Chappenings

Help us help you

2012-01-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

Now that the deadline has passed and reading season is in full swing for us counselors at Chapman University we wanted to take a quick minute to give a few announcements.

First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who has been admitted to Chapman! Hopefully you were as excited reading your decision as we were making it. Now this may seem like the time to sit back and coast but be sure to avoid the ever-tempting 'senioritis' and keep your grades strong through the coming semesters.

For those students who are being reviewed in our regular cycle be sure to send us any updated materials as they become available. We have been emailing students asking them for updated transcripts, test scores, etc. so be on the lookout! If your school has begun releasing your transcripts for your most recent semester be sure to send those our way. Having the most up-to-date information helps us make decisions. Help us help you!

Once again if you have any questions throughout this process please give us a call at (714) 997-6711. Happy studies!

Slip'n'Slide Video from Nicaragua

2012-01-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

I wanted to share this video our alumnus Connor Martin made from our slip-n-slide fiesta in Nicaragua.

Enjoy :)

-Nicky

Early Action Decisions

2012-01-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Happy new year from the Admissions Office at Chapman University! We have begun releasing our Early Action decisions. Cue the video:

Please note that certain majors will take a bit longer for us to get a decision out to you (most notably any talent based majors). Should you have any questions please call us at 714-997-6711. Happy applying!

'Tis the Season for...

2011-11-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

Giving Back!

If you received either of our last two Admissions Snapshots, you probably noticed our blurbs about some of the work we've been doing as an office to give back to our communities. I also promised to share a bit more about some work I was able to do this summer, and while I could probably go on for days about our awesome trip to Nicaragua, I figured some short stories and pictures would suffice.

Some of my former teammates and friends got connected with an organization called Lacrosse the Nations a few years back, and we had been hoping to participate in one of their service trips to Latin America since we heard about the amazing work they do. Well, 50 email threads and an immeasurable amount of planning later (thanks Julia!)...

We ended up gathering a plethora of Chapman family members for the excursion, including (in no particular order) almuni Connor Martin (AKA Con Bro Chill), Steve Felts, Drew Nordstrom, Amy Pamensky and myself, and current students/players Zack Urbany, Allie Kontny, Matt "Filthy Fifty" Walrath, Julia Hunsaker, Andrew Clayton, Mack Shaw, and Audrey Banjamin. We had quite a few other participants along as well, but I'll leave the intros to just those from Chapman for space consideration.

We focused our energy on quite a few different projects during the week, ranging from cleaning up school recreation areas to building an equipment shed for the new lax gear that was donated to the program. Here is a shot of the shed mid-way through construction. I know it's nothing special, but in case you didn't know, we don't have an architecture program at Chapman ;) Big thanks to our two Nicaraguan handymen for keeping this thing standing...and for demonstrating how to properly dissect a coconut!

Care to guess what's going on in this one? In case you couldn't easily tell, yes, that is a DJ in the background, and yes, we are at one of the local elementary schools outside of Managua during a school day. We didn't get the memo that class was cancelled, so we showed up ready to practice some LAX despite the unusual setup on campus that day. We made the best of our time, I even got a chance to spin some records with the only Nicaraguan DJ I've ever met.

This might be my favorite image from the trip. Chaptown lax players are big fans of the slip'n'slide (check out this vid!), so we thought we'd share our enthusiasm with the locals. Despite what it might look like, this assisted toss was totally consensual.

In summary, I think we all agreed it was one of those "life changer" type trips. After sharing some thoughts on our last night and reminiscing about our favorite and most challenging parts of the week, I couldn't help but contemplate just how grateful I was for everything. Our purpose for coming down to Nicaragua with the LtN program started out as a service project, felt like a vacation, and taught me more than I could hope to learn without leaving the comforts of home.

Here is one last picture of my roommate Matt and I and a couple of our future all-stars-in-training.

As we said in the Admissions Snapshot email, we'd love to hear your own stories of ways in which you've been able to give back to your communities. Please send us your stories and pictures to Grant at gcushman@chapman.edu, and stay tuned because we will be selecting one of your submissions to be featured here on the blog. Oh, and you just might receive some fresh Chapman swag too :)

Happy Holidays from your favorite Admission Counselors,

Reading Season!

2011-11-11T15:30:00.003-08:00

Well all of us counselors have landed safely back home and we are now gearing up for reading season. Last year we had over 10,000 applications and are projecting to receive even more than that this year.

With that many applications being received, we have an influx of application materials piling on our doorstep everyday. It can take a few days for us to receive, process, scan, and link your documents so please be patient with us. Although we are more than willing to check the status of your file please allot an appropriate amount of time to make sure that we have processed your application materials. You can also check your WebAdvisor to see the status of your application!

Our Early Action deadline is rapidly approaching! So for all of you who want to apply early be sure to submit your application by Tuesday, November 15th! (Note, if you are applying to Film Production, you must apply Early Action).

Our Regular Decision deadline is January 15th, 2012. Neither of our deadlines are binding so feel free to apply to whichever deadline you deem appropriate. We, in general, recommend Early Action simply due to the lower volume of applications during that time and the freedom we have with you as an applicant.

On a less logistical note, we had Discover Chapman Day on October 29th and it was a HUGE success! Thank you all for who attended! We had over 1600 guest who came out and enjoyed our campus. We hope that for all who could come can still come and visit and take a campus tour every weekday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

http://www.chapman.edu/admission/visit/tours.asp

The following Monday, as I'm sure you know, was Halloween and we in the Admission Office are always ready to don some costumes and get in the holiday Spirit.

Happy applying everyone!

On The Road Again

2011-09-14T12:58:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

Fall is here and that means that your friendly neighborhood Chapman Admission Counselors are hitting the road and jet-setting around the country.

Now I know what you're thinking: That's great Chapman, but I have no idea who my admission counselor is and when they are visiting my area. Cool your jets, we have you covered. Here is an interactive map of the US divided by counselor so you can see your admission representative in their full glory! Just click on the admission counselor assigned to your state/region to see their contact information.

As for when they are visiting, you can surf on over to our website and sign up for a regional interview and reception. Or you can just click on the handy links here:

Interviews

Receptions

You high school college and career counselors should be keeping you updated on if and when Chapman University will be visiting your campus.

On an equally as important note, the Common Application is now live and you can being applying to your favorite universities by following this link:

Common Application

We will be keeping you all updated on our travels and hopefully we will see you on the road!

WACAC Champions!

2011-06-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings Panthers!

I'm pleased to announce that Chapman University is the 2011 WACAC Olympic Champions!

WACAC stands for "Western Association for College Admission Counseling" and its mission is to support and advance the work of counseling and enrollment professionals from Nevada and California. At the 2011 Conference, held at Loyola Marymount University, Counselors and Enrollment Professionals come together from all over the West to share ideas and discuss strategies to help students reach their full potential.

The highlight of the event, the WACAC Olympics, allowed Chapman to show its stuff and dominate in events such as the 'Catalog Toss, The One Minute Speech, Retention Race, and many more.' We are now in possession of the prized 'Winnie' trophy and we hope Winnie will remain here for many years to come.

Go Panthers!

Updates for Transfer Admission for Fall of 2011

2011-05-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers!

Shannon Crogan, Associate Director of Admission at Chapman University, has a few updates regarding Transfer Admission for the Fall of 2011. Please be advised:

For Fall 2011 Admitted Transfer Students~

June 1st Enrollment Deposit Deadline- please note that if you need flexibility with this deadline just email me at scrogan@chapman.edu and let me know so that we can work with you on that. Our June 1st deadline is somewhat flexible for most majors, especially for those students who just recently have been admitted.

July- Course Advising and Registration begins for all deposited, incoming high school and transfer students and will be ongoing throughout the rest of the summer

For Fall 2011 Transfer Students either still in the admission process OR haven’t yet completed their application file~

We are continuing to make admission decisions on a rolling basis until we are full. If your application is complete and you have not yet heard back from us you should be receiving an admission decision soon. Please be sure to check your Web Advisor account that all of your documents have arrived

If you still have not yet completed your application for admission the Common Application will turn off on June 1st so you will want to make sure to have your documents submitted by then

Any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Admission at 714-997-6711.
Thank you.

Chapman's 150 Birthday Party!

2011-05-06T16:04:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few pictures... mostly from 'setup' of Chapman's 150 year celebration. There were lots of folks there taking pictures so I'm sure we'll have more to share in the future!

Spring Sizzle 2011

2011-04-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the Admission office stopped by "Spring Sizzle" and we wanted to share a few pictures with you.

