<p>Bump. Thx again.</p>
<p>When we were at our hotel in Portland we saw a car that had WA tags and stickers from two schools – Duke and American University. D said to me, “I like them, they’re just like me.”</p>
<p>bookmarked</p>
<p>To kb2133 and others who wish similar input:</p>
<p>First, if you have any interest in a Catholic school that’s well-regarded by most in the Portland community, don’t rule out the University of Portland! No fb there, though, as far as I know. ;)</p>
<p>Also, my neighbors’ daughter just finished her 2nd year at Linfield in McMinnville. She has mixed feelings about the school, partially (I think) b/c she got caught up in the whole “greek scene,” which is not her thing. She did get a pretty good financial aid package, which included working about 6 hrs/week on campus, and she enjoys SCHOOL (not the “extras”) more than she ever has in her iife.</p>
<p>Linfield is well-regarded for their nursing program…and, apparently, for their other professional programs. Nursing students study for the first two years in McMinnville before transferring to the Portland campus to complete their training. The neighbors’ daughter is really looking forward to this! In addition, students are encouraged to study abroad during “Jan term,” which is an “extra” month of winter break (which can be used as a break…or time to enrich oneself in some way [preferably academically, of course]).</p>
<p>So, since I’m talking Oregon, I’m going to continue (briefly). Unfortunately, my knowledge is limited by what I do, so please forgive me: </p>
<p>Pacific U in Forest Grove has a Jan term as well. I think they’re best known for their undergrad teacher education programs and their graduate professional programs (eg; Clinical Psychology [PsyD], Physician Asst, etc), which are on a campus closer to Portland! 
Lewis and Clark has many fine arts opportunities for students, and they offer excellent master’s level counseling programs. Otherwise??? In most areas, Reed is one of the top 10 schools in the country “priming” students to continue (after their bachelor’s) to the PhD! They always seem to try hard to challenge their students.</p>
<p>Most people from Portland (but not all!) are pretty liberal thinkers who want to make a difference regarding the environment/sustainability/etc. All in all, the Pacific NW is a great place to be, and i’m sure your son will love any of the choices you posted!
Excellent work! :)</p>
<p>mummy, what are your feelings on Willamette?</p>
<p>I’m sorry for not responding! This just came up for me…</p>
<p>Truly, I don’t hear much about Willamette. Not many kids go there (that I know of) from my kids’ schools, so maybe it’s a LAC that’s more attended by OOS students? I have heard it has a great reputation, but our area has Reed, Lewis & Clark, Portland State, Pacific University, and University of Portland within spittin’ distance. :)</p>
<p>I apologize doubly for not being at all helpful with this topic. Good luck!</p>
<p>Willamette is a well regarded school, but it is in a much smaller town and environment. Salem is the capital, but is much different in feel than Portland. (I grew up in Salem, so I am very familiar with both Salem and Portland.) The campus is beautiful, but there is less to do in the town itself. Obviously Portland has much more night life, activities, etc. </p>
<p>However, if you are into politics or government, Salem would be the place to be. It is close also to the beach, mountains.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, crizello!</p>
<p>FYI – just thought I let everyone know that my D is thrilled with L&C. She’s enjoying her classes, loves the campus and people and getting to know Portland. It all worked out for the best for her!</p>
<p>Glad to hear it is working well libcam. DD2 just has one more semester there. I suspect if she gets a job offer in Portland she might stay out there. That just means I get to continue visiting on a regular basis. :D</p>
<p>Thank you, libcam for the updates. We are going to visit L&C and Reed the first week of April. We are planning to stay at the Hotel Monaco for a couple of days. Recommendations are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Worrytoomuch – I think you’ll love the campus. Everyone we talked to when we first visited was so friendly and helpful. In addition to visiting campus, hopefully you’ll have some time to enjoy Portland and the environs. If you’re there on a Saturday the Farmers Market is amazing (definitely try Pine State Biscuits)! And the Oswego Grill (about 5 miles from campus) has a great and really inexpensive late night happy hour menu. And I agree with Erin’s Dad, Portland is a great place for parents to visit.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad, thank you for the private message. As a new member, I am not allowed to send messages yet.</p>
<p>We pick the Monaco because of its downtown location. After a 12-hour drive, we prefer to walk to shops and restaurants nearby. I will check out the Westin. Portland’s traffic must be as bad as the SF Bay Area - 25 minutes for a 6 miles distance from hotel to Reed or L&C. </p>
<p>Reed and Pomona are D top choices. I have been reading the old Northwest tour threads, came across L&C. I am not sure about Linfield and Willamette though. Unless they offer merit scholarship, it does not make sense to pay full tuition. D can always attend one of the UCs due the top 4% guarantee. Hopefully, D will add L&C to her very short list after the tour.</p>
<p>Libcam, thank you also for the suggestions. We will miss the Saturday’s market. The happy hour sounds good, especially after the tours.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what Erin’s dad said - but assuming he was suggesting the Westin, I second that recommendation. My DS went to LC and the Westin was an excellent place to stay when visiting. I’m not sure who is saying 20 minutes but I would make it from the Westin to the baseball field on the edge of campus in less than 15 every time. Downtown Portland does have a bunch of one way streets that make driving a little more challenging…</p>
<p>LC and the UCs are just very different experiences - big University vs LAC. I hope she finds the right fit for her.</p>
<p>Worry – there are lots of great restaurants in Portland and nearby Lake Oswego and tons to do in Portland. My favorite place to eat in Lake Oswego is Zeppo and it’s only a few minutes south of L &C: [Zeppo</a> Italian Restaurant in Lake Oswego, Oregon](<a href=“http://zepporestaurant.com%5DZeppo”>http://zepporestaurant.com) </p>
<p>H’s youngest sister and his BFF went to Lewis & Clark and loved it and are each successful in their fields. It’s a very nice LAC that DD won’t consider because it’s too close to home :)</p>
<p>Scualum, thank you for the warnings about the one way street. I notice that many hotels charges up to $40/day for parking without in and out privileges. With the AAA and AARP (we are “old”) memberships, we get “free” parking at the Monaco.</p>
<p>Agentninetynine, D is the same. She wants to experience life far away from home. Last September, D audited a class at Cal. There were about 40 kids at her school sitting up front. Everywhere we went, we kept seeing the same familiar faces. I found it very comforting but D thought otherwise. </p>
<p>Hopefully D will have a chance to attend one these LACs in Portland. At least it is on the same coast :)</p>
<p>Piazza Italia is an amazing Italian restaurant (run by Italian soccer fans) in the Pearl District. Our favorite!</p>
<p>Willamette is a much better school academically than Linfield. Less well-known that L&C and Reed, but up and coming and better than Linfield.</p>
<p>Congrats on the successful NW school visits and choices. I agree with jaylynn on Willamette. It really seems well run and that it’s up and coming. Pomona and Reed have very different feels… make sure to visit, preferably an overnight.</p>
<p>Reed and L&C have very different feels as well. DD1 loved Reed, DD2 hated it but loved L&C. A friend at work went to Willamette and DD2 attended a summer conference there. Nice college, good academics, the area around the U is a little run down but seems to be on the way up.</p>
<p>As far as things to to in Portland, there is a great deal. We always hit the Chinese and Japanese gardens. Look on a travel site like Travelocity or Yelp for ideas.</p>