Ready for a little bit of sunshine? Is your son or daughter ready to go to a college where s/he will add sunglasses and flip-flops to the college packing list? Maybe you have a spring break trip planned to a place where you can get out of the rain. If so, take a side trip to look at one or more of these colleges.
Chapman University, Orange, CA (www.chapman.edu)
- Chapman's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts allows students hands-on experience in film production, advertising, screen acting, broadcast journalism, digital arts, screenwriting, and more
- In addition to supporting their DIII athletics, students use their free time to head to the beach or spend the afternoon at Disneyland, three miles from campus. Hollywood is 30 miles north where media arts majors access hundreds of internships in the entertainment industry
- By the numbers: 50% admit rate; Mid-range* SAT scores CR 540-640, M 550-660, ACT 25-29
- Just over 1,800 undergraduates enjoy a laid-back campus with challenging academics near the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico
- Popular academic programs include marine science, environmental science, international studies, and creative writing
- By the numbers: 71% admission rate in rolling admissions; Mid-range SAT scores: CR 510-620, M 495-610; ACT mid-range 23-28
- All classes at NCF are pass/fail; students receive a written narrative evaluation from their professor for each course. All seniors write and defend a senior project and research, with a surprisingly large number of seniors offered Fulbright Fellowships to continue their research
- 825 undergraduates learn in small discussion-based classes and have one month between fall and spring semesters to pursue individual projects and research
- By the numbers: 53% admission rate; Mid-range SAT: CR 640-740, M 580-670, ACT 27-31
- 119 majors are offered to undergraduates, with architecture, engineering and pre-medical majors among the most popular. Undergrad architecture students spend a year in an architecture firm to get practical experience
- 3,300 undergraduates enjoy fourteen NCAA Division I athletic teams, dozens of intramural sports, and eleven residential colleges with their own dining halls and public spaces
- By the numbers: 21% admission rate; Mid-range SAT: CR 650-750, M 690-790, ACT 30-34
- After fall and spring semesters, students can choose a one-month intensive “May Term” class on campus or a travel class in a foreign country
- Pre-professional majors, liberal arts, business and music majors are most popular. All enjoy the surrounding environs of Big Bear Lake and Arrowhead ski resorts, as well as the SoCal sun
- By the numbers: 67% admission rate; Mid-range SAT: CR 520-620, M 520-620, ACT 22-27
