Pepperdine University Top Questions

The worst thing about Pepperdine is that people think it is an elite school, but really most students here do not care very much. That is similar to what I said above, so let me say something more personal to me. I think the food offered here is one of the worst things. I care very much about where my food comes from for environmental, human rights, ethical, and health reasons. They pretend to have lots of organic and vegan options yet there are not, and this regular food is priced as if it were so.

Pepperdine University is built into a hill. No matter where you go, there are stairs that the students have to climb. There are hills and stairs everywhere. It is unavoidable. But having to go from the bottom of campus to the top in ten minutes is trecherous. One time, it took me half an hour into the class to stop sweating after the hike/sprint up there. But there is an upside to it: great calves.

Many of the students here grew up in very sheltered homes, so they have a somewhat narrow worldview and very little life experience. Pepperdine exposes them to other topics, but through a purely academic standpoint, so those students who arrive with these experiences are still vastly misunderstood. These students mean well, but it is difficult for them to conceptualize the situations in which their classmates were raised, with far less opportunities than they were given.

The worst thing is the lack of school spirit. It is hard to feel connected at times and excited about attending Pepperdine because students don't always seem attached to the school. Sporting events and other school events usually have a very low attendance and it is discouraging for both students involved in those events as well as students who wish to get involved more.

The worst thing about my school might be not that people here are not open to new perspectives, but that because there is such a strong demographic pull in terms of religious beliefs, there simply isn't as much exposure to other views. There are several individuals on campus who are rigidly wealthy-class Republican and cling to that identity, but the university itself does not encourage or enforce it. In fact, most of the classes I've taken tend to mellow out students who fall into this area. I would have liked more exposure to students with different worldviews.

For those looking for a college town, Pepperdine is not the school for you. While Malibu is stunning, it is a very wealthy community with really only high end places to go to to hang out. To put it in perspective, Target is about 20 minutes away. The biggest complaint I have about Malibu is that there is very little to do at night. If my friends and I want to go out on a Friday night, we typically drive to Santa Monica or LA (about 30 minutes away).

The tuition to attend Pepperdine is extremely high. Although you are paying an incredible education and location, the tuition is still very high. There are many scholarships that are available, however, this still may not be enough for some people.

The worst thing about Pepperdine is probably the "bubble" type environment that Malibu produces for the campus. Students are unable to experience a great deal of diverse experiences and must go out of their way to escape the bubble. However, the self-limiting bubble does create a very tight-knit community and is a nice experience.

The worst thing about my school is that there is a group of students, who by society's standards are considered to be in an elite group of their own. This group does not have to work as hard or worry about any financial struggles because they live life lurxuiously and high above the median income. Now, it is not their fault in the slightest, but it is hard to watch a large portion of Pepperdine students who don't work as hard or are not as ambitious, succeed because of their connections or inner circle of "the rich."

I think there's a tendency for people to maintain very shallow relationships on our campus. Because most people study abroad, your friend group is always changing and I think that's why students are more likely to have a group of 20 good friends rather than 4 or 5 really close friends. It's very rare to have deep personal realtionships (especially your first year) at Pepperdine. It gets better, but it's a rocky start.

The only thing that I don't love about Pepperdine is its lack of sports enthusiasm. Not a lot of students attend sports games. That was definitely a hard thing to adjust to especially after attending a high school that lived and breathed football.

The worst thing about our school that it is so academically challenging and competitive that it restricts our growth in other areas of intelligence. I say this with making a distinction between intelligence and wisdom. Pepperdine fosters and develops intelligent students - students that are very knowledgable within the content of their classes. However, the intense studying required to maintain even a 3.0 GPA, I believe, restricts activities that college students would engage in with the community, friends, or traveling, that many people who attend other schools would agree helped them grow spiritually and socially, that is, gained wisdom from.

It's a campus where there are so many activities that it's easy to get lost in all the busyness--and if you're not as involved as you "should be," it can be difficult to find a sense of community.

Pepperdine is a great school with a beautiful campus, and I don't see many flaws besides the location of it making it difficult to leave campus just because of traffic on PCH or not having a car. The only other think that students complain about is the abundance of stairs and hills that have to be walked through on a daily basis just to get to class. The sight of the ocean usually overpowers the dire need to sit down and take a rest though.

With a school being located in Malibu, there are plenty of wealthy people that attend this school. While on the other hand there are also people that are on a great amount of financial aid that don't have the ability to spend money freely as some do. Students can feel the need to live up to this wealthy lifestyle because they see extremely expensive cars on campus and international students that are paying full price for tuition. I wish money wasn't looked at so heavily with self value and worth.

The student housing setup. As a freshman you only have access to other freshman and the few sophomores that didn't go abroad. Obvioulsy Malibu is beautiful, so it's no surprise that it is expensive. Therefore, juniors and seniors that live off campus live fairly far away. During your first and second year, its hard to meety any upperclassmen, mainly becasue of the living situatuations.

