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Pepperdine University
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • The ’Bu: What locals call Malibu.
  • The “Peppervine”: Pepperdine’s rampant rumor mill.
  • The AC: The Appleby Center, home to the social science people.
  • The CAC: The Cultural Arts Center. Artists, English majors, and would-be historians and teachers all congregate here for the bulk of their classes.
  • The Caf: The Waves Café, the only cafeteria on campus.
  • The CCB: The relatively new Center for Communication and Business, where communications and business majors spend the bulk of their time. It’s up the hill a ways from central campus, which means that getting to class in the CCB, right after a class down the hill, can be a hurried and grueling endeavor.
  • Convo: Every Wednesday at 10 a.m., students gather in Firestone Fieldhouse to listen to guest speakers and learn about campus events in order to fulfill their mandatory half-unit “convo credit,” or convocation credit. You must attend fourteen convocations per semester to get an A.
  • Greek Row: The five freshman dorms located farthest from central campus, with Greek letters for names instead of numbers.
  • The HAWC: Pronounced “Hawk,” this is the 24-hour student recreation center, with a pool table, a Ping-Pong table, a computer lab, a coffee shop, and places to study.
  • The Inn: The Malibu Inn, a popular bar just down the road.
  • Malibu Yo’: Malibu Yogurt, every female student’s favorite frozen yogurt shop.
  • OneStop: If you need to do anything—from paying your bills to changing your major to contesting a grade—OneStop is the place to go. It’s located in the TAC.
  • PCH: Pacific Coast Highway.
  • The SAC: Building where most of the language classes meet, up the hill from main campus.
  • The Stinkies: Malibu Canyon Village Apartments, nicknamed for their persistent sewage odor.
  • The TAC: The Thornton Administrative Center, where the top-dog administrators have their offices and where students usually go to sort out financial or academic matters.
  • The TCC: The Tyler Campus Center, which houses the Rockwell Dining Center, the Sandbar, the Career Center, and various other resources for students.
  • TechDeck: The people to see if you need software, or have any technology-related questions.
  • UM: University Ministries.
  • Zuma: Zuma beach, the most popular of the local beaches. Not great for surfing, but it's where 50% of the student body can be found on spring weekends.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • Frozen yogurt is not the same as ice cream.
  • Getting up and going to convo at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays is a harder feat to accomplish than it would seem.
  • Surfing is hard.
  • They really are serious about the whole religion thing.
  • Wearing white socks with black sandals and shorts is considered unacceptable.
Tips to Succeed
  • As with any other school, to succeed academically requires
  • Be sociable. Pepperdine students are, on average, very friendly, so if you’re not afraid to be a little gregarious, you will make friends in a hurry.
  • If you decide to join a fraternity or sorority, be aware that Greek life will demand a lot of your time and energy; during pledge week, it is very easy to tell which freshmen are pledging, as they are the ones nodding off in your 8 a.m. classes.
  • If you’re not Christian or not particularly religious, know that Pepperdine does not take its Christian mission statement lightly. Don’t be surprised, for example, that you need to take three semesters of religion instruction. And don’t be annoyed by all the religious fervor on campus, because, after all, an awful lot of students choose Pepperdine specifically because of its Christian affiliation.
  • Strike up good relationships with your professors, especially the ones teaching your major courses, immediately. Simply put, you will do better in their courses if you do. Also, it’s good to build contacts for when you need advice or recommendations.
  • Take advantage of the international programs. If possible, spend a whole year somewhere. You won’t regret it.
  • Take the Great Books Colloquium in lieu of a freshman seminar course. It’s a four-semester obligation, but it satisfies a number of GE credits and is excellent preparation for the tougher courses you’ll face as an upperclassman. It will help you immensely to think, discuss, argue, and write like a college student.
  • that you know—or learn quickly—how to balance your time and resist the temptation to, for example, hit the bars every night of the week.
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Pepperdine Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Pepperdine University

ashleyethridge2010

Chemistry '14

5.0
A+

Studying Abroad

The studying abroad program here at Pepperdine is almost like a rite of passage. They are Top 10 in the nation beating out many of the Ivy League schools. There are Pepperdine Universities in each of the countries that you want to study abroad in and the friendships, internship/volunteer opportunities, learning a new language, learning to survive and manage in a new country are all just some of the pluses to studying abroad. Pepperdine even has one week study abroad programs for those who can't afford to go for a full year or semester. These are volunteer abroad programs that take place over spring break. Pepperdine's study abroad program is THE BEST!

