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The school is too small, and is located in a town that frankly sucks. The administration is oppressive, prejudiced and arbitrary in dealing with any person or group it is opposed to in the student body. Most recent controversy was the banning last semester of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, for reasons that are laughable at best. Not much in the way of school pride, because all the sports are jokes. Unusual things - no football, and no booze. I'll always remember how people constantly harassed me for my lack of religion. Frequent complains...mandatory chapel service attendance, no drinking.
Carter Sophomore
When I tell most people from home that I go to Pepperdine, they're like "oh, um cool where is that again?" I feel like outside of CA a lot of people have never heard of it, but it's pretty well known in CA. When I meet people and tell them I go to Pepperdine sometimes they already have this idea of what a Pepperdine student should be like and I have to make sure that they don't get caught up in that. They usually think that I'll be fairly reserved, religious, and stuck up. Its important to meet people from other schools though because Pepperdine is pretty small, but most of my best friends do go to Pepperdine. It can be nice to take a break from Malibu though and head into LA because Pepp really shuts down on the weekends. I mean if you want to go out to eat and see a movie every weekend then you'd be fine staying in Malibu, but there are so many more choices of restaraunts in LA and so much more to do there.
Charlotte Sophomore
The best thing about Pepperdine is the campus. It's breathtakingly beautiful, even when its overcast or foggy. There are always flowers somewhere on campus, and the view of the Pacific Ocean is incomparable. Whenever you're stressed about classwork, it's easy to go outside and find someplace peaceful to ease away your worries. Another great thing about the school is the friendliness of the professors. Many of my professors have invited the class into their homes for meals or movies, and they are almost always accessible and willing to work with you. On the other hand, the administration can be more difficult, at least at the lower levels. Every time I go into Academic Advising or the Career Center, I've gotten little to no help from them, and sometimes they create more problems than they solve. Another problem is the location. Malibu is the most overrated college town in America. Nothing is cheap or convenient, and there is almost nothing to do on the weekends without driving 20 minutes to Santa Monica or L.A. However, the tedium is sometimes broken up with a somewhat-frightening-but-still-kind-of-exciting natural disaster of some sort, such as the fires that plagued us last fall. We all had to evacuate to the cafeteria, which was super-crowded, and the food supplies were less than tasty, but we got to miss two days of school, and there were helicopters everywhere and you could see the flames from just yards away. The scary thing was that most of the rest of the country seemed to know a lot more about what was going on than we did, because the administration didn't tell us much. Still, it was an experience I'll never forget.
Brooke Senior
Pepperdine is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. The only complaint I have about Malibu is the fact that it is pretty isolated. It is a small town, but the good thing is that LA isn't far away if thats what you're looking for and the beach is just a minute away. Pepperdine is a very small school and it definitely has the small school feel. I like the fact that when I walk around campus I always run into someone I know, but of course that could be bad for some people as well. I spend most of my time on campus in the caf, the library, or watching the athletic games. Pepperdine administration usually really tries to work with the students, but it is at times very frustrating and restricting. But our student government is very involved with changing things at Pepperdine. Most students complaints usually are from getting alcohol violations and being put on probation since it is a dry campus.
j Junior
Pepperdine is a smaller campus where you feel appreciated and connected. You can meet with professors over coffee and discuss what your plans are and ask questions about classes. You can pretty much know the majority of people on campus and feel like you can make a difference. Getting involved is not hard at all...just find your niche and go to work. I was able to write for the newspaper in my first week as a freshman, better my leadership skills in a number of programs such as Jumpstart on campus, and get a circle of friends that I wouldn't change for the world!
Brittany Alum
Pepperdine's campus is gorgeous! Its built into the hills so you have a view of the ocean from practically everywhere on campus. I also love how small of a school Pepperdine is, a lot of the faculty live in housing just above the campus too and they have their students over for dinner a lot which is really nice. Its a very community-oriented school which is so nice. I didn't want to go to a big school and just be one of the crowd, you don't get as many of the perks as big schools at Pepperdine, but you get a great community instead. The main thing people complain about is if they don't have a car they're stuck. Most of the time you can find a ride because lots of people have cars, but there's really nothing to walk to off campus, you have to drive about 20 minutes to get to anything worthwhile other than the Ralph's across the street which is the only thing open in Malibu after 10.
Courtney Junior
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