Alumni Ian Reitz with Good Morning Tucson - CONAN Spot

2011-04-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Preview Day 2011

2011-04-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hello readers,

For those of you who were not able to attend Preview Day, here's audio of the opening session:

Preview Day 2011 Opening Session by chapmanadmit

Some of our students will be posting blogs about preview day as well, and Miles will be editing a re-cap video. Stay tuned for more!

-DM

Preview Day Videos from the Past

2011-04-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

Admitted students day (Preview Day) is coming up this April 10th. Here are a few videos from years past.

These were made by our previous video student Sasha. This year will be Miles first preview day video.

-dm

Notification Timeline 2011 - Update

2011-03-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hello readers!

We wanted to let you know that with an approximate 30% increase in applications (for the 2nd year in a row) we are FLOODED with applications. Some of you have noticed that even though it is past March 15th, you don't have your final decision yet. Fortunately, many of you do have your final decision as of or before March 15th.

A little while back, we wrote this blog post about our notification timeline:

The information in that post is still very accurate, but it's looking like more students will hear from us between March 15th and the first week of April. Our counselors are working tirelessly to read and evaluate all of the files including many nights and weekends. Thanks so much for your patience while we handle this increase in applications.

Best wishes!
-dm

Tomorrow – Don’t Miss All the News and a Glimpse of Chapman’s Exciting Future!

2011-02-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

Hi readers!

This message below is a paraphrase of what just came to Chapman students, faculty, and staff. We wanted to extend the invitation to you!

_______________________________________

Tune in to President Jim Doti’s 2011 STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS Friday, February 25 at 11 a.m.

President Jim Doti’s annual State of the University Address is always a fast-paced, information-packed and highly entertaining multi-media event that showcases the Chapman community’s great achievements of the past year and highlights exciting visions of the university’s future. Want to know more about Chapman’s 150th Anniversary and all the fun and fascinating events coming up this year as we celebrate this milestone birthday? How about that upcoming new classroom building next to Memorial Hall? What will Argyros Forum look like when all the construction work is done? What other enhancement projects are in the works for the campus? Tune in to find out all the news!

Watch the webcast LIVE on the Chapman homepage:

www.chapman.edu

( Or Archived Here: http://www.chapman.edu/president/universityAddress.asp )

________________________________

Also, if you happen to be on campus, you can attend the event live!

Best wishes and thanks for reading,

-dm

Web Advisor - Technical Difficulties

2011-02-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hey readers,

This is a short post; it's just to notify you that we've recently been made aware of some technical difficulties regarding WebAdvisor. Our IS&T staff is working to get this issue resolved. Some students (but not all) see a message that says:

*click image to enlarge

If you see this message, don't be alarmed! It's a glitch in our reporting system, not in your file. Thank you for your patience, and be sure to check back in 48 hours.

Thanks everyone!

-dm

Construction Update

2011-02-07T20:45:00.000-08:00

Hello readers!

Many of you may know that we are adding another section to Argyros Forum; the building where the Admission Office is located. Many of you have been here for fellows interviews, transfer appointments, and campus tours. The new space will allow for a bigger admission office (which we desperately need) and more student space including an Einstein Bagels, WOW, and Jamba Juice.

Every few days when I come in to work, I'll take a few pictures and post them here in this photostream:

Also, check out the construction cams here:
(West Camera) - (North Camera)

Thanks for reading!

-David May

Alumni's film "Husk" on SyFy this weekend:

2011-02-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Just wanted to promote my old Chapman friend/roommate's film "HUSK" which will be appearing on SyFy this weekend.

I hope you watch it, and I hope you like it!

-dm

Back to the Future: Relevant Blogs from the Past

2011-01-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

We wanted to share with you a few blog posts from the past that still contain great advice.

For this time of year, the most important things to remember are as follows:

We are working to process, compile, and read your applications as fast as we can. We thank you all for your patience!
Our application deadlines have passed, but it is possible to apply late. Late students will be considered on a space available basis and will be considered after the 'on time' folks.
Talent programs do typically take longer to turn around a decision than non talent departments because there are more individuals who need to review application materials, and there are more application materials to review.
We are all very happy to have received your applications - they look very good this year!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to comment below.

-David May

Early Action Admission Decisions Have Started Going Out

2011-01-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

Hello readers!

We are happy to announce that the first batch of early action decisions have gone out! This year, we decided to kick off this occasion by delivering the first early action packet in person.

Remember, we start notifying early action applicants January 15th, but this process won't conclude for a few more weeks, so be patient! Also, if you applied to a talent program it is likely that your decision will not be in this first bundle, but will roll out in weeks to come. For more info on our specific time line, please reference this previous post.

For those of you who have read message boards, etc discussing our WebAdvisor statuses, know that it's going to change a bit this year. For the remainder of the year, when a 'final decision' is reached, the WebAdvisor status bar will read "Decision Mailed." This means that your decision is complete and we will place it in the mail as soon as we can. Remember that your packet needs to be made, your letter printed, the packet sent to our mailing room, then it hits the post office so this process could take a little while. Unfortunately our protocol is to not give admission decisions over the phone so unfortunately we won't be able to disclose that over the phone.

Also, we've had people in the past videotape the opening of their Chapman Acceptance Packet... I guess we can call it a "Chapman Acceptance Un-Boxing." Occasionally when we receive these videos, we post them. Here is an example:

Thanks so much for reading! Best wishes,

Chapman University
Office of Undergraduate Admission

Orange County Experiences Summer Teaser!

2011-01-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

As I am writing this blog, it is 74 degrees outside! If you are curious what temperature it is going to be this weekend, check out the widget below. Chapman's Schmid College of Science is complete with a forecast center - CLICK HERE to see their predictions!

OR check out the weather channel for Orange County HERE

Also, click here for live views around campus, the beach, and the mountains, or enjoy the video below prepared by Chapman Senior Sasha de Mello featuring Chapman's convenient distance from the beach.

Have a great MLK weekend everyone!

-David May

Discover Chapman Day 2010

2011-01-12T16:17:00.001-08:00

Hello readers!

Sorry it took us so long to get our annual Discover Chapman Day video up on the blog.

Sophomores/Juniors/etc, if you missed DCD 2010, we'll see you at DCD 2011!

-David

(p.s. Sasha, thanks for all of your work on this video!)

Do You Like Online Admission Decisions?

2011-01-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hello readers,

So there are opinions on both sides of this argument. Some folks think that admission decisions are too sensitive, and too special to ruin them with a one or two word "you're accepted" or "your denied" type of message online.

Others think that there is nothing wrong with seeing your admission decision online, and then receiving the letter and packet in the mail a few days later explaining the situation/details further.

We are curious what our applicants think. The survey below is anonymous so feel free to give us feedback! Thanks for reading, and for participating in our poll!

-dm

Notification Timeline

2011-01-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

Hello readers,

We have been getting quite a few questions regarding our timeline recently, so we wanted to take a minute to lay it out for everyone.

EARLY ACTION

We hope to send out the first batch of decisions on January 15th. Keep in mind, this is only the FIRST BATCH. Not everyone will find out at that time. Many applicants who applied with a supplemental application (COPA, Art, etc) will most likely not hear on January 15th. These departments have more documents to process, and have to pass through more committees before a decision can be rendered.

If you applied to the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, click here for a more detailed Dodge timeline.

We will continue to make decisions on early action students until they are complete. The vast majority of the early action decisions will be complete before we move on to the regular pool.

REGULAR ACTION

We begin deciding on regular decision after early action, so it depends on how many applicants applied early vs. regular. In other words, if 30% applied early, it won't take that long to start sending regular decisions out. If 70% of the pool applied early, it will take along time to get to the regular applicants.

If I remember right, last year's goal was to have the vast majority of the regular action applicants done by March 15th. 99% of the applicants will hear before April 1st; we want you to have a full month before May 1 to decide. May 1 is sort of the unofficial day all of the institutions of higher education have agreed upon as a deposit due date.

I know that's a little foggy; I'll update with another post when I know more. As always, feel free to coment below, or contact us with questions or concerns.

Santa in the Circle!

2010-12-28T22:35:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, Chapman lives in "Old Towne Orange" which is in the middle of Orange County, CA. It's a quaint town with amazing food and great shops. Around the holidays, the circle is decorated with items from many faiths. In particular, one tradition occurs every Christmas eve. A group of motorcyclists who dress up as Santa and drive through the circle to spread holiday cheer.

Sorry I don't have better video - next year I'll bring the good camera.

Thanks for reading. We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday break!!

-dm

Chapman Carolers

2010-12-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a short clip of the Chapman Carolers singing at the staff/administrator holiday party:

Thanks for reading,

-dm

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-21T16:11:00.000-08:00

Hello readers!

