CSUF vs CHAPMAN (post bacc)?

[Guest]

I know there's been a few posts about this already, but couldn't find any recent ones.

Any current/past students that can give any insights on either school?

Thanks!

[ocslp]

Hello! I'm currently in Chapman's post bacc. Overall, I would say it has been a good experience. Here are some general pros and cons:

Pros

• Classes are only Friday evenings/Saturdays, so you can work nearly full-time if you want
• The cohort model is great, I've really enjoyed my cohort and made some good friends
• If you're coming from a rigorous undergrad institution you're not going to find the classes to be challenging, but I still feel like I've learned things in most of them
• Most of the instructors are incredibly nice and accommodating. I've had some family emergencies and they were willing to work with me and not punish my grade for it
• The pace of the courses is actually not bad at all and it is not difficult to apply to grad school at the same time even if you are also working, as long as you have good time management
• A good percentage of the people from my cohort who applied to grad school got in (maybe one or two out of twenty or so who applied did not), so the reputation is definitely fine among grad schools
• The director of the program takes feedback seriously and will address any issues your cohort is having with an instructor or courseload

Cons

• Two of our instructors were pretty bad. One was notably terrible and I'm convinced she had never even taken a course on the topic she was trying to teach. I know our cohort and the last one left negative reviews about her though so maybe she won't be there anymore.
• Some of the courses seemed a bit slow and sometimes boring; I actually expected more work to be required. Maybe this isn't really a "con" though

These are just some general things...let me know if you have any specific questions! Overall, I'd say I definitely recommend Chapman's post bacc. I have had a good experience and it's been great to be able to work at the same time and save up some money.

 

 

[snoves]

From what I've heard from grad students at my school, many of the postbacc programs at the large state schools are hard to do because the classes fill quickly and often are only offered once a year. So you may get stuck going for way than you planned since you have to wait to get into the classes. I'm not sure if that's 100% true for Fullerton but I know even the grad students there have difficulty graduating in two years due to how impacted the program is.

Edited April 27, 2018 by snoves
Typo

[blueci]

I'm a finishing Post Bacc at CSUF!

Pros:

I got to register before the undergrads because I am a post bacc (I think all post baccs get dibs on the classes), so I registered for all my classes with no problem.

The classes are usually in the afternoons (4-6:45) and evenings (7-9:45), I've only needed to take one 1-3:45 class out of the seven I took over the last year.

Most of the faculty are very responsive to your questions.

The list of courses required for CSUF post baccs basically covers the requirements of every other grad programs.

I never had much trouble with classes. They're challenging, but not impossible. You definitely know your stuff by the time you are done with classes.

There is a clinic on site where you can make up observation hours etc.

There are a mixture of undergrad, second bachelor's, post baccs, and sometimes grad students in the classes so I got to meet people with great insight on stuff.

 

Cons:

The list of courses required for post baccs is so extensive that it feels like too much.

The classes are huge (40~60 per class average) so it can make it hard for the professors to know you unless you speak out in class a lot (which may make the recommendations a smidge difficult)

Most of the professors I had aren't full time faculty, so they sometimes felt a little disorganized from their other jobs.

****The professor in charge of the grad/postbacc students is extremely disorganized and unhelpful (I went to her office hours and she never really answered my questions regarding the direction of my studies etc.) and she just wants to promote her own classes. I never had good experience with her. Apparently there was a mingle event of post baccs but I got the acceptance to the post bacc program the day after the mingle event, and so I never got to meet people who were in the same boat as me. I asked the prof in charge if she knew a willing post bacc that would help me out, but she shut me down without considering it.

 

The biggest con in the program is the post bacc/grad advisor. But apart from that, I think I'm smooth sailing for the most part. I didn't have to interact with her after the beginning of fall semester. If I need help, I just contact the department head and she's super willing to help.