APU is a great place to grow in your faith, meet amazing people, and develop into the person you will be for the rest of your life. With guest speakers, they are able to open you up to seeing the world in a different perspective and be inspired to learn more about your faith. You will meet so many amazing people here, people who will support you and and you may even meet your future spouse.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
APU is a place for academic success, spiritual growth, and making a difference in the world one you leave here. The faculty is here to make sure that happens but you have to be willing to try.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
I will be honest, the courses are tough. APU wants to challenge you both academically and spiritually. As long as you pay attention during your classes and do your assignments, you should pass. If you have trouble with the class, your professor is there to help you in any way they can. In one of my classes, I got a low grade on one of my exams and my professor wrote a note saying to ask her if I needed any help preparing for the next one. The professors care about you and your success. The class sizes are small so you are able to get to know the professors and they get to know you.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
The RA's take their job seriously in making sure each freshman feels welcome here. They set up many different events that you have the option to participate in such as: GYRAD (Get Your Roommate A Date), My Tie (guys send their ties up the elevator to the girl's floor and they pick one which ends up being their date for the night), and others as well.
So far, everyone is super friendly and its easy to make friends with everyone who lives in your building. Of course, every year the freshman will be different in their personality and how they mesh but overall, the people that you meet here are so friendly and welcoming.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
The food is decent. It does get old after a while though. There are certain things at the different venues on campus that are good though., but the dining venues are: Umai Sushi (which is on West Campus), The Den which serves pizzas, burgers, grilled cheeses, etc.), The Dining Hall (ordinary cafeteria food.... I personally only eat breakfast here), The Grill (this is also on West Campus and they serve both chinese and burgers and such), Cornerstone Coffeehouse (pretty much a starbucks on campus but they make amazing smoothies too), Paws and Go (a small store that sells snacks and drinks along with small packs of advil or toiletries in case of an emergency), The Market ( pretty much the same thing as Paws and Go but they have more breakfast items and an AMAZING milkshake machine), and Mexicali (APU's version of Chipotle, it's pretty good and most of the time the best choice for lunch or dinner).
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
Within my first couple months here, I probably went to the beach 5 or 6 times. Having the beach not much more than an hour away makes it nice for a day trip to just get away for a little while. You can choose between Santa Monica, Newport, Huntington, Laguna, and Long Beach. There's probably other areas you can go to but those are the main/well known beaches that evenness goes to.
Disneyland and Six Flags are also pretty close and a lot of students here get season passes because they are able to go so many times.
Pasadena is only about 25 minutes away which makes it nice to go and explore on days when you don't have class and you want to have fun for free:)
There are mountains behind the school which is good for the people that like to hike because there are plenty of trails. If you're someone from a place like Colorado, you'd think the mountains are wimpy. Sorry, this is California, get used to it.
Overall, there's a lot you can do in the surrounding area so you'll always have something to do. :)
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
This school is expensive but what do you expect, it is a private school. APU does give a lot of financial aid so there's no way that you will be paying the full $40K.
Each class is challenging and enjoyable in its own way but sometimes they will get boring. If you graduate with a degree and end up with the job you want, then yes, APU is worth it.
Which types of students will excel at your college?
APU is a Christian school. it is a requirement that you attend chapel 3 times a week but you are allowed 10 absences for each semester. Its is so easy to get your 3 requirements because there are at least 5 services offered every week.
APU takes your spiritual life very seriously and there will even be professors who will pray before the class begins. Don't worry if you're not religious because I think that this allows you to learn about Christianity and decide what you believe and don't believe in.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
I have not joined any clubs because I am a student athlete but there are so many clubs and things going on. There are weekend hiking/backpacking trip that you can do, preview weekends for the High Sierra study abroad semester, mission trips/outreach trips and so much more. There are so many ways that you can get involved!
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
There is no greek life for students unless your a Bio major and the fraternities are for pre-med or pre-dental and they are mainly for networking and professional purposes. Other than that, APU does not offer any greek life.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
APU Campus Safety is very efficient in sending out information on crimes in the area and also allow the students to join Campus Safety to monitor the campus.
From my personal experience, the campus is safe, I have walked alone and nothing has happened but of course things do happen just like on any college campus, but it is A LOT less likely to happen here.