We just wanted to take a quick minute to say Happy Holidays! Also, we wanted to remind you that our office will be closed until January 3rd, 2011.

In the meantime, enjoy this holiday game!

http://www.playitontheweb.com/games/Happy-Holidays-full.htm

Best wishes!

(click here to see last year's holiday video)

Thanks Zinch!

2010-12-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to share with everyone the nice card that Zinch sent us! Happy Holidays everyone!

Thanks for reading,
-dm

Furry Finals

2010-12-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

Around finals, it's somewhat of a Chapman tradition that there will be some puppy petting stations to help our students de-stress.

-DM

...it's been way too long!

2010-12-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

We have been VERY BUSY up here in admission! As a result I have not written much lately and I am very sorry about that. Here is a really quick recap of what is going on:

Panther Pages (create - login) are new to the admission process this year.
"Snapshots" are new this year. they are monthly info-blasts that Cassidy and I put together. Does anyone have suggestions as to what they'd like us to cover?
It's too soon to tell exactly, but we are tracking ahead in applications form last year... and it looks like by a lot. Perhaps I can be more specific later.
We are working on a new campus tour and interview RSVP tool that will make it a lot easier for you all to register for tours and interviews.
Sasha is graduating soon!
Miles is her replacement.
Our new Admission Office will be under construction soon.

While I have been bad about writing recently, our students have been great. Read their blog too!

Best wishes,

-dm

Live Event 3.0

2010-10-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Once a year, Chapman University hosts Discover Chapman Day, and some of our students and I webcast a few of the sessions. We are excited to have as many students on campus as possible, but we understand that sometimes this is not possible. For those who can't make it, we like to get you into at least some of these sessions.

Keep an eye on today's DCD by utilizing our live window is below:

(highlights: Biochemistry, Chemistry - or- honors program)

Here's a highlight from opening session: Chapman University's Sound Check

To learn more about Discover Chapman Days from the past, click here!

Live event 1.0 - http://chappenings.blogspot.com/2009/10/discover-chapman-day-live.html

Live event 2.0 - http://chappenings.blogspot.com/2010/04/live-event-20.html

Apart from the live feeds, we also post some DCD stuff to our YouTube page. Keep your eye on our YouTube page for some highlights from this year's DCD. Here's an example from DCD 2008.

Best wishes and perhaps we'll see you at a DCD in the future!

-DM

Chapman University Zip Car's On Campus Today!

2010-10-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the hard work of administrators and of our Associated Student Body, Zip Cars are part of Chapman. Are you unsure what Zip Cars are? Read more here.

Thanks for reading,
-David May

Chapman's Service Projects

2010-10-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

This school year marks an important milestone for the Chapman community. During 2011 Chapman University will celebrate our 150th anniversary in education. In honor of this memorable moment in Chapman’s long history we have embarked on a campus-wide initiative to dedicate 150,000 hours of service to our communities. Chapman students, staff, faculty, alumni, and families have already logged almost 40,000 hours since the “Give a Little Bit” campaign started! Here in admissions, we realize that our community extends far beyond the streets of Orange, and we have planned out some exciting events to give back to those neighborhoods that have welcomed us during our regional travels.

October 16th marks our first day of service during which we will be paying a visit to the NELA’s Seattle Center for Student Success. NELA stands for the Northwest Education Loan Association, and their Centers for Students Success are dedicated to providing assistance for students who are exploring their college and career opportunities. Our admission counselors have volunteered to assist students with their scholarship application essays in a one-on-one environment to give them the best chances at financing their education.

From Road Warriors

Our next stop takes us to Portland Oregon where we will be stopping by Alternative Pathways, a local program for high school students in the Multnomah Education Service District. Specifically, AP is designed to help alternative high school students who are economically disadvantaged homes or are the first in their family to attend college. On October 18th we will be working with students in the program to help them with application essays and scholarship applications in another workshop format.

The last leg of our journey takes us to the San Francisco Bay area where we will be holding yet another scholarship and application essay workshop for high school students on October 20th. This time we’ve teamed up with First Graduate, a San Francisco-based organization dedicated to helping students finish high school and be the first in their families to graduate from college. The following Saturday, October 23rd, we will be spending the day with kids from the ROCK program hosting a volleyball tournament. ROCK stands for Real Options for City Kids and is an organization dedicated to providing opportunities that aide in the healthy development of children that live in San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley. My colleagues and I are extremely excited about these events and are looking forward to discovering even more ways to give back to the communities that have given us so much!

Nicky Wilks
Admission Counselor

"Screenr" Instructions

2010-10-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hello readers,

Here's a few instructions for those of us who are visual learners.

1) How to sign in to WebAdvisor:

*what is WebAdvisor?

2) How to find my Panther Page login info:

Thanks for reading!

-dm

Thanks, Arizona!

2010-09-29T09:33:00.001-07:00

I am sitting at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, cactus in hand, wanting to send a last minute shout out to the wonderful prospective students and families that we met in Arizona! A big thank you to everyone who attended our reception, senior interviews, and college fairs throughout Phoenix and Tucson. We endured the Arizona heat and will miss everyone we met!

Please keep reading for updates on our group travel schedule to COLORADO, UTAH, WASHINGTON, OREGON, and the BAY AREA!

We did not mess with Texas

2010-09-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

Greetings from campus! Katie, Armen and I arrived home safely earlier this week after a successful trip to Texas. Here is a quick synopsis of our adventure, by the numbers.

- Awesome students met: lots
- Cities visited: 2
- Successful receptions: 2
- Successful college fairs attended: 3
- Hours spent together in the car: 5
- Times we heard the same Bruno Mars song on the radio: 8
- Cowboy hats purchased: 1

Next stop: Katie and I will be joined by Grant for a quick visit to one of our neighbor states. See you on Saturday, Arizona!

Future stops: COLORADO, UTAH, WASHINGTON, OREGON, and the BAY AREA

Hello Arizona!

2010-09-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Hello Chappenings Community! My name is Katie Lawler and I am a new Admission Counselor at Chapman University. I am the out-of-state territory representative for Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. In state I will be working with students from the Inland Empire, Ontario, Claremont, and Temecula areas. I am thrilled to be joining the Admission team and am looking forward to working with you!

I am very excited to announce that Chapman will be in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tucson from September 25th-September 29th. Listed below are some great events and opportunities, including directions to RSVP:

Reception- RSVP via http://web.chapman.edu/regionalreceptions/

Phoenix:
Saturday, September 25 from 2:00PM-4:00PM
JW Marriott Camelback Inn, Scottsdale

Regional Interviews (High School Seniors Only)- RSVP Required, please call (714) 997-6711

Phoenix:
Sunday, September 26 from 10:00AM-5:00PM
Hyatt Regency Phoenix

I will also be at the NACAC Fair on Sunday, September 26th from 11:00AM-3:30PM.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at lawler@chapman.edu.

I hope to see you in Arizona :-)
Katie

We're coming to you, Texas!

2010-09-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings blog world! As we finalize details for our fall travel adventures, we’ll be sharing them with you all. First up is our trip to Texas, which includes…

Regional Interviews (High School Seniors Only) - RSVP required
Dallas
Saturday, September 18 from 3:30PM-6:30PM
Sunday, September 19 from 10:00AM-1:00PM
Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria

Austin:
Monday, September 20 from 1:00PM-4:00PM
Hyatt Regency Austin

Receptions
Dallas:
Sunday, September 19th from 3:00PM-5:00PM
Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria

Austin:
Monday, September 20 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
The Spence Family Residence

To RSVP for an interview please call: 714-997-6711
To RSVP for a reception please email: Katie Lawler at lawler@chapman.edu

Stayed tuned for details on trips to Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Seattle, Portland, and the Bay Area and beyond!

My Roommates On TV!

2010-09-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I graduated from Chapman in 2005, and then again in 2010 with a masters. In that ammount of time, you end up having more than a couple of roommates. Since then, a bunch of my roommates have been on TV/online for various reasons.

Below, enjoy the collection of links that I will call "links of my roommates on TV."

Ian Reitz - http://www.kgun9.com/Global/category.asp?C=172043&nav=menu1456_3

Or, click here

Sean Naughton:

Brett Simmons:

Josh Snyder:

Wes Freitas- http://mobile.laist.com/2010/07/21/abc_and_espn_say_dont_feel_stuck_wi.php

-dm

Chapman Travels Globally

2010-08-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

View Chapman Travel: Fall 2010 in a larger map

As many of you know, Chapman University's reputation is growing. That means that each year we have more applicants from around the world. In recent years, members from our admission office have engaged the international community by traveling to the four corners of the world, spreading Chapman's good news.

