This year, Seaver College received its highest number of applications since 2007.
Pepperdine received 10,443 applications for the 2013-14 academic year, 10 percent more than the previous year. The next closest total was 9,896 applicants in 2011-2012.
Pepperdine’s deadline for college seniors and transfer students was Jan. 5. Pepperdine has not had an Early Action or Early Decision Deadline since 2003. The Office of Admissions will be processing applications for the next few months. The results will arrive on or before April 1, and final statistics on the admitted students will be revealed afterward.
Ten applicants for the Posse Scholarship have also been selected for a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to Seaver College.
The Posse Foundation, created in 1989, seeks to send students “who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes” to top colleges on full-ride scholarships. According to Posse’s website, it was originally created to identify “promising students from disadvantaged urban backgrounds using an alternative set of qualities as predictors of success in college.”
The students are picked in groups of 10 for each college through nontraditional methods such as problem solving, rather than SAT scores. The students graduate from college at a rate of 90 percent and are mentored as they progress through their university years.
Pepperdine first partnered with Posse in 2010, and next year’s group will bring the group total to four, one in each class.
Pepperdine professors who participated in the selection process traveled to Washington, D.C., to see the applicants and make the final decision. The 10 individuals are meant to reflect the diversity of the D.C. metro area.
Professor of Religion and Hispanic Studies Daniel Rodriguez said the 10 recipients are a diverse group, including Asians, Hispanics and African Americans.
Rodriguez was in charge of mentoring the second Posse group, while Professor of Humanities Jeff Banks took the first and third group and will be mentoring the fourth.
“I think that it’s a challenge for them, and my job is to try to help them meet the challenge,” said Banks. “And for some it’s easier than others.”
President Andrew K. Benton said on the Posse Foundation website that the values of Posse Foundation are wholly supported by Pepperdine’s mission.
“There is so much symmetry between the mission and values of The Posse Foundation and those of Pepperdine University,” Benton said in 2009. “As a leading Christian institution of higher education, we care deeply about issues of equity and access and are keenly aware of the tremendous benefits, both intellectual and spiritual, to having a diverse campus community.”
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Follow us on Twitter: @PepperdineGraphic
