Chelsea Taura

Admission Counselor

Home Town: Northridge, CA
Pepperdine University Class of 2024
Major: History
Email: Chelsea.Taura@pepperdine.edu
Phone: (310) 506-4392

Favorite Spot on Campus

The Scaife Bridge and Terrace was my favorite place on campus for a few reasons. Here, I listened to my favorite music, read books, and I was able to unwind as I watched the skies change throughout the day. This spot served as a reminder to both value and enjoy rest amidst the busyness of life.

Tips For Applying

Top 3 recommendations for applying

1. Reflect on Pepperdine’s mission statement and core values, and evaluate how you have embodied these values thus far, as well as how you plan to do this as a Pepperdine student
2. Utilize the Ask a Student feature on the Undergraduate Admission page for a first-hand perspective from students about life at Pepperdine.
3. Apart from researching Pepperdine’s academics and spiritual life on our webpage, I encourage you to watch Pepperdine’s videos on YouTube so that you can get a better understanding of how academics, faith, clubs, and student life interact with each other in a more visual way.

Advice for essays and supplemental question

I would suggest first creating an outline where you can write and let your thoughts flow freely. Once you have an idea of what YOU truly want to write, then it will be easier to communicate your authentic personality and goals in the essay and supplemental question. Additionally, this will help us get a better understanding of who you are as a person and aid us in our holistic review process. When writing essays and supplemental questions, I would advise you to keep the number of those who help you proofread your materials limited to two main people, and to be consistent with who you choose to help you. This can help you ensure that your voice does not get lost in the written materials, and that what you want to communicate to us remains authentic to your personality and goals as a student.

Other General Advice

My first piece of advice is to create a physical or online checklist for yourself so that you can promptly manage and meet your upcoming deadlines with greater ease. Next, I would aim to create earlier deadlines for yourself to request letters of recommendation, submit materials, and finish your written application pieces. Ideally, getting these tasks done with time before the real deadline can help ensure that your materials have already been sent to be reviewed by the school you are applying to, and help you thoroughly review your application so that you can avoid any mistakes and polish your materials. Lastly, I would highly encourage students to connect with their admission counselor in person or through correspondence! We are a valuable resource for you during this process and we are eager to assist you in any way that we can.

Working in the Office of Admission

My favorite aspect about working in the Office of Admission

I appreciate the encouraging and lively atmosphere in the Office of Admission, and I love interacting with and serving as a helpful resource for students and families who are navigating the admission process.

Highlights From My Time at Pepperdine

The main reason I decided to attend Pepperdine

The location in the greater LA area and the opportunities for spiritual enrichment during my college education are the two main reasons why I decided to attend Pepperdine.

My favorite class

History Senior Thesis was my favorite class project because I was able to apply all of my knowledge about historical research, writing history research papers, and communicating these ideas through different mediums to a topic in which I was personally invested. Additionally, I was able to share my thesis research with different audiences both in and outside of the classroom, which helped me apply my academic studies in different settings and grow as a communicator in my everyday life.

Activities, clubs, and service projects I was involved with

I was mainly involved in spiritual life on campus (life groups, the Well) and intramural sports.

The highlight of my Pepperdine experience

The highlight of my experience at Pepperdine was the support that I received from my professors. Due to the 13:1 student-to-teacher ratio, I was able to receive the 1:1 instruction outside of the classroom which helped me thrive in my academics. Not only that, but after graduating, I had formed such strong professional connections with my professors that we remained in contact and they became mentors to me during the post-graduate career search process.