In upcoming weeks, we will have the admission counselor's travel schedules (both domestic and international) posted on the admission section of our official website. Until then, here are a few resources that will help you determine where Chapman will be traveling this Fall.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL:

Schedules:

CIS Latin America Fall Tour 2010 - Amari Williams

Eastern Hemisphere - Becky Konowicz

India Tour - Becky Konowicz

*click the link to view details. These schedules are subject to change.

DOMESTIC TRAVEL TERRITORIES: (click here)

Thanks for reading!

-David May

Dodge College Departmental Application is Live!

2010-08-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hello readers,

We wanted to take a quick moment and let you know that as of a few days ago, "Dodge College of Film and Media Arts" has updated their departmental application. It is now current for the 2010-2011 application season and is available here: http://www.chapman.edu/admission/commonApp/deptApps.asp

In upcoming weeks, we hope to have the Chapman University Supplemental to the Common Application and the remaining departmental applications live as well. If you'd like more information about applying to Chapman University, please go to http://www.chapman.edu/apply.

Best wishes! As always, we will post updates to this blog.

-David May

New International E-Mail Address!

2010-07-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Every year, Chapman University attracts more and more students from all over the world. Naturally, it can be difficult to deal with an international mail system or phones when everyone is in different time zones.

In future months, Chapman's admission office is going to work to provide more online resources for our students abroad including a reboot of the international section of our website, and more web2.0 resources geared for international students.

For now, we've created an email address that we'd like to use specifically for international students. That email address is intladmit@chapman.edu. This way, our international admission counselors will have an easier time communicating with students overseas.

If you are a United States citizen, please feel free to continue to use admit@chapman.edu.

Keep your eyes peeled in upcoming months for more!

-dm

It's Been a While.

2010-07-19T09:52:00.001-07:00

Wow. We have not blogged forever.

That is all I have to say.

This could have been a tweet.

-dm

What should we call a page that is created just for you?

2010-06-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

We are working with @hobsonsus to bring in a tool that will allow students to have a personalized admission page. This page will include a personalized admission checklist, and more information relating to students specific interests. Some schools call this type of thing a "VIP page" whereas other schools use their mascot to help name the page. We are brainstorming in our office... what should Chapman call this page? Here are a couple of ideas we've had so far:

Get your own Poll!

We are open to suggestions at this point also. If anyone has any additional ideas, please let us know in the comments section below.

Thanks!

-David May

Chapman Staff Appreciation

2010-06-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

We are lucky in the admission office at Chapman to have many staff members who have been with is for quite some time. This morning, members of the Chapman community were recognized for their years of commitment including many individuals from our office of Admission. Congrats to these individuals!

5 Years:

Tuesday Atkins

David May

Priscilla Powers

Christina Tardif

35 Years: Mike Drummy (video below)

Thanks for reading!

-David May

Waitlist Update - Fall 2010

2010-06-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

This has been a very eventful year in the admission office at Chapman University. We received a record number of applications, increasing the total number by almost 35%.

After the admission spots were gone, very likable students remained and we placed these students on the waitlist in order to *hopefully find spots for them later. Many of the students that we admitted originally did in fact decide that Chapman is the school for them. Because a large percentage of our admitted population did want to attend Chapman, we have not been able to take many students off of the waitlist.

About two weeks ago the Admission team began making preparations to release most of the waitlist. This is true for the general Chapman waitlist, and the Film Production waitlist. Letters are going out today to many of these students who unfortunately we were not able to find space for.

Please know that this was the most competitive admission season Chapman University has yet experienced, and even spots on the waitlist were sacred ones. For those who are being removed from the waitlist, please see the transfer brochure located here and let us know if we can help with a transfer path for you.

For those few who do still remain on the waitlist, we will be in touch with you in upcoming weeks. Thank you all for your patience and we wish you the best.

Thank you,
Chapman Admission

Saying Goodbye to Our Senior Interns

2010-05-28T12:48:00.001-07:00

Last week we surprised a couple of our graduating senior interns with a prank publication featuring their most embarrassing pictures. It's sad to see them graduate, but we are proud of them and know they will go far!

View the delivery below:

-DM

Updates on Transfer Admission for Fall of 2010

2010-05-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

For Fall 2010 Admitted Transfer Students

June 1^st Enrollment Deposit Deadline- please note that if you need flexibility with this deadline just email me at scrogan@chapman.edu and let me know so we can work with you on that. Our June 1^st deadline is a somewhat flexible deadline for most majors, especially for those students who just recently have been admitted.

Mid to Late June- Course Advising and Registration begins for all deposited, incoming students.

For Fall 2010 Transfer Students either still in the admission process OR haven’t yet completed their application file

We are continuing to make admission decisions on a rolling basis until we are full. If your application is complete and you have not yet heard back from us you should be receiving an admission decision soon. Please be sure to check your Web Advisor account that all of your documents have arrived.

If you still have not yet completed your application for admission the Common Application will turn off on June 1^st so you will want to make sure to have your documents submitted by then.

Any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Admission at 714-997-6711.

Thank you.

-Shannon Crogan

A Visit From a Global Citizen

2010-05-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers,

Today a Chapman Alum/College Friend of mine came to visit me in my office. John Co Graduated from Chapman in 2004 with a degree in Business Management. After graduation he worked in finance for a few years, and then moved on to graduate school in Sydney Australia. Now that he has graduated, he is going to begin work for a company in Hong Kong and after about 18 months he will be eligible to transfer to branches all over the world.

From Blogger Pictures

When I think about Chapman's Mission Statement, I think (in part) about Global Citizenship and how many of our alumni like John Co are studying and working all over the world. When I say that Chapman Alumni can be competitive not only in scholarly/employment circles here in Southern California but all over the world, folks like John Co are who I'm talking about.

Congrats to all of our Alumni! Thanks for reading!

-David May

Spring Sizzle Pictures 2010

2010-04-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

Spring Sizzle was yesterday, April 29th and was lots of fun. Dance performances, fresh fruit, beautiful sunshine and a wonderful break for our Chapman Family!

-dm

Waitlist 201

2010-04-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hi again readers! We are finally surfacing after our most intense reading season ever - we were flooded with applications this year! It was a very exciting and hectic time for our office because our growth in application numbers was so monumental.

Now that we are dusting ourselves off after completing this process, we are getting a number of questions about our Wait List. I'd like to direct folks to last year's post on this topic, as the information is still extremely relevant (even the part about it being a record-breaking year, since this past year was too). Here it is:

http://chappenings.blogspot.com/2009/04/waitlist-101.html

As always, let us know what questions you have!

Deposited? Check the FYE Website

2010-04-27T15:37:00.001-07:00

For admitted students who have already made their deposit and are wondering "what's next," please reference the FYE website:

_________________________

Welcome New Panthers!
(VIA http://www.chapman.edu/fye/)

The Office of Orientation and First Year Programs is designed to support students who are getting ready to attend Chapman University. In addition to assisting students with this transition, the Office provides academic, leadership, and social programing for First Year Students throughout the year. Please visit this site often to obtain important information and updates.

Timeline - http://www.chapman.edu/intranet/students/new/oc/freshcheck1.asp

Academic Advising - http://www.chapman.edu/academics/advising/incomingFreshmen.asp

Financial Aid - http://www.chapman.edu/finaid/prospectiveStudents.asp

Housing and Residence Life - http://www.chapman.edu/studentlife/reslife/

Best,
-dm

The Great Outdoors

2010-04-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember this post http://chappenings.blogspot.com/2010/01/chapman-after-rain.html depicting some of the creativity our students have here at Chapman University.

For those of you who follow our tweets, you know that from time to time I post pictures of outdoor classes to twitpic. (example 1) (example 2) (example 3)

On a similar note... here is a student who is taking advantage of the Southern California sunshine on his hammock.

-dm

Live Event 2.0

2010-04-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

In the fall, we tried to broadcast parts of Discover Chapman Day Live.
(http://chappenings.blogspot.com/2009/10/discover-chapman-day-live.html)

Here, I'm going to try again with Preview Day. See below:

(more)

-dm

Prospective Student Taken Campus Photos

2010-04-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

In March and April, or campus tours are quite large as it is spring break for different schools around that time. This year, I noticed quite a few students with SLR style cameras and wanted to see the pictures they took of our campus. I have posted the photos by first student to respond to me, Miranda Enberg, below.

If you are on campus and take some high quality pictures, send me the link and I will post them on our blog.

