Pepperdine University Reviews

It's what you would expect of a Christian university

It's what you would expect of a Christian university. Generally, people never encounter drugs, but there are obviously those who do it under the radar, and I've always heard that it's off-campus, so its not really something that anybody needs to deal with.

Wi-Fi is... interesting

It's spotty. Half of the suites in freshman halls have the wifi hub mounted on their walls, and those get excellent reception, though its a bit of a gambit in other ones. We get very little reception in the common areas of the halls, but generally people don't work out there any way. Access in classrooms is excellent. Also I've noticed a strange phenomenon. My roommate has a Macbook Pro and I have a PC (which is much better, for obvious reasons cough 600 dollars less, does the same thing, cough). So whenever I'm using the Wi-Fi, its plenty fast, but whenever we're both on it, his is about 4 times faster than mine. We say that he is "jacking all the tubes," which is not as gay as it sounds. Bottom line, if you're a PC user, bring an ethernet cable. You'll be fine.

Beautiful Weather

Sunny and cool with a view of the Pacific

Wow! What a great place to have...

Wow! What a great place to have gone to college. I received an excellent education and lived the best four years of my life here. Malibu and Pepperdine will always have special places in my heart. It is not the typical college experience, and that is what I loved about it. The only negative of the school is the Christian affiliation, which influences the strictness, the dry-campus, and the lack of Greek houses on campus. Do not go to Pepperdine if you are looking for the animal house party experience because it's not here. They are serious about their rules. Students have parties, but they are few and far between for fear of punishment. If you're looking for a small school with caring professors in an absolutely beautiful spot, then Pepperdine just might be the right place for you. I had a blast there and cried when I left (and I'm a dude).

The secret to living off campus is...

The secret to living off campus is finding one of the houses that gets passed down. I lived in a house in the Point Dume neighborhood with five guys that was footsteps away from the beach and about 10 minutes from campus (it no longer exists---the owner tore it down to build his dream mansion). There are more houses out there. The best way to go is with 4-5 people and get a real estate agent or an upperclassman in the know. If you want a one bedroom guest house to a mansion overlooking Point Dume, you'll have no problem doing that either. Rent is expensive, but so are Pepperdine dorm rooms. Get the dorm experience freshman year without getting in trouble for curfew or alcohol, and then move out. However, I'd rather live on campus than through the canyon. Malibu is too cool of a place to live anywhere else while going to Pepperdine.

The cafeteria at Pepperdine is...

The cafeteria at Pepperdine is some of the best caf food you'll find at any college. They have professional chefs and gourmet food. No fast food chain options, which for me was a huge plus. And you can't beat the view from the dining hall.

The Greek life is not typical....

The Greek life is not typical. There are no fraternity or sorority houses on campus. Also, the strictness of the University makes it difficult to have huge parties. My fraternity was kicked off campus permanently, but joining the fraternity was one of the best decisions I made. We had a lot of fun...until we got banished. The sororities are awesome. The Greek scene, along with the athletic teams, dominates the on-campus activities and events (Songfest, painting the rock, philanthropies, homecoming competitions, etc). Each fraternity and sorority had something slightly different to offer, and I'm glad I took part in it.

Just wanted to point out that most...

Just wanted to point out that most people here are not surfers and do not surf. It was extremely difficult to get six shortboarders for the team when I was there. However, if you are a surfer, you couldn't ask for a better place to go to school. I was in the water practically everyday before class. I would say the scene is more ripped jeans/ vintage tee for the dudes, and the comments on the girls have been spot-on as far as stereotypes go.

Pepperdine is an excellent...

Pepperdine is an excellent university with great opportunities for those interested in a variety of fields. I majored in Sports Medicine and am now a surgical resident at Kaiser in LA. I was extremely well prepared for medical school and attribute my success to the unique opportunities (anatomy and physiology as an undergrad), small class size and superb teachers.

The food is really good, but it...

The food is really good, but it gets monotonous after a while. Points do carry over to next semester now, and you should have enough.

What I like about Pepperdine is...

What I like about Pepperdine is that the campus is where I get my stuff done, and off campus is where I go to have a good time. I go into LA all the time and to off-campus parties and other schools for fun, but it is SO nice to have a serene, calm campus to come back to when I need to study. There are so many amazing opportunities just right outside the bubble of Malibu, and if you have a car, the nightlife is GREAT!

