Chapman University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Health Science with an emphasis on Physical Therapy
Minor: Psychology
Student Self Identifies as: Hispanic Heterosexual Male

Summary

I’m a student-athlete.

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Hispanic
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public school in Long Beach, CA with a graduating class of about 1,000 students. There was a culture of going to college
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Health Science with an emphasis on Physical Therapy
Minor: Psychology

Extracurricular Activities: I’m a student-athlete.
What impact has being an athlete had on your experience?
It’s had a big impact on my experience and is one of the reasons I went to Chapman. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve met some guys that I’m going to be friends with for the rest of my life and talk to on a daily basis. It’s made the experience here a lot better and has made it worth going here.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
Right now, I have two classes that have labs, so I have two labs a week that are about four-hours long each. In almost all of my classes I have weekly quizzes. The main grades are quizzes, exams, and then for labs, we’ll have lab reports and post-labs. For some classes, we have week-to-week homework, but for others, you just have to prepare for the exam.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
Something they do well is they make sure everyone gets the core classes that they need to graduate on time. The professors are always there to help you out. They have office hours and are available for a lot of students. The advising is really helpful.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s a little bit of both. A lot of people are there are willing to help you out, but a lot of people are trying to get into graduate school, so they are really competitive about grades, test curves, and things like that. They want to make sure that people aren’t getting better grades than them, so sometimes it can depend on who you are talking to. Some of the lower-division weed-out classes are graded on a curve, like Organic Chemistry, and some professors will curve an exam depending on how the class performed. But, based on my experience, there will still be people who study together in those classes.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re very accessible. Most of them are on campus a lot of the time and also have office hours available. If you can’t make their office hours, they are willing to set up an appointment with you.
How was transitioning as a first-generation college student? Were there any resources in place that helped you adapt?
It was definitely tough my first year going in. I got some grades early on that I didn’t want to get. Especially being a student-athlete, I didn’t know what to expect and my grades took a bit of a downfall. There were resources, but I didn’t really use them very much because I had teammates who were older than me who were willing to help me out and guide me to get through that.
How is managing both your sport and your coursework?
That took about my freshman year to get used to, but after that, I felt like I got it down. Based on our practice schedule, I know what days I want to use to get ahead on work and then when we have practices I do little by little to get what I need to get done.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
Since I was younger, I’ve wanted to work in the health care field and help people and be there for people. Mainly, I want to do physical therapy mainly because I can’t play sports forever and I want to help people in the sports field with getting back from injuries. I’m definitely happy with my choice. I enjoy all the classes I’m taking and I always look forward to the classes I can take. The field is really interesting to me and I’m excited to get better so I can do what I want to do later in life.

Reasons to Attend

1) If you’re looking for a smaller school size and want to get a lot of attention from professors. You’re going to get a lot of help from professors to make sure you pass your classes.
2) If you want to be a student-athlete and maybe you’re not the best athlete, there are a lot of sports teams you can play for. People can just try out if they want to.
3) We have a really good business school and film school. If you’re looking into those schools, they’re really good here.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) If you’re looking for a big party school, Chapman is not that.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Pralle-Sodaro Hall with two roommates and three suitemates.
Sophomore & Junior: I live in an off-campus apartment with three roommates.
How was transitioning from Long Beach, CA to Orange, CA in terms of location?
It wasn’t a big change because it’s still Southern California. There wasn’t a crazy culture change, but I get to see more diversity in my hometown than I do here at Chapman. [About 51% of students are White at Chapman.]
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel pretty safe. It’s an open campus, so anybody can come on campus whenever they want, but I’ve never had to worry about that. I feel safe no matter where I am on campus.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
We go to the beach a lot or we will hang out by someone’s pool. We like to go to the bars in Orange. There are some really cool bars that Chapman students like to hang out at. On Thursday nights, a lot of people go to a couple of bars in Orange. On Fridays, people go to the bars out in Newport Beach. Chapman’s a bar school because house parties, which are usually hosted by Greek organizations or sports teams, get shut down pretty early because of the situation with the residents. The parties also aren’t that big since the houses aren’t that big. [See The Panther article, “Some residents have ‘zero tolerance’ for partying students” and LA Times article, “Chapman University faces an uphill battle with neighbors over a plan to grow enrollment at Orange campus.”]
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife at Chapman?
I never thought about joining Greek life since I’m on a sports team and we don’t have Greek houses on campus. But, Greek life is still pretty big at Chapman. A lot of people want to rush and be a part of it. [About 25% of men join fraternities and 48% of women are in sororities.]
How happy are you with the weekend options at Chapman? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m pretty happy with it. It would be cool when I was a freshman and sophomore to have big house parties that you see at other schools. But, for the most part, I’m pretty happy with it.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friends came from my sports team. I am with them every day and have similarities, so you get to know each other really well and get close.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Chapman?
It’s good. Every time people aren’t in class people are hanging out, talking, and enjoying the weather and the great views we have on campus. If you walk by someone, you usually know them and will have a little conversation with them. It’s not very big so you’re going to know a good amount of people here. Everyone’s super friendly and wants to hang out and talk.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I see a lot of people who hang out with their own sexual orientation group. But, with race, I think it’s pretty mixed. You don’t see a lot of certain races at Chapman, so with those groups you’ll see them hanging out with more people of their own race just because they feel more comfortable. [The undergraduate population is about 51% White, 15% Hispanic, 1.7% Black, 13% Asian, and 4% international.]
How would you describe the Hispanic community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s growing. I definitely see more people of Hispanic backgrounds at Chapman. It seems pretty strong and seems stronger than some of the other racial groups on campus.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Not at all really. I feel like people in Greek life only really hang out with other people in Greek life, especially in the fraternities. The girls in sororities hang out more with people not in Greek life. I’m friends with a lot of sorority girls just because at Chapman you can’t rush a sorority until the second semester of your freshman year, so I met a lot of them before they rushed. With the guys in fraternities, if I was cool with them before they rushed we’re still cool, but we don’t hang out or talk much outside of running into each other at the bars.
How would you describe the student body at Chapman?
Everyone’s super cool. I’ve yet to come across guys or girls who are rude or won’t talk with me. Everyone’s really cool and has a laid back and chill vibe.
How do you like the size of Chapman in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 7,300 students at Chapman.]
It’s nice. It’s bigger than some of the smaller schools, but it’s nice because we still have smaller class sizes and can get help from the professors. I think it’s perfect because you’ll still walk around and see someone new but also see someone you’ve seen before. [The average class size at Chapman is 23 students.]
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Chapman by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Chapman?
Yeah, definitely. I feel people who didn’t get a good vibe from Chapman leave after freshman or sophomore year and that’s mainly because they were from the East Coast and didn’t like the culture change from where they were. But, the people who stay all four years and graduate from it love it. Every time I see an alum they talk about how much they miss Chapman. [For the cohort of freshmen in Fall 2017, 89.68% of students returned for their sophomore year.]

Careers

Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I use Excel in a lot of my Chemistry classes. You use it in your lab every week. And, even in your Biology classes, you get familiar with it.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
Yes, I’m on a lot of financial aid right now. They’re super helpful. Whenever I have an issue with something, I’ll go to them and there’s never really a line, or if there is, it’s really quick. They’re super helpful with telling you what you have to get done. Also, if I email them, I’ll get an email back the same day and sometimes no more than an hour later.