-David May

How to Check Your Financial Aid One WebAdvisor

2010-04-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hey readers,

We've received a lot of questions on this so I wanted to take a second to post these two pictures which should clear it up... sorry the pictures are so small. Just click them to make them larger.

1) Sign into www.chapman.edu/webadvisor

2) Click on the "Students" tab (you are probably use to clicking the prospective students tab)

3) Click on the information that interests you in the Financial Aid section.

Best wishes!

-dm

Chapman University News Flash

2010-04-15T16:23:00.001-07:00

NEWS FROM CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
One University Drive, Orange, CA 92866

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, April 15, 2010

Chapman University School of Law Achieves 2nd-Tier Status
In New U.S. News National Rankings

“An Extraordinary Achievement,” Says Chapman President Jim Doti

ORANGE, Calif. – The 2011 U.S. News and World Report ranking of the nation’s top law schools was revealed today and the good news keeps coming for the Chapman University School of Law. The 15-year-old law school has moved into the prestigious second tier, which, at #93, puts Chapman in the top 100 ABA law schools in the United States. The move is the second major jump in two years, with Chapman having moved into the third tier in 2008.

“This is an extraordinary achievement for our School of Law, moving up in the rankings this quickly in just over 15 years since its founding,” said Chapman President Jim Doti. “It is a tribute to the dedication and hard work of our past deans, John Eastman and Parham Williams, and to our outstanding law faculty who have always reflected such credit upon Chapman University.”

The Chapman School of Law’s most recent dean, John Eastman, stepped down in February to seek the Republican nomination for California Attorney General, although he remains on the Chapman law faculty. The school is currently undertaking a national search for a new dean. Scott Howe, a criminal law expert and member of the Chapman law faculty, is serving as interim dean.

Dean Howe stated, “We are pleased that others are recognizing Chapman as an excellent law school.” Howe attributes the rise in ranking to a number of factors, including a rapid rise in bar pass rate, an influx of top faculty members, exacting admissions standards, expanding clinical programs, and one of the lowest student-faculty ratios in the country.

The new ranking will be formally announced and celebrated on Tuesday, April 20 following the Chapman School of Law’s annual Madison Lecture, a re-enactment of a famous historical trial that includes law students and a distinguished visiting judge. This year’s Madison Lecture, a re-enactment of the 1810 Fletcher v. Peck case, will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Room 244 of Kennedy Hall, with visiting judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, presiding.

Immediately following the case re-enactment, the 2nd tier announcement celebration will be held in the lobby of Kennedy Hall, after which a reception honoring past dean John Eastman will take place.

ABOUT THE CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
The Chapman University School of Law, founded in 1995, is recognized for its high-caliber faculty, diverse academic programs and commitment to a dynamic and personalized legal education, with options that include multiple LL.M. and certificate programs, enriching electives and nationally recognized advocacy competitions. Law students also have the opportunity to learn and serve the community through a number of clinics, including the Low-Income Tax Law Clinic, Military Families Law Center and AMVETS Clinic, Alona Cortese Elder Law Center, Family Violence Clinic and Claremont Institute for Constitutional Jurisprudence. The Chapman University School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS).
###

April Fools 2009

2010-04-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hey you all!

Unfortunately we are too busy still to take time for April Fool's Day this year, but feel free to enjoy last year's 'prank.'

I will say, Dena did a very good job with this call... better than we make it look like through the magic of editing :-)

-dm

Preview Day

2010-03-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Some of you may already know that our next 'big event' is coming up. It's called Preview Day (AKA Admitted Students Day) and it's lots of fun. Here's a video created by Sasha de Mello documenting last year's Preview Day.

-dm

Read the Chapman Happenings BLOG!

2010-03-11T09:52:00.001-08:00

This is a great way to keep up to date with what going on here at Chapman!

http://chapmannews.wordpress.com/

-dm

FAFSA & CAL GRANT DEADLINES are upon us!

2010-03-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

Be sure to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by Chapman's March 2nd priority deadline! If you are a California resident, have your high school / transfer college counselor help you complete a Cal Grant GPA Verification Form, also due by March 2nd to the California Student Aid Commission.

Video Blogs!

2010-02-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry we have not been posting as much - we are very busy with files! In the meantime, check the link here to see video blogs form the Chapman 7.

-dm

For Transfers interested in applying for Fall of 2010 Please review:

2010-02-02T16:50:00.000-08:00

The priority application deadline is March 1 however, we will continue to accept applications on a space and funds available basis through the next couple of months. If you are interested in applying we encourage you to try and complete your application as soon as possible so we can review and get back to you.

Our Fall semester begins the last week of August 2010.

Admission decisions for Fall will go out on a rolling basis beginning in mid March and on-going until we are full for admission
• Transfer Page
• Application Information Page

-Shannon Crogan

Tuning Out

2010-01-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

As a somewhat seasoned application reader, it has come to my attention that there can be some curiosity to what an application review entails, and I want to share something with our blog readers.

Headphones.

As some of you know, and can see from some of our videos, our office has lots of open and shared space - meaning that we can collaborate and work together very easily, but it also means that when it comes time to read applications we have to block each other out to focus (as the first read on each one is done independently).

So, we spend much of this part of the year with headphones on.

Listening to music while reading can be like listening to music while studying. For some it works, for some it doesn't. As part of my own curiosity, and because I thought some of our blog readers might find it interesting, I surveyed my colleagues to find out just what is playing as they read (if anything).

Dena (me), Admission Counselor for the Northwest and half of San Diego: Matt Wertz, Dave Barnes, Sugarland, and Lady Antebellum.

Johnny, Admission Counselor for the Midwest and the other half of San Diego: VitaminString Quartet, Fuzz Box, Overtone, anything classical.

Janine, Admission Counselor for Chicago, TX, and locally: MC Prototype, Nneka, Living Legends & Gaga

Armen, Admission Counselor for the East Coast and Bay Area: Jack Johnson, Mat Kearney, Chopin, and Thievery Corporation

Shannon, Associate Director: Classic 70's Rock including Van Morrison, The Eagles and Van Halen, and movie soundtracks.

Marcela, Director of Admission: Carlos Vives, Shakira, Juanes, Buena Vista Social Club, Salsa, Journey, Cold Play, U2, Ozomatli, John Legend, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Phish

And, lastly our very own, technologically savvy David, Assistant Director, wants to share his preferences this way:

Another interesting factoid – we are also known to put signs on the backs of our chairs to stop any potential interrupters in their tracks.

That's it for now - apologies that the blog posts have been less frequent - back to reading!

-Dena Barker

Chapman After the Rain

2010-01-19T15:05:00.001-08:00

Chapman students know how to deal with rain!

As you know, there have been some storms hitting Southern California lately. In fact (if you can believe it) we actually had a tornado warning for about 30 minutes this afternoon! However, after the rain we had a beautiful rainbow and now we are back to a beautiful Southern California Sky (check our webcams by clicking here).

Best wishes to everyone!

-dm

Eary Action Decisions

2010-01-15T13:20:00.000-08:00

Hello readers!

We have begun putting early action decisions on our system. This means two things.

1) Your WebAdvisor status may have changed. Remember that Web Advisor statuses do not always mean a simple "yes" or "no." There might be additional information we feel that we need in order to complete a decision, etc. Regardless of your status, official notification of your status change will be sent out in the mail along with a letter describing your new status.

2) Your WebAdvisor status may have not changed. This is fine - remember that we BEGIN sending out our early action notifications on January 15th. These decisions will continue to be made for the next month or so. If your status did not change, don't worry - it will in the weeks to come.

I hope this information helps! I know this time of year can be stressful, but we at Chapman want to make it as comfortable as possible.

Best,
-David May

Mazda commericial shooting near Chapman

2010-01-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

So on Wednesday there was a rumor floating around campus that Iron Man 2 was shooting in Orange, a few blocks away from Chapman. On my lunch break, I thought I'd take a stroll around the circle and see what I could find. See pictures below:

I saw a lot of Mazda cars, a film crew, a production location sign with code word "uber," some grip trucks, trailers, a camera car... and a lot of security. As it turns out... it was a Mazda advertisement. None the less... kind of cool.

Now I'm back to application reading. Best wishes,

-David May

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

We're back in action, reading and processing as many files as humanly possible. It's normal this time of year for our blog posting to slow down a bit as we allocate more time to reading and less time to blogging... which should make all of you who are waiting for decisions happy :-)

In the meantime, here's a comic that should releave the stress of waiting for decisions :)
http://www.online-game.tv/play/stress-game

Best wishes,
-dm

(p.s. if you have not seen these blogs yet, enjoy!)
http://chapmanstudentblogs.blogspot.com/2009/12/last-comic-standing.html
http://chapmandepartment.blogspot.com/

Happy Holidays from Chapman Admission!