I would probably say that the worst thing about pepperdine University is that it is hard to get around unless you have a car, and it is really easy to become sick of campus.

Probably the social life on campus. You are limited to church activities and community work which is rewarding but at times it seems a bit fake and forced.

There is nothing I can complain about Pepperdine. It is absolutely fantastic.

The worst thing about Pepperdine is the stairs. Everything is uphill, on a slant, or requires a lot of walking to get to. The hilly incline does have its upsides, however. The constant walking and climbing makes it difficult to gain "the freshman 15," and since the school is on a hill there is a beautiful view at all times.

I really can't think of anything bad to say about Pepperdine, although more student activities would definitely be beneficial. I think Pepperdine is overall well rounded but if I had to change one thing I would say it would be to add more student activities to get invovled in.

It is a bit difficult to navigate around campus with all the hills.

Things are sort of dead on the weekends, because most people go off campus. You basically either need to have a car or you need to be really proactive about making friends...with cars. Also, about 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of sophomore students go abroad, which is really cool, but it sort of sucks to be one of the students who stays behind. They try to make it a really fun year if you do stay on campus, though. All in all, Pepperdine is an awesome place, but every school will have it's cons.

One of the worst things about this school is the pricing. Not only do you have to pay a lot for the tuition, however everything else is expensive such as the food, housing and other such things. Thefore, the cost of things proves to be the worst part of this school

The actual location of the school can be inconvenient at times. Despite the beautiful view and the fact that the beautiful waves are literally across the street, students need to drive an average of 30 minutes to get to their off-campus jobs or internships. With the cost of gas being so high in Malibu, many college students, such as myself, have difficulty affording internship or job opportunities which require a commitment of coming in at least twice a week.

The worst thing about Pepperdine University is the limitation of freedoms that are highlighted in the student handbook. No alochol is allowed because it is a dry campus based on the Church of Christ. Curfews are also enforced, in which boys can't be in a girls dorm past 1 AM, and vice-versa. If anyone is to violate these regulations, strict consequences are enforced, such as not being able to participate in the wonderful international programs they offer.

I love every aspect of my life here. The student body is so involved and personable, the campus is the most gorgeous in the country and classes are rigorous and rewarding. To be honest the only bad thing I can come up with about Pepperdine is the food services (which seems so silly). Apparently in years past, our Cafeteria has had mroe selection and better service, but this year it's horrible. Many students have petitioned and written complaints regarding the unavailability of the Cafs serving schedule and the reasoning behind it's 'B' sanitary rating...

How is kind of isolated for which there are not many choices around close by and you need to drive away from Malibu for better entertainment, shopping and dinning places. There is not much around cause it's mostly a quite place sorrounded by celebrities houses, the ocean and few restaurants and bussiness. Also, if you live on campus they don't give you choice on meal plan, you have to get the meal plan they decide and I feel I'm wasting money cause I don't like to eat there everyday making your food expenses higher than ancicipated.

Pepperdine's inability to allow Greek houses, due to city regulations, proves to be one of the few negative aspects of the school. While the majority of colleges, both public and private, allow sororities and fraternities to reside in houses together as a group, this opportunity is not available at my college. This factor may seem to be a trivial matter, however through my participation in a sorority, I have come understand how this detracts from the level of intimacy of the Greek groups. Thus, the omission of this tradition arguably taints the appeal of Pepperdine's Greek system.

Weekend life on campus is dead. There is not much school spirit and because of the drinking policy and/or students living off campus and quiet hours on the weekends as well, there is not much activity or student life.

Staff treat the school like a business instead of a supportive community.

There are very few things to do on the weekends on campus, and this is frustrating since I do not have a car and am restricted to campus most weekends.

If you are poor, you are automatically descriminated against.

How conservative and close-minded a lot of the students and professors are.

Lack of school spirit/involvment in upper-classmen/

Pepperdine is located in a somewhat isolated area due to the local mountian region. You have to drive about thirty to fourty minutes to go into the city and experience the night life.

The location. Unless you have a car, it's impossible to get anywhere!

small size & location provides some limitations for the non go-getters

The school spirit and poor athletic teams. It doesn't give the students a good feel of campus unity.

The worst thing about my school is the cost to attend and the fluctuation of it as it constantly increases with each year coming. At times, it adds pressure to my studies and can be stressful when figuring out the expenses for the years that I plan to attend school.

the cafeteria food is trash. everything else about pepperdine is fantastic though.

The worst thing about Pepperdine University is that it seems all the students are concerned about is how they look rather than the quality of their education. Oftentimes, students stroll into class with their designer brands and then don't pay attention. It sometimes seems that students are more concerned about their outward appearance and outward expression of their wealth more than anything else.