got to experience it yourself to really understand the quality of this school!

Hannah

I honestly love being a part of the Chapman community! It is small enough to get a personalized education but large enough to where you are always meeting new people. There are so many opportunities to get involved on campus through academics, community service, clubs, and the social scene. Athletics at Chapman vary. We are a division 3 school, however our sports teams do relatively well in our division. For instance, our women's lacrosse team won National last year. School pride has been pretty low, but our student government is doing their best to change that and get more students to come out to sporting events and cheer on our teams. Greek life is a very big deal at Chapman, however it is not your stereotypical greek life. Over 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body is Greek affiliated and it continues to grow every year. All of the chapter are very welcoming and friendly. I can happily say I have friends in each sorority and fraternity on campus. The location of Chapman is also awesome! Old Town Orange is definitely not a college town, but The Circle is a great place to go to get coffee, frozen yogurt, some food, and just walk around and relax. Disneyland, Angels Stadium, and the Honda center are all 10 minutes away. Newport and Huntington Beach are 15 minutes away and LA is only a half hour north. So even though things are a drive, there is so much to do in the surrounding areas! The classroom is also a very pleasant experience. Professors are very nice and helpful. They genuinely care about your well being and understanding of the material. Classes are pretty small, largest being around 40 students and the smallest about 6 students. It is no unusual to see professors getting coffee with their students at Jazzman's Cafe or in the awesome, new Student Union discussing topics covered in class. The courses are challenging, but their is always help available and if you stay on top of your work, you will do just fine.

Michelle

I absolutely love the small class sizes, many classes are discussion based allowing for a more personal education, which makes it easier to learn. I would change on campus eating, there need to be more options, I know our cafeteria is ranked one of the best, but it still can be improved further. Sometimes I wish I went to a larger school because they have more large scale events and sports support, but I absolutely love that it only takes 10 minutes to walk from the dorms to the opposite end of main campus. When I tell people I go to Chapman a lot of them do not know where it is, but when people do know they always complement how amazing the school is. On campus I spend the majority of my time in the dorms or student union. Chapman is definitely a college in a town, not a College town. Downtown is very cute and has really good food (they have 2 Starbucks across the street from each other!) I just wish there were closer walking distance grocery stores or target, you definitely need a car, or a friend with a car to get around. The school's administration is okay, sometimes I feel like we are all about how the school looks, fountains, new pool, putting on big benefits for the school. The biggest recent controversy on campus was people defiling posters that were put up around campus. School pride is lacking, I think we all love Chapman, but since it isn't an Ivy league or well known we aren't bleeding for Chapman. Something unusual is that Freshmen can have cars on campus, this is a huge plus. One experience I will always remember is when 3OH!3 came to perform at our school, it was amazing! Most frequent complaint about Chapman is that we need more/newer on campus housing for upperclassman, more classes for larger majors.

Hannah

The best thing about this school is the people. I have made so many close friends, people I know I will keep in contact even after my term at Chapman comes to a close. I think this school is the perfect size-small enough that you will always recognize someone on your walk to class, but big enough that you can always make new friends at social events and in new classes. I love that it is not a big commuter campus because I am from Colorado and obviously do not go home on the weekends. There is always something to do, people to hang out with, or ways to get involved. I truly feel that Chapman wants me to grow up to be a successful leader in this busy world. The professors care deeply about my education, and strive to make everyone wiser at the end of the semester. Because Chapman is located in the unexciting city of Orange, students must venture further if they wish to do something fun off campus. I like to travel to Anaheim and Los Angeles, because downtown Orange is only entertaining for the first week. Therefore, it can be difficult for a student who does not have a car to travel to new places and experience new aspects of California.

Jordan

Being a film and acting student, the size of the classes is essential. The one-on-one between professors and students exists throughout the entire school with some classes more so than others. The size of the school is just right for me, though I am a big sports fan. Luckily, USC and UCLA are a short trip up to Los Angeles though believe it or not, there is a decent amount of school spirit at here at Chapman. One of my favorite things to do is take a walk down to the the Plaza Circle (just a short walk from campus) and dine at the many great family-owned restaurants. I find myself spending a lot of time at the film school, which in my opinion, is the most important reason I am attending Chapman. It is not to say the rest of the campus is not great, but I came all the way from New York for the film school -- I'm not sure I would for much else. I come from a small town on Long Island and so when people told me Old Towne Orange is small, I was expecting something similar but quickly learned that it was not. Orange County is a very industrialized and not always the nicest looking area. Needless to say, I have had my share of homesickness; however, with that said, I am glad I am graduating from my number choice. The reactions to my school are mixed, as many in the film industry know of the school and many do not. In that regard it is both an advantage and disadvantage; however, I think in due time, Chapman will be regarded unanimously as a great film school.

Cortney

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.

KJ

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.

Andy

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.

Emily

Chapman is a small-medium size private university located in Old Towne Orange. I personally love my school and am glad that I chose Chapman. Other than the fun and interesting teachers and classes I have had within my major, there are two main things that have made Chapman the best place for me. The first thing is the size. Chapman has really small classes, similar in size to most of my high school classes. This made it really easy for me to get to know my teachers. They know who I am and what I am interested in and have a genuine interest in what I want to accomplish in my career. Also, it is small enough so that I know a lot of people on campus, but large enough so I still meet new interesting people everyday. Its size also encourages students to get involved in campus life, something that is very fun for all students. The second thing that makes Chapman amazing in my eyes is its location. We are in Southern California so we have very nice weather all year long. We get the excitement of Los Angeles and opportunities to get jobs and internships there. We are close the beach and close to the desert and mountains for weekend trips. I also found that there are a lot of companies that are looking for interns in the surrounding area. I loved being able to have an internship in beautiful Newport Beach last semester.

Brad

Chapman has a great campus that's not too big, but not too small. You can learn your way around pretty quick without getting bored of the place. Orange, the surrounding town, is charming and picturesque. Chapman's reputation is growing steadily. It's already considered one of the top film schools and just needs some alumni to hit it big to put it in the same league with USC and UCLA.

Alex

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.

M

Chapman is a small school, but large enough that you can still walk around campus without running into someone you know. Chapman has a great reputation in California; leave the state, and people will be clueless unless they have some random connection to it. Chapman's in the heart of the O.C. so there's plenty to do, from beaches to shopping to Disneyland all within 20 minutes; as for an actual college town, however, there isn't much outside of the Circle - downtown Orange a couple blocks away with some restaurants, boutiques, and antique shops that are slowly disappearing. The administration is incredibly well connected among politicians - the president is buddies with the Governator - and so knows how to raise money and raise it well. And for the most part they use it wisely to help the students and the campus grow. There has been recent controversy, however, over professors being let go because they do not have doctorates; students are upset that degrees and appearance and being regarded more highly than a professor's effectiveness in the classroom. Because Chapman is a film school, we get a lot of sneak previews of movies (i.e. last year they showed Juno before it was released). Big student complaints are that Public Safety are too invasive and that the maintenance crew power washes the sidewalks too frequently and wastes water.