What does your student like about UPS. Seems a lot different than her other choices?
I hear good things but kind of interesting in that one border neighborhood seems to be much safer/nicer than the other.
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Any possible last minute darkhorses?
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We made her find one other in state option besides UW. We went to their open house and liked a lot of things. The faculty speakers were very impressive. Though our daughter wants a large university she does seen tremendous value in the smaller class sizes. She also loves the weather and trees - was born and raised in Bellevue for first 13 years of life. Sheād rather than die than go to WSU and she absolutely hates Spokane and has been there enough times to make that determination. Western has a lot of downsides for her.
For safety Iām not any more concerned about the UPSās location than I am about the Ave at UW. We are fairly used to urban challenges and also the many perks.
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I will say it aināt over till itās over! Currently waiting to hear from UConn! Iām also trying to get her to reconsider UMN-TC!
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My sonās impression is that UMN-TC and UW have a lot of similar strengths, except that UMN majors seem much less impacted. I forgot what your D is planning to study, though.
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Yes agreed on the similarities. I need to head over to the UMN thread and inquire about the major situation. D23 got into Biology but there it is itās very own college. Sheās gotten the distinct impression from her AO that there is a silo effect there - that there isnāt much flexibility in curriculum. She would like some ability to explore at college and even - gasp - take a Shakespeare class. UMN is very adamant about their 4 year graduation success rate but daughter fear it might lead to too rigid an experience. Off I go to see what the experts think!
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My D was admitted to Gonzaga with a $21.5k scholarship and they followed up with a financial aid letter with another $2k. It is one of her top choices but still $8-$16k more than all her other private options.
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Thanks for the update - that is so helpful to know in general for us PNW peeps. Sorry it wasnāt more though.
Well, we are in countdown mode for UW. Trying not to talk about it as my D gets annoyed with college talk!
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Recent posters who applied to Gonzaga - have you considered University of Portland? DS23 received better merit from UP than Gonzaga, and I do believe it is higher ranked.
My D had the same results. Gonzaga is about $8k more per year. It is also a bit more expensive before merit. I think UP and Gonzaga are fairly similar, wouldnāt say Portland is more recognized/academically rigorous.
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My HS friendās daughter chose UP over Gonzaga - I think she just liked it better.
Itās a fine school (both are) - I would say Gonzaga currently is more recognized - but thatās due to basketball. Few would know the academics of either. And few would know of Gonzaga if not for basketball.
But historically, Portland was strong at womenās college soccer.
I think you go:
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Where you can afford
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If both are affordable, then which you feel comfortable
I doubt either gives an edge over the otherā¦Iām sure both are fine.
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Yes, I live outside of Portland and my kids are in Catholic school. Gonzaga has the better reputation among the Catholic school crowd here.
I encourage visiting both campuses if you havenāt. They have a different vibe due somewhat to location, but I also think student body might be slightly different, and each might appeal to different types of students.
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Both are fine, sure. I see higher median earnings from UP and particularly in Computer Science, but the graduating classes in CS are so small itās probably not fair to compare that data.
Could be but if you look nationally - no doubt Gonazaga will have the bigger name (the advantage of big time hoops) and some may confuse Portland with Portland Stateā¦but Iām guessing theyāre indistinguishable - no one will know the rep of each but Gonzaga does make for easy conversation.
No one will ever say - U of Portland - is that where Megan Rapinoe went?? 
Sports, 100% absolutely, sells school admission and notoriety.
In fact, one could argue, the schools like Villanova, Syracuse, Boston College, Providence, Seton Hall, etc. were put on the map due to the old Big East basketball league!!
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Gonzaga has better basketball. Also known for Bing Crosby.
Many will know the Jesuit schools for the educational quality they provide. And basketball.
Most of the Jesuit schools are in metro areas and they were placed there deliberately to serve the people of those cities (Portland, Seattle, SF, Xavier (Cincinnati), Regis (Denver), the Loyolas). The order deliberately picked basketball as the sport they could support over football. It was just cheaper to have 10 guys, a gym, and a basketball than to have to maintain a football field and equipment, and 30 or so players and coaches.
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I have a friend who graduated from Gonzaga and she said she didnāt really like it because she was not a basketball fan. My daughter wouldnāt look at it because she really does not like Spokane. Seems like a great option for many students though - we donāt have good schools on every corner like other parts of the country.
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Agree. I think the areas around the schools are probably even more different than the students.
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My D was awarded $1,800 per year in additional merit per year for being admitted to Seattle Uās honor program.
Just waiting on University of Washington!
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