If you are a junior in high school right now, it’s definitely time to start thinking about your college visits – a perfect time to see what a school you might be considering is really like without solely relying on their website or brochure.  With all of the colleges out there, how do you begin to narrow your college search?  Check back with our blog frequently (or better yet-sign up below to get our blog sent straight to your email), as we will be posting things we have observed on our most recent college visits.

Today, the KaMi Spotlight is on Chapman University, located in Orange, CA.

5 Things You Might Know:

• Chapman is a small, private college nestled right in the middle of a quaint residential area.  Many of the houses surrounding the campus are owned by the University, and are home to Professors and their families.

• Cost to attend with room and board is approximately $60,000 a year.

• Enrollment for 2012-2013 was around 5,000 undergrad students and approximately 7,000 total students.

• A NCAA Division 3 school in the SCIA Conference consisting of 12 Southern California private schools.

• The average class size is 20-25 students, and the most popular programs are Business, Communications, Psychology, and Film Production.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Chapman:

•The 4-story Library is actually 9 libraries in one, with 50 study rooms, and a Holocaust Memorial Library on the top floor.

• About 33% of the students participate in Greek Life, with 16 different Greek organizations, but there are no Greek houses on campus.

•Chapman displays the 2nd largest piece of the Berlin Wall (owned by an American university) in Liberty Plaza.

• Included in the cost of tuition is Interterm, an opportunity to take a course or study abroad during the month of January (between semesters).  If you participate in Interterm all 4 years this equals a “free”, extra semester of college, and gives you a chance to experiment with classes outside of your major.

• 92% of freshmen live on campus, usually 3 to a room, and there is a gym and an outdoor pool just for students living in the dorms.

Chapman is a beautiful school filled with opportunities for advancement, education, and real world experience.  We enjoyed our tour (AND the free lunch they provided at the end!)

Leatherby Libraries

Global Citizens Plaza, where each flag represents a student’s country, or a country where a Chapman student can go to study abroad.

We thought this was clever…a station to fix your bike!

Sand volleyball court right near the dorms!

The 4 pillars of Chapman – Spiritual, Social, Physical and Intellectual.

Attallah Piazza Center- a student hangout spot!

A piece of the Berlin Wall

Chapman’s Athletic Field