I feel like the people from...

I feel like the people from California think everyone here is really good looking, but everyone else has to get over the culture shock and then thinks the out-of-state people are also attractive.

At first, I wished I had gone...

At first, I wished I had gone elsewhere. It was truly culture shock to be with so many wealthy white people. I don’t think most people are open-minded here. The kids are very sheltered and spoiled. Don’t get me wrong—they aren’t all like that, but many are. I just felt cheated out of the college experience. I thought college was to find out others’ points of view and to become better rounded, but at Pepperdine, people are very conservative. The only thing that makes me think I made a good choice has been my professors. They are great! I could not imagine getting a better education anywhere.

I still think Pepperdine has been...

I still think Pepperdine has been the best college I could have gone to; I have made amazing friends and have had wonderful, caring professors who have known my name and appreciated my insights. There will always be disappointments wherever you end up, but I know I will always have nothing but fond college memories, long after I have moved on.

My overall experience at...

My overall experience at Pepperdine was very positive, though no school is without its politics or its groups of students that you just won’t understand. Freshman year was exciting, as the administration worked hard to acclimate recently-graduated high school seniors to the social and academic workload of being in college. There are fun student-organized events, including a day at Disneyland and free movies. Sophomore year was amazing on several levels, but mostly because I was studying abroad in London. The study abroad program at Pepperdine is incredibly strong and well established. I know several students who went to Buenos Aires, Florence, and Heidelberg, and who were reluctant to come back home. Junior and senior years at Pepperdine were concentrated on working toward my major. My professors and peers challenged me daily.

Though I had very few problems...

Though I had very few problems with Pepperdine, one that comes to mind is the lack of courses offered for the school’s more obscure degrees (specifically creative writing). And though Pepperdine lists itself as a liberal arts school, being in the creative arts myself, I found that the University gave very little support to its creative writers. The humanities department has fallen prey to major cutbacks.

My experience has been great. I...

My experience has been great. I love it, and I don’t wish I were anywhere else. If you’re worried about being homesick, don’t be. I got over it in a hurry. I went a long way and knew nobody, and I had a blast. I can’t recommend it strongly enough.

Truthfully, I really love the...

Truthfully, I really love the people that I met at Pepperdine and the experiences that I had. I was a cheerleader, a camp counselor, in a sorority, and really made a lot of friends my first two years there. However, Pepperdine is a really small school, and for some people, there is only so much growing that can be done at this institution. That was the case for me. The experiences that I had and the friends that I made I will no doubt keep for the rest of my life, and for that I am grateful, but I felt the way many people have felt: that it was no longer the place for me. A lot of my friends have also transferred to bigger schools. I did a year of community college, and I will be transferring to USC in the fall.

For me, Pepperdine is like a...

For me, Pepperdine is like a vacation where you have to work, but you can balance anything you want to do. The people are great, teachers actually care, and there are tons of things to do. I sometimes find myself wondering what I would be doing if I was somewhere else, not because I don’t love the people here, but as far as my program is concerned. I wonder if I could be spending my time more efficiently. Either you love it, or you don’t. I love the school and the people, but there are just some times when you wonder: what if?

Get yourself involved in different...

Get yourself involved in different things, and you’ll love it; don’t, and you won’t. Pepperdine has the best international programs around. The most important thing about Pepperdine, though, is that it’s a private, Christian school. You are required to go to weekly convocation in order to graduate. It’s a place and a time where you will be tested the most in your life.

Public transportation is your...

Public transportation is your friends and roommates.

It’s 70 to 80 degrees all year...

It’s 70 to 80 degrees all year round, and it barely rains.

It’s Southern California—great...

It’s Southern California—great weather. We do get a marine layer along the ocean.

It is the usual California...

It is the usual California weather: no real winter, but maybe a little rain. It can get a little chilly, but never really bad. It doesn’t get really hot in the summer either, because you are close to the ocean. You are just across Pacific Coast Highway from the ocean.

Sixty percent of the time, it is...

Sixty percent of the time, it is 80 degrees with the sun shining. The other 40 percent is nighttime.