Chapman University

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Film Production
Minor: Film Music Composition
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Female

Summary

I’m in the Cru Christian Group, I’m in Sounds & Radio, and I’m in Greek life.

Background

Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

High School Experience: Public high school in Chicago, IL with a graduating class of about 500 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Film Production
Minor: Film Music Composition

Extracurricular Activities: I’m in the Cru Christian Group, I’m in Sounds & Radio, and I’m in Greek life.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Being in Cru has led to a lot of friendships and it’s been a fun thing to do every week.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
It’s mostly quizzes and essays. I didn’t have any finals where I had to show up, we just submitted essays online. Sometimes we have to go on film sets where we have different roles, like a production assistant. We work to help get a film made. Essays make up the bulk of the grade, but in classes where we make actual videos, the major grades were projects.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly academically?
In terms of especially well, they emphasize storytelling and collaboration. They do a great job of making sure everyone wants to work together. In terms of poorly, the freshmen don’t get access to a lot of good film equipment, but that has never impacted a grade on a project from what I’ve seen.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s collaborative. We work together, and they get a lot of underclassmen on set intentionally so they can learn and mentor them.
How accessible are your professors?
A lot of my professors have been pretty accessible. A lot of the professors commute from Los Angeles, so I’ve noticed you have to plan in advance for some of those.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I wanted to do film production and wanted to be at a place that had a community and wasn’t very big. I’m happy and I really love it here.
How was transitioning academically as a freshman? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
There were resources. We had orientation leaders and if you reached out to them, they were helpful after orientation. Our teachers are also understating that we’re new to the process. If anything, I found it easier than high school because we’re doing more of what we want to do with less class time per week.
Have you used academic accommodations? If so, how helpful were they?
They’re easy to work with and teachers are very understanding, but it’s a little confusing to set it up. The hardest part for me is you have to request a room for a test very far in advance, so if you forget, you can’t get the accommodation for the test.

Reasons to Attend

1) It’s a really friendly place and everyone wants to learn and work together to achieve that.
2) The location is great. There are a lot of things to do in the town. It’s a small town, but you can walk to the grocery store or the gas station right down the street.
3) You’re close to other big cities, so the location is great.
4) The teachers are really good. If you’re in the film school, the teachers are either actively working or have worked important jobs in the film industry.
5) The class sizes are small. [The average class size at Chapman is 23 students.]

Reasons Not to Attend

1) It’s not as diverse as it could be. [51% of students are White. Socioeconomically, about 33% of students come from the top 5%.]
2) The campus itself is kind of small, and the town it’s in is small. You’ll see everything within the first few days.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Pralle-Sodaro Hall with two roommates and three suitemates
How was transitioning from your Chicago to Orange, CA in terms of location?
Transitioning was easy for me because I settled in well and found friends right away. The weather is a lot nicer so I enjoy it. If you’re trying to get out of the snow, this is a good place.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel very safe. I go on walks all the time, and I walk about 35-minutes to the grocery store. I’ve never personally experienced any fear around campus.
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Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
We mostly just have fraternity parties here, which are pretty fun. They don’t always last that long, but we usually go from one to another. We can go to clubs if we go to the city, but we usually just have dorm or fraternity parties.
What nights of the week do you regularly do things?
Really any night. Friday and Saturday are the typical ones, but there are also [events to go to] on Wednesdays or Thursdays.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife at Chapman?
If you’re a guy not in a fraternity, you can’t go to the party, so you’re limited to only staying in the dorm. Some sororities have certain fraternities they typically go to. [About 25% of men join fraternities and 48% of women are in sororities.]
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
Going to movies or the beach. You can go get dinner in The Circle, or you can hang out in the dorms.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Chapman? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m happy with the options. If we had more clubs in the area, that would be fun.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
They are my roommates.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Chapman?
It’s very friendly. Everyone is willing to get coffee and get to know each other. I will say that when you go out [to parties], you’re usually out with the friends you’re out with and you don’t stray away too much. So, you don’t always get to know a lot of people while you’re out.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Everything is pretty mixed. It’s not like people are excluded from anything. There’s not a lot of diversity on this campus, but from what I’ve seen people haven’t discriminated about other’s identities. [The undergraduate population is about 51% White, 15% Hispanic, 1.7% Black, 13% Asian, and 4% international.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
A lot. For females, you can’t rush until the spring, so you make a lot of friends before rushing. You make friends before we rush, so of our friends that we’re already friends with may not be in our sorority or a sorority at all. Greek life here is very mixed into campus and people are friends with people in other sororities. There’s no competition.
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.]
I think the size is perfect. It’s big enough to where you walk around and are able to meet people. It’s also small enough to where you know your teacher really well and can walk around campus and always say hi to people. You don’t feel like a stranger, but you also don’t feel trapped.
How do you like that freshmen are housed with people in their school?
It has its pros and its cons. I like it because I’ve gotten to know people who can all help each other succeed in their majors. The reason I rushed [a sorority] was that I felt that the only people I knew were in the film school because I lived with them and had a class with them. You’re able to get out of it, but you do feel like you’re sometimes only getting to know a certain part of the population.

Careers

Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I learned Avid.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how accommodating was the office to your needs?
Yes, I’ve used financial aid. I’ve never communicated with them directly, I just show up and drop a form and haven’t had a problem.