2009-12-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Hello readers!

We wanted to take a break from scanning, downloading, linking, evaluating, processing, then finally reading your applications and say Happy Holidays! Please enjoy this greeting vlog!

*no applications were harmed in the making of this vlog.

As you may know, Chapman's admission process is paperless. Most of the documents we receive are sent to us online. When paper documents come to us we scan them. Thanks for your patience while we scan your documents and then carefully dispose of the originals.

-dm

Chappenings: Student Edition - some 'must reads'

2009-12-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

Hello readers! I wanted to remind you that 'Chappenings' has a student edition as well. These are un-scripted blogs written by Chapman students. After all, who knows what it's like to be a student at Chapman better than... students at Chapman?

http://chapmanstudentblogs.blogspot.com/2009/10/chapmans-mission-is-to-provide.html

http://chapmanstudentblogs.blogspot.com/2009/12/last-comic-standing.html

http://chapmanstudentblogs.blogspot.com/2009/12/tonight-show-with-conan-obrien.html

http://chapmanstudentblogs.blogspot.com/2009/11/mens-basketball.html

http://chapmanstudentblogs.blogspot.com/2009/11/chapman-runway-fashion-club.html

http://chapmanstudentblogs.blogspot.com/2009/11/tuesday-in-life-of-brian.html

Thanks for reading,
-dm

Application Documents - Update

2009-12-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

Hello again,

We are hearing from many of you who are concerned about the status of your applications, and rightfully so. We understand that documents that you've already submitted are showing as missing.

PLEASE TRY NOT TO WORRY - It IS VERY LIKELY THAT WE HAVE THEM!

Our document processing is, unfortunately, incredibly backed up right now. We are still in the midst of processing Early Action applications.

Some of our "Missing Document" letters have already gone out, and if you see that an item is missing that you know you have already had sent, then we ask that you please be patient and give us more time to process it. We don't need you to try sending another one yet because chances are good that your first one will make it to your file.

Again, thank you for your patience. We will keep you updated as we continue to work through the influx of apps we received!

Sunny California!

2009-12-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

The day after the rain is always beautiful here in Southern California. As a "Colorado Boy" I like being able to see the mountains off in the distance with snow on them and I have to admit, it's pretty cool to see that image in the background with palm trees in the foreground. Here are some pictures from this morning.

Keep an eye on our weather here:

...and on our webcams here:
http://www.chapman.edu/admission/webcams/

As always, feel free to comment below with any questions or concerns.

-David May

What is WebAdvisor?

2009-12-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

As you move through the application process, you will learn a little about how we do things up here. One name you will hear mentioned quite frequently is "WebAdvisor."

WebAdvisor is a tool that allows students to view and update information in their student record on campus. If you are admitted, and if you decide to attend Chapman, WebAdvisor will become key for you. You will use it to register for classes, check your program evaluations, request copies of your transcripts, and so on.

As an prospective student, you are more familiar with your "Panther Page" which is a tool that allows us to interact with prospective students. Naturally we can't give tens of thousands of prospective students access to WebAdvisor, nor would they really want it.

This can cause some confusion for folks who have gotten use to editing their information on the "Panther Page" and now see a link to WebAdvisor. These students have applied, and have therefore been granted access to WebAdvisor. Because their information is stored WebAdvisor, it would not be productive to update the information in the "Panther Page."

We are sorry if this causes any confusion, but think of it this way; we consider you one step closer to the Chapman Family... in a weird, data systems sort of way.

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below.

-David May

WebAdvisors logins have STARTED going out...

2009-11-30T10:47:00.000-08:00

...which means that while some of you have received them already, many of you will get them over the next few weeks, or later if you've yet to apply.

We ask you to keep these facts in mind when you check your WebAdvisor account:

- It can take up to 4 weeks to process your documents. So, for those of you who met the Early Action deadline, it is very possible that your application documents are not yet in your file here in our office (so for example, you may see on WebAdvisor that a transcript, or letter of rec is missing). This is normal, and it does NOT affect your early action status. We do request that you wait 4 weeks to see if a document makes it to your file before you consider re-sending anything. Double copies of documents "bog" our system down and make processing even slower, so in the long run it makes the problem worse when students send multiple copies of everything.

- You may see documents noted in your file that look like they arrived after the deadline. We date-stamp all of our materials in house so we will recognize the date we received them over the date we finally get them into your file (which rarely happens on the same day).

- It is very possible that documents you sent on the same day will technically "arrive" in your file on different days within our office. Again, this is not something about which you need to worry.

- The date we download your application from CommonApp may be different than the date you submitted it. We recognize the date you submitted it.

Whew! That was a lot of information, hopefully it sheds some light on things for you guys. We DEFINITELY appreciate your patience this time of year. As always, please don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.

-Dena

Tours over Thanksgiving Break

2009-11-25T15:28:00.000-08:00

Hello readers,

If anyone wanted to tour over Thanksgiving break... unfortunately we are closed. However, feel free to download our audio tour to you ipod, zune... or whatever.

CLICK HERE to download the CAMPUS MAP
CLICK HERE to download AUDIO TOUR

Just download the map and the audio tour, put the files on your MP3 player, and come down to campus. Take out the map, stand in front of various buildings (in whatever order you want) and play the corresponding tracks.

For your organizational convenience,

Artist = Chapman University Admission
Album = the Building
Track = The segment of the audio tour

Enjoy, and Happy T-Day!

-dm

(for more information, click here)

Sending Additional DVD's/etc

2009-11-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

About two years ago some of the counselors in the office at the time got together to make a video blog addressing the issue of sending additional DVD's or CD's with your application. The information is still good, and the video has been re-posted below.

*No Dodge College applications were harmed in any way shape or form in the creation of this vlog.

The original post is here.

Best wishes and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
-dm

Twins Days!

2009-11-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

Everyone who works in an office understands that this happens sometimes... you come in to work and for whatever reason... someone else dressed just like you. Its not on purpose - its completely random - but it still freaks you out.

Well, here is what a few days have looked like in our office so far and generally we Tweet about it.

That reminds me... you should follow us on Twitter @chapmanadmit

-dm

Our 100th POST!

2009-11-22T11:19:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to announce that THIS POST marks our 100th post! I feel the urgency to say something really really important, or show you something really really exciting! I mean - the 100'th post for Chappenings should be massive - explosive - groundbreaking!

Unfortunately i can't think of anything... so enjoy these Las Vegas fireworks.

...and remember - Las Vegas is only about 4 hours away from Chapman!

-dm

Travel Season Collage

2009-11-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

...travel season pictures. Don't worry - if you missed us while we were 'on the road' we'll be back out again in the spring.

Have a good weekend readers!

-dm

Pusan West Film Festival

2009-11-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

Images from this year's Pusan West Film Festival: http://pusanwest.com/

This picture includes Chapman President Jim Doti, City of Orange Mayor Carolyn V. Cavecche, director Ji-woon Kim (director of The good, the Bad, and the Weird) and more.

Opening night is off to a great start!

-dm

Happy Holidays to Chapman WACAC attendees!

2009-11-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

One of the real joys of this time of year is the opportunity to say thank you. The good times of the summer WACAC conference strengthened relationships and fostered new friendships which we look forward to extending in 2010.

To all of our WACAC friends, we wish you peace, joy and happiness this holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

~Chapman’s Office of Admission

*p.s. no applications were harmed in the creation of this video :-)

Thanks for Attending OACAC!

2009-11-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

On behalf of the Admission Office at Chapman University, Happy Holidays!

We wanted to thank you for visiting us during the OACAC conference this past summer. To those of you whose student's have applied, please keep in touch. For the rest of you, there's always next year!

Season's greetings,
-Chapman Admission

Thanks For Applying!

2009-11-16T10:53:00.001-08:00

For those of you who applied 'early action' over the weekend - thanks! We are excited to report record early action numbers which is a pretty good indicator that we'll probably have another great (but busy) year in admission.

Please give us some time to process your documents before you call and check to see if we have received them. Please view the video below - it illustrates what I am talking about.

Thanks!
-dm

New Information Session

2009-11-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hey readers. I'm going to start using this presentation in my Tuesday information sessions and wanted to throw it out there for some feedback. Let me know what you think :-)

-dm

Oldies, but goodies

2009-11-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Hello again from Orange County! Each year at this time, we hear from an influx of folks with similar questions. Many of these have been answered on our blog in months or years past, so we wanted to re-visit some of those previous posts in hopes that recent visitors will find them to be helpful.

