Pondering a sweep through the PNW this spring with DS, who (thus far) has little interest in any social scene unless it’s a study group or a group that does good work for the environment/world. Alas, he is not very outdoorsy, either! Undecided major but likely math, environmental science or possibly peace studies. Grades are excellent, but few ECs and other trimmings.
L&C, Reed, Uni of Puget Sound, etc? He initially liked the idea of The Evergreen State but a friend who went there ranted about the clouds of pot smoke hanging over the campus…not his thing, to put it mildly.
In WA: Whitman is a great school and sounds like a fit. The students are bright and the vibe is welcoming. Walla Walla is a great college town, but even better for parents who like wine! It’s the county seat, so 30k population, however it is several hours from a major city. Evergreen is indeed “green” but lots of kids seem to like it. It’s a very liberal student body. A kid told me that he got exhausted by “protest of the day” mode, but that was about 5 year ago, so check out if it’s the same. UPS is a hidden gem. Good school, cute campus in Tacoma. A bit more conservative than the other two schools, has the all-american type of kids but who are interested in making a different in the world. You might want to look at Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma. It’s a good small school.
In OR: Reed might be a good match; it’s a bit heady and quirky (appealing to introverts, too). Lewis & Clark is a great small school. Excellent Environmental Science. Look at Willamette University. It’s more conservative than L&C, but students from our high school who go there are smart and well-rounded. There’s a small school in McMinnville, Linfield College. It’s a sweet school with a decent reputation. Might skew more to athletic vibe, but kids from my town seem thrive there. Plus it’s near Portland, which is a fun city. Check out Univ of Portland. It’s a Jesuit school and has solid academics.
I didn’t include the big state U’s – seemed like you were were interested in smaller schools. Hope you have a good trip!
Western Washington Fairhaven program perhaps? Still doing good in the world but not quite as radical as Evergreen. https://fairhaven.wwu.edu/
UW College of the Environment has several options, but I’m trying to wrap my mind around environmental majors that aren’t very outdoorsy. Would something like atmospheric science to study climate change be a possible major? That would involve lots of computer/math modeling. Or a public policy major? (Neither mathy nor outdoorsy.)
Oregon State also has good science and environmental programs.
Puget Sound attracts outdoorsy and athletic kids. The recruiters at local college fairs just light up when the student mentions playing sports, which was a turn-off for my kid as she watched this while waiting in line.
I would second Willamette as a place that fits the criteria.
You may also want to consider Pacific Lutheran U in Tacoma.
Although there’s religion in their name, it’s a very open and welcoming place for all.
They have a surprising number of ecological and social justice programs within a variety of majors, including a sustainability focus and a Holocaust Studies program.
Pretty campus with down to earth students.
Note for those who are interested, their School of Nursing is has a direct entry option.
There’s probably some school in the PNW that fits, but they vary widely in selectivity. The stats (GPA, test scores) would likely help to narrow it down.
I was also going to suggest Whitman, Lewis & Clark, UPS, and Willamette. The PNW in general is pretty good for outdoosry types. Reed is pretty competitive, so with few ECs “and other trimmings” he may find that a little more of a stretch.
Also, while many colleges and universities are ‘known for’ or have stereotypes about the types of students who attend, he should dig a little deeper than the surface level. For example, with Evergreen State College - yes, because it’s a super-liberal college I’m sure lots of kids smoke marijuana on a regular basis. But if it has everything else that he wants (the flexible, open curriculum; the environmental studies; the laid-back student body) and he doesn’t feel pressured to imbibe if he doesn’t want to, it still might be a good fit. Maybe he should visit?
He has little interest in any social scene? Most people need some kind of social contact, even if it’s small gatherings to have intellectual discussions in people’s homes as opposed to ragers.
of male transfer applicants, male transfer acceptance rate (from Section D2 of most recent CDS):
176, 24.4%, Reed
162, 32.7%, Willamette
73, 39.7%, Lewis & Clark
144, 42.4%, UPS
50, 48.0%, Whitman
1280, 68.0%, Western Washington
1192, 93.9%, Evergreen State (both male and female)
I used the numbers for male applicants specifically (except for Evergreen, which only reported one rate) because most of these schools are LACs; LACs commonly get fewer male applicants and have a higher male acceptance rate. At Whitman, for example, the male acceptance rate was 10 points higher than the female rate.
Based on these numbers, the most favorable college for transfers is arguably Whitman. They are one of the top schools in this group (for example, Reed and Whitman are the only PNW schools that make collegeconfidential’s lists of “Top Liberal Arts Colleges” or “Top Universities”). Yet they appear to get relatively few transfer applicants, and have an unusually high transfer acceptance rate.
Caveat: LACs are small and the transfer acceptance rates can fluctuate markedly from year to year. If a LAC overenrolls its freshman class, for example, then they may take few transfers the following year. So it might be worth looking at the CDS for the past few years, not just the latest.
It appears that WUE tuition discounts for California residents are not currently available at either Western Washington or Evergreen State. ESU isn’t on the current list, and WWU only offers the discount to freshmen (not transfers). http://wue.wiche.edu/search_results.jsp?searchType=all
The school is definitely a niche institution - I would never tell anyone to go there without visiting and spending some quality time with the students.
Happy Evergreen students are actually pretty social – there is a lot of group work in the curriculum. There’s a lot of “do your own thing” from a non-conformity standpoint, but introverts may not find it to be quite their fit.
He was really interested in Evergreen, but the friend who got her Master’s there said even many of her professors were stoned in class. Of course there will be different takes on this, I’m sure, but it really scared him off. (I’m kind of thinking of going back to school, though…:-D)