May 18, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Pepperdine University

ahyip

Psychology '15

4.2
A-

Campus Life

Sometimes it could be boring, but you can also choose to be active. There will be a lot of activities for students to participate in, especially outdoor adventures like hiking and kayaking. Besides studying, I think it could be interesting and exciting to explore the natural area around you.

Apr 10, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Pepperdine University

harry1lee

Liberal Arts and Humanities '15

4.2
A-

Religious and Scenery

Pepperdine is a Christian university and allows me not only to expand my knowledge of this world and further my education but also to grow spiritually and deepen my relationship with God. Pepperdine allows us to express our beliefs and offers convocations for this matter. There are weekly worships and sermons for students to escape from studying and classwork and to relax and grow spiritually. Also Pepperdine is one the most beautiful campuses in the world. It is located in Malibu, CA and overlooks the Pacific Ocean. Everyday, I wake up to one of the most amazing views, looking across the ocean, and the weather is unbeatable. It is always in the mid-70s, with clear skies and a beautiful sun to the side; it is never too cold or never too hot during the day. It is Perfect!

Dec 28, 2011

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User rating for Pepperdine University - Inside Scoop is 4.6 out of 5 based on 10 user reviews.

Facts

Traditions
  • AWOL : The Alumni Association sponsors a week-long sendoff, called “A Week Of Leaving,” for graduating seniors each April. Perks for seniors include free barbecue meals around noon and little trinkets and Pepperdine memorabilia so that you never forget where you went to college. The Alumni Association also uses this week to get the soon-to-be-alumni involved in the association’s activities.
  • The Freedom Wall: Outside the Tyler Campus Center is a large corkboard on which students air their grievances or post their opinions on political, social, or academic issues. The “Freedom Wall” is supposed to foster intellectual debate, but mainly people start silly arguments or post dumb cartoons on it.
  • Frosh Follies: In this culmination of new student orientation freshmen interpret the life of George Pepperdine, the university’s founding father, according to a theme. Recent skits have incorporated Greek Mythology, 90s sitcoms and Forrest Gump. The grand performance, held just prior to the start of classes for the fall semester, is judged by administrators and George Pepperdine’s family. Upperclassmen show up en masse to watch freshmen embarrass themselves.
  • Homecoming: Since there is no football team, Homecoming events center around the basketball teams. The events are a means of coaxing alumni and friends of Pepperdine to come visit their alma mater, relive their youth, and then go home and send Pepperdine some more donations.
  • Midnight Yelling: Although quiet hours in the dorms officially last for 24 hours a day during finals, dorm dwellers typically celebrate the midnight hour on each night of finals week by yelling and screaming in unison. Yes, it’s pretty dumb. The tradition occasionally coincides with the “undie run,” in which guys run around in various states of undress. This is as wild as Pepperdine gets, folks.
  • Songfest : Pepperdine’s version of a Spring Sing, this musical competition is the battle royale for sorority and fraternity bragging rights. Three weeks of midnight rehearsals culminate in a solid week of performances, with guest judges—usually minor TV celebrities—deciding which group of singing and dancing students wins.
Urban Legends The giant cross that stands out in front of Pepperdine, and which was built to light up at night, is now forever dimmed because of the protests of Barbra Streisand. The story goes that after the Phillips Theme Tower (which houses the cross) was first built, Pepperdine lit it up like a Christian beacon to the world, but the light kept disturbing Streisand’s slumber at night. She supposedly complained to the Malibu City Council, which compelled Pepperdine to turn out the lights, and which gave us yet another reason to dislike Barbra Streisand.

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How do we get our information? Find out here or report an error here. The statistics on our site are from the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS database.
We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
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