Q's addressed in previous years
- Q: How can I check the status of my application? A: here
- Q: Well, what if I want to just call the office to check my status? A: here
- Q: How do you guys look at my choice of classes? A: here and here
- Q: I've heard the major I want is actually pretty hard to get into. A: So, I should just apply to Chapman and get in, and then declare my major later, right? A: here

And, q's addressed earlier in this admission cycle
- Q: What if I get my application in before the Early Action deadline, but my test score/transcript/etc comes in late? A: here
- Q: What are Chapman students like? A: here
- Q: What kinds of essay topics do you guys like? What does your office think makes an essay "good"? A: here
- Q: I have concerns about paying for Chapman. Can you tell me more about financial aid and scholarships? A: here
- Q: Should I apply Early Action or Regular decision? A: here
- Q: I have some questions about Chapman, it's okay if my mom calls to ask them for me, right? A: here
- Q: What about test scores? How do you guys look at those, and which kind should I send in? A: here

As always, if there is something you're wondering that you don't see addressed here or on www.chapman.edu, or on our Student Edition of Chappenings, please let us know!

-Dena

LIVE WEBCAST- American Celebration

2009-11-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

Can’t Make It to American Celebration?
Here’s Your Chance to Watch Online!

Enjoy a LIVE WEBCAST of Friday night’s
American Celebration Opening Night!

Friday, November 6 at 8 p.m.
WATCH IT ON THE BIG SCREEN
in Sandhu Conference Center D (the big room)
(doors open at 7:15 p.m.)

...Or watch on your own computer from wherever you are!
Go to the Chapman homepage, www.chapman.edu, and follow the link on Friday night!
(The show will also be archived online for later viewing.)

A stellar cast of more than 100 supremely talented Chapman student singer/dancers will perform this year’s show on the Memorial Hall stage! Their goal: to raise some serious money for the Chapman Scholarship Fund (we’ll know just how much after the American Celebration Gala Night on Saturday!).

The theme of this year’s show is “The Eternal Optimist,” featuring songs and scenes from Broadway shows that will lighten your heart and raise your spirits. Included will be fully staged, colorfully costumed numbers from such classic shows as “Annie,” “Hello, Dolly,” “Mama Mia,” “Mary Poppins,” “Mame” and more – plus a surprise ending that will leave you dazzled! And where will President Doti pop up in the show? You never know…!

If you’ve never seen American Celebration before, prepare to be amazed! This is the first time we have attempted a live webcast of the show, so be here to make history as you watch an amazing hour jam-packed with talent – Chapman’s biggest show of the year!

Transfer Student Update

2009-11-03T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Transfer Students,

For those interested in applying for Spring of 2010 Please review:

The priority application deadline was November 1, 2009 however, we will continue to accept applications on a space and funds available basis through the next couple of months. If you are still interested in applying we encourage you to try and complete your application as soon as possible so we can review and get back to you.

Our Spring semester begins the first week of February, 2010.

Admission decisions for Spring will go out on a rolling basis beginning in late November and on-going until we are full for admission

For those interested in applying for the Fall of 2010 Please review:

The priority application deadline is March 1, 2010. Transfer students can apply before that deadline but please note that we want you to wait to turn in your college transcripts until your current grades from this Fall of 2009 semester/quarter are posted on an official transcript.

Our Fall semester begins the last week of August, 2010.

Admissions decisions for Fall will go out on a rolling basis beginning in late March and on-going until we are full for admission.

You can visit the Transfer page on our website which outlines our Fall of 2009 CA Community College visit schedule as well as the link to the current Transfer brochure which outlines the steps and deadlines you need in order to apply for admission.

• Transfer Page
• Application Information Page

-Shannon Crogan

Discover Chapman Day - (live)

2009-10-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, in the last post I mentioned that we'd be doing something 'special' for Discover Chapman Day today. Here it is! If you were not able to make it, keep an eye on the window below for a live stream of the event.

Live streaming video by Ustream

-dm

Discover Chapman Day

2009-10-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Last year on our student BLOG, Sasha posted a recap of Discover Chapman Day 2008.

This Saturday, we'll be hosting Discover Chapman Day 2009 and we're all pretty excited about it. If you'd like to RSVP, please do so by clicking here.

Also, I'm excited to announce an experiment that I'll be running. I can't say what it is right now, but follow our tweets on Saturday and I'll make sure to announce it there.

As always, if anyone has questions, ideas, comments, or concerns please feel free to comment below.

If you see me Saturday at DCD, say hello!

-dm

How to apply - PowerPoint Instructions

2009-10-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

Hi readers!

I'm sorry I have not written in a while - we are all on travel season right now - visiting different states and schools. I'll blog about some of my 'adventures' soon and I'm sure Dena will as well.

One of the folks on our staff made this presentation and it's incredibly helpful. Before you start the application, it might be a good idea to go through this presentation.

CLICK HERE to view.

Best wishes!

-David May

FAQs...Frequent Admission Quandaries

2009-09-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

Here in the Office of Admission, we are stunned at how quickly it suddenly became fall! We are in the beginning stages of our travel season, and we are starting to notice some of the common things that you guys are wondering about. Specifically, we wanted to address a couple of questions that many of you have already asked. While these are somewhat related, you’ll see that the answers vary slightly:

1 - I’m taking the ACT/SAT on _____ day, and I’m worried that my score won’t be in by the Early Action deadline. Will you still count my application as Early Action if that score is late?

OR

2- What if my teacher sends in my letter of recommendation after the deadline?

A: We can assure students who are asking these questions that, because we process literally thousands of applications each year, each of these scenarios is familiar to us. While it may be somewhat stressful for you if this happens, please rest assured that we work with plenty of students in these positions, and these are issues that we can resolve, and usually pretty easily.

If, as in question #1, you are testing on a day near a deadline, then it is a reality that your score could come in after a deadline. If this is the first time that you test, then your application will be incomplete without that score. The committee will wait for that test score before your application is considered, and as long as it comes in within a reasonable amount of time (usually up to a couple of weeks after the deadline), we can still keep your Early Action status. If it comes in closer to the Regular Decision deadline (January 15), we would likely roll you into the Regular Decision pool.

If you have already tested, and you are testing again in hopes of bringing your score up, there are two things that could happen. First, because we handle so many applications, and it can be a slow process, it’s possible that your new score could be received and added to your application before the committee gets to it. Or, if the committee does start reading your file and sees that you tested on a day for which we haven’t yet received scores (because you can indicate recent and future test dates on the Common App), it is up to the discretion of the committee whether or not we will wait for that score. In other words, if the committee thinks that seeing that additional score could make a difference in your admissions decision, they will wait for it. If they feel they can make a decision without it, they will likely do so.

With question #2, we try not to penalize students if the teacher/counselor sends us materials late. We do however wait for an application to be complete before we review any part of it, so while a misplaced letter of recommendation will usually not affect a student’s status as Early Action or Regular Decision, it can delay the review of the file.

Keep in mind that all our applicants receive a WebAdvisor login, which allows you to access your file to confirm that all pieces are here in our office. One thing to note is that, during peak season right around each of our deadlines, it can take 2-3 weeks to process documents that we receive. Sometimes students are surprised at the length of time it actually takes an office like ours to complete each file, but know that we are doing our very best to keep up with the flow of incoming items, and to be fair and honor the efforts you’ve made to make the deadlines. In other words, our best advice is to try not to worry about the logistics, and please be patient. We definitely appreciate it!

I hope this sheds some light on things! As always, please don’t be shy if you have questions!

Chapman Admission Wallpaper

2009-09-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

I was playing with my camera and Picasa. Download and enjoy :-)

www.chapman.edu/learnmore

-David May

Transfers for Spring 2010 - Update

2009-09-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hello Transfer Students,

For those interested in transferring to Chapman for Spring of 2010, the Common Application and Chapman Supplemental Application are now on-line and ready to be filled out for the Spring. Please remember that the Spring of 2010 deadline is a postmarked deadline of November 1, 2009, however, we will continue to take in applications after the deadline on a space and funds available basis. You can visit the Transfer page on our website which outlines our Fall of 2009 CA Community College visit schedule as well as the link to the current Transfer brochure which outlines the steps and deadlines you need in order to apply for admission.

• Transfer Page
• Application Information Page

-Shannon Crogan

My Buddy Razor Boy

2009-09-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

This is a fun post for me to write. A college buddy of mine from Chapman (Brett Simmons) was highlighted recently in "the Hollywood Reporter" about the feature film he just finished shooting entitled "Husk." The feature stars Devon Graye of Showtime's "Dexter" and is a feature length version of Brett Simmons' short film "Husk" that screened at Sundance in 2005.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3id2735b8f1234ea9ca3fbe939c9ed4909

The title of the post "My Buddy Razor Boy" is an inside joke that I'll let you readers YouTube if you're interested. I'll give you a hint - I think Brett is somewhat of an Unsung Hero.