APU is a great place to grow in your faith, meet amazing people, and develop into the person you will be for the rest of your life. With guest speakers, they are able to open you up to seeing the world in a different perspective and be inspired to learn more about your faith. You will meet so many amazing people here, people who will support you and and you may even meet your future spouse.
APU is a place for academic success, spiritual growth, and making a difference in the world one you leave here. The faculty is here to make sure that happens but you have to be willing to try.
I will be honest, the courses are tough. APU wants to challenge you both academically and spiritually. As long as you pay attention during your classes and do your assignments, you should pass. If you have trouble with the class, your professor is there to help you in any way they can. In one of my classes, I got a low grade on one of my exams and my professor wrote a note saying to ask her if I needed any help preparing for the next one. The professors care about you and your success. The class sizes are small so you are able to get to know the professors and they get to know you.
The RA's take their job seriously in making sure each freshman feels welcome here. They set up many different events that you have the option to participate in such as: GYRAD (Get Your Roommate A Date), My Tie (guys send their ties up the elevator to the girl's floor and they pick one which ends up being their date for the night), and others as well. So far, everyone is super friendly and its easy to make friends with everyone who lives in your building. Of course, every year the freshman will be different in their personality and how they mesh but overall, the people that you meet here are so friendly and welcoming.
The food is decent. It does get old after a while though. There are certain things at the different venues on campus that are good though., but the dining venues are: Umai Sushi (which is on West Campus), The Den which serves pizzas, burgers, grilled cheeses, etc.), The Dining Hall (ordinary cafeteria food.... I personally only eat breakfast here), The Grill (this is also on West Campus and they serve both chinese and burgers and such), Cornerstone Coffeehouse (pretty much a starbucks on campus but they make amazing smoothies too), Paws and Go (a small store that sells snacks and drinks along with small packs of advil or toiletries in case of an emergency), The Market ( pretty much the same thing as Paws and Go but they have more breakfast items and an AMAZING milkshake machine), and Mexicali (APU's version of Chipotle, it's pretty good and most of the time the best choice for lunch or dinner).
Within my first couple months here, I probably went to the beach 5 or 6 times. Having the beach not much more than an hour away makes it nice for a day trip to just get away for a little while. You can choose between Santa Monica, Newport, Huntington, Laguna, and Long Beach. There's probably other areas you can go to but those are the main/well known beaches that evenness goes to. Disneyland and Six Flags are also pretty close and a lot of students here get season passes because they are able to go so many times. Pasadena is only about 25 minutes away which makes it nice to go and explore on days when you don't have class and you want to have fun for free:) There are mountains behind the school which is good for the people that like to hike because there are plenty of trails. If you're someone from a place like Colorado, you'd think the mountains are wimpy. Sorry, this is California, get used to it. Overall, there's a lot you can do in the surrounding area so you'll always have something to do. :)
This school is expensive but what do you expect, it is a private school. APU does give a lot of financial aid so there's no way that you will be paying the full $40K. Each class is challenging and enjoyable in its own way but sometimes they will get boring. If you graduate with a degree and end up with the job you want, then yes, APU is worth it.
APU is a Christian school. it is a requirement that you attend chapel 3 times a week but you are allowed 10 absences for each semester. Its is so easy to get your 3 requirements because there are at least 5 services offered every week. APU takes your spiritual life very seriously and there will even be professors who will pray before the class begins. Don't worry if you're not religious because I think that this allows you to learn about Christianity and decide what you believe and don't believe in.
I have not joined any clubs because I am a student athlete but there are so many clubs and things going on. There are weekend hiking/backpacking trip that you can do, preview weekends for the High Sierra study abroad semester, mission trips/outreach trips and so much more. There are so many ways that you can get involved!
There is no greek life for students unless your a Bio major and the fraternities are for pre-med or pre-dental and they are mainly for networking and professional purposes. Other than that, APU does not offer any greek life.
APU Campus Safety is very efficient in sending out information on crimes in the area and also allow the students to join Campus Safety to monitor the campus. From my personal experience, the campus is safe, I have walked alone and nothing has happened but of course things do happen just like on any college campus, but it is A LOT less likely to happen here.