<p>For anyone who has visited or is familiar with the Portland area LACs, would you care to share some thoughts or comparisons? I'm particularly interested in Reed, University of Portland, Lewis & Clark, and Willamette (Salem). I know their respective academic ranks, but I am interested in your feelings about the campuses and people. I live in California and have never been to Portland. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!</p>
<p>My dd, who is now a college sophomore, toured Reed, and Lewis & Clark in her junior year of high school. She didn’t care for Reed, loved L&C. With Reed, she said it was mostly a “feeling” she got while visiting. She also felt it sounded just a bit too academic for her. It probably didn’t help that the tour guide was a biology major and really emphasized the sciences, which is not what dd was interested in. She ended up applying to L&C (and was accepted) but not to Reed. In my opinion, both campuses were beautiful.</p>
<p>Reed students have been described as a majority of outliers, quirky, dedicated to a heavy academic load, and equally dedicated to extreme fun (in the little free time they have).</p>
<p>Our Reed '09 daughter preferred Willamette over L&C, but I think the biggest reason was that L&C shot themselves in the foot, not allowing HS juniors to overnight. She loved her Reed and Willamette overnights, getting strong impressions of the schools. All the new buildings at L&C also put her off; she preferred the old buildings of Willamette (the oldest U west of the Mississippi) and Reed.</p>
<p>You really need to visit the colleges to get a good feel for them. My D disliked L&C, got out of the car at Reed just so we could take a picture for her aunt who went there and loved Willamette (graduated last May). Feeling of others may not be all that useful. But I think most will agree that Portland is a great city.</p>
<p>We’re from California and we toured Reed and Lewis and Clark last February.
Both were very beautiful and green. </p>
<p>Reed is intensely academic. The information session makes that clear. Students were friendly, and outspoken. (That’s my tactful way to say that some were a little “in-your-face”) A number of them smoke. Ursula LeGuin was speaking on campus the night of our tour. (Only Reed students could go, though). There was a student-built human-sized hamster wheel in the student center. Reed campus is in a nice residential area, many of the neighbors walk their dogs on campus.<br>
Lewis and Clark seems to have a stronger connection to the city of Portland. There appeared to be lots of opportunities for students to volunteer/intern in local government, hospitals etc. (Somewhat like Rice Univ. in this regard)
Did not visit the other two schools.
Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>Bookmarked</p>
<p>Another post on the subject:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/132602-post-your-own-states-college-reputations-27.html#post1066055134[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/132602-post-your-own-states-college-reputations-27.html#post1066055134</a></p>