Long story short, I want to congratulate Brett; another great example of a successful Dodge alumni who is making Chapman proud.

-David May

(this is the trailer for the short film "Husk")

Who is a Chapman student?

2009-09-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Recently, some of our student workers here in the admission office were asked to describe the typical Chapman student. Here is what they said:

A Chapman Student…

-is from all over the country/world

-is busy, academically accomplished, motivated, friendly, often talented,

· is willing to try new things

· is accepting of others and their differences

· wants to make mark on campus in some way

· is driven/has an entrepreneurial spirit

· is passionate about learning

· is inquisitive

· is involved in community outside of school

· learns about the outside world, globally focused

· has long-term goals, plans to use their education

· is hands-on, a doer

· is well-angled

· is well-rounded

· grows their self, is self-improving

· participates in their education

· handles multiple responsibilities

· is physically/mentally active

· enjoys a challenge

· is welcoming/willing to help

· takes pride in what they do

· takes initiative

· is quick to help others

Have a great fall everyone!
Chapman Admission

Say yes-say to your essay!

2009-08-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings from campus!

It's an exciting week here at Chapman - we are welcoming our new students! The days are packed with orientation sessions, speakers, barbecues, and all kinds of events. It is definitely a treat to see some familiar faces of students we met over the past year in the crowds :o)

For students who are thinking about joining us in fall 2010 or beyond, we received a question a few days ago that we wanted to answer here so all could see it:

“When you guys are reading admissions essays, what kinds of things do you really enjoy seeing? What makes an essay stand out to you?”

I've checked with other staff members on this too and there is some agreement in our office that essays work well when a student writes about something that is important to him/her, and uses their essay to shed some light on aspects of themselves that we can't glean from other parts of the application. It's totally fine if you feel strongly about football, or a mission trip, or a theatre experience, but give us a new twist on it in the essay, since it's likely mentioned in your activities too. Some of us have personal favorites that are humorous, but not everyone is naturally funny in writing so it's definitely okay to not go that route. Some of us (ahem) are even known to cry at the more emotional essays – we really do see a full spectrum of topics and writing styles, so the best advice we can offer is to write what feels natural to you, and be yourself. Good story-telling can definitely be a plus, too. It can be much more fun to read personal statements that actually tell a story as opposed to ones that serve as long explanations or descriptions.

Another counselor wanted to give a reminder that a well-written first paragraph can make a big difference on setting the tone. We each read hundreds of essays each season, so it's always appreciated when a student is able to "hook" us right off the bat. Topics off the beaten path can certainly be fun too, since it’s not every day that we read an essay about a sweater, mutinous campers at summer camp, or about homemade soap and shampoo science experiments creating a desire to study chemistry.

I’m a little hesitant to put up the topics that we often see in essays because we certainly don’t want to deter students from writing about them if they are, in fact, what is most close to your heart. The best advice we can offer for students who are using topics that are common (your English teachers and counselors can probably help you identify these), are to put your own spin on it. If we have five essays on subject A, we shouldn’t be able to interchange them between the five students who submitted them…they should each be unique to that particular student. Details are great.

A few hints - thing we definitely don’t care for is when students name other universities in their essay. It’s totally cool if you are also applying to the University of X, but it’s really not necessary to send us their essay too. And, the dreaded “over-thesaurus’ed” essays can be tough to read… please don’t feel the need to find a synonym for every other word you’re using, as the end result can feel unnatural.

Overall, please keep in mind that the Admission committees WANT to like your essays, and WANT to like you. The personal statement is the one avenue where the student has the most control over how they present themselves, so please don’t be afraid to have some fun with it.

Hopefully this sheds some light on things…as always, let us know if you have any more questions about this topic, or anything else!

Happy Writing!

-Dena

Chapman's Connection to "the Fourth Kind"

2009-08-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

I've noticed some comments on other blogs and tweets so far regarding the Chapman University Logo that appears toward the beginning of the trailer for a new film entitled "the Fourth Kind."

No, Abigail Tyler tyler is not a professor at Chapman, and no, I am not aware of alien abductions at Chapman University nor do we have a creepy owl infestation.

The answer is much simpler than that - the director of the film (Olatunde Osunsanmi) was a student here at Chapman University. The fact is, Chapman has lots of alumni working in 'the industry.'

We at Chappenings are very excited for Olatunde Osunsanmi and "the Fourth Kind." We still remember Olatunde's student film Malachi from the Chapman years. In fact, a clip of Malachi can be found HERE.

Make sure to see the film opening weekend and support to the incredibly talented Olatunde Osunsanmi!

Thanks for reading,
-dm

____ALSO____

We have recieved lots of comments regarding if Chapman should have done this or not. We at Chappenings are curious what everyone things - please take a half a second to vote in this poll.

Thanks!

Question about academic preparation

2009-08-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Question:__________
i am going to be a sophomore at (high school). I am in the Upward Bound Program and we had the privilege of having a tour of Chapman University. On the tour I looked around and the buildings, the art work, and the entire campus is so beautiful. I wish to attend there when i graduate which will be in 2012. I want to major in Creative writing and/or Mathematics. I am not sure which classes i should take my high school years and was hoping you can be some assistance. i would deeply appreciate it. i hope you will email me back soon or call me.

thank you for taking the time to read this

(student)

Answer:___________

The Admission Office does not require that students take certain courses in order to be admitted, however we do recommend the following:

4 Years of English
3-4 Years Math
3-4 Years Social Science/History
3-4 Years Science (With two years lab science)
3-4 Years Foreign Language

These courses will help students not only be competitive admission candidates but successful Chapman students as well. The admission committee looks to see that students are prepared for the general education courses that all students will be taking at Chapman. These courses are recommended by the admission committee to better prepare students for the academic rigor of Chapman University. It is possible for students to be admitted without meeting all of the recommended areas since each application is reviewed on an individual basis.

Depending on your major, we may look more closely at particular areas. For example, math or business majors will have their HS math curriculum scrutinized.

Hopefully this information helps!

___________

Best wishes,

Chapman Admission

A question about financial aid

2009-08-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

Question:___________________

Dear Mr. May,

I had asked Pete Weitzner for help regarding financing my way to Chapman University. He referred me to you. What I am curious to know is how I may obtain some scholarships and grants for next year, for I am very interested in attending Chapman. Right now I am a Senior in high school. I am not eligible for financial aid, but $40,000 per year is a bit extreme for my family. I loved that university and am looking forward to possibly becoming a student there next year.

Thank you very much for your time Mr. May.

Sincerely,

(student)

Answer:______________________

This is a question we are asked pretty frequently. Chapman (like many private schools) does at first look like it's going to be an expensive place. The good news, however, is that we do have a financial aid system that works very well. As many of you know, I graduated from Chapman University and I can tell you this: I would not have been able to attend without the support of the package I received.

Last year more than 80% of the students received some sort of financial aid. This money is based off of three primary things. Merit, talent, and need.

Merit awards are based off of the student's academic performance in high school. The scholarships generally range between $12K per year, and $23K per year. Historically, more than half of the students qualify for the Merit award. Students will be evaluated for this award no matter if the student likes it or not - these decisions are based off of the application for admission.

In order to qualify for need based awards, students/families need to fill out the FAFSA. Awards can be very large, or modest depending on the students/family's estimated family contribution.

Talent awards are available to talent departments only and are general based off of departmental applications for admission (there are a few exceptions to this rule). Any additional steps would be spelled out very clearly. Again, for the vast majority of these talent awards, the students do not have to do anything additional for consideration.

Last year, the average package size was over $20K and again, an overwhelming majority of the students were receiving a package of some sort. I think of it this way: It is inexpensive to apply. If the student is admitted, the family will be able to evaluate the financial aid package. AT THAT TIME decide if Chapman is too expensive or not. If students and families make that decision before they see the package, odds are they will incorrectly assume Chapman is too expensive, when it may not have turned out that way. If after seeing the package the family decides that the school is too expensive, then it is easy to cancel at that time and all you have lost is the application fee.

I think that's a much better way to evaluate the cost of Chapman. As always, if anyone has any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to comment below.

-David May

Blog readers - there's more CU new media stuff online

2009-08-14T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

I just wanted to give you a quick head's up to check out www.chapman.edu/learnmore.

It's our 'headquarters' as far as ways for you to research Chapman University by utilizing new media resources.

Let us know if you have suggestions, questions, or concerns.

-David May