Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My niece went to Pepperdine and it has worked out well that it is a religious school with mandatory church attendance on Sundays. If she feels down and in a rut having to do something on ash days forces her go get up and socialize instead of sleeping all day and feeling down. All the sunshine is good too.
Actually the requirement is 14 times per semester. You work it into your schedule. The school is built on Christian morals and you are required to go to church 14 times per semester and take three religion classes during your time at Pepperdine as G.E.
I live near Pepperdine. It's beautiful and the weather is gorgeous. It's on a hillside and the big-windowed dorms that look out to the sea. Behind Pepperdine is Malibu State Creek Park and tons of wilderness in the Santa Monica Mountains Range. Los Angeles has the largest wilderness inside an urban area, and Pepperdine abuts up against it. Every other Saturday, I am currently hiking the recently opened Backbone Trail (Malibu to Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles) that goes behind Pepperdine. It's 70 miles long, and imo it could be even longer if they decided to add existing trails to the official Backbone Trail.
To the extent that depression is caused by many factors and one might be crummy weather. I used live in Boston and the dark gray skies and low ceiling, day after day, month after month, was really rough and I think I had SAD. Add to that deciduous trees and dead grass. Conversely, fantastic weather and experiencing the outdoors and nature constantly--due to awesome weather and environs--has got to have some protective effect.
I have a 11th grade DD who has depression and I would have her consider Pepperdine, although for us it's a little too close to home so we may look a little farther away.