<p>Organic & sustainability are being tossed around this decade as * new & improved*were tossed around thirty years ago, by themselves, they dont mean much.</p>
<p>Evergreen also offers merit scholarships to good students. S1 was offered an award that essentially paid the tuition. It was one of the schools he really considered along with Reed College and UChicago.</p>
<p>That's very encouraging to hear, idad. Do you mind saying what test scores/GPA your son racked up to get the equivalent of a full ride for tuition there?</p>
<p>my D was offered an Evergreen merit award and some state award that I don't think is offered any longer.
wasnt close to full tuition though- but the the award party was fun- they held it at the Seattle baseball stadium and had one of the artists on hand for tours ( she was an alum)</p>
<p>S1 had a 3.46 GPA (UW), with lots of APs (Calc BC as a sophomore) distance courses from UC Berkeley (not counted in GPA), Mandarin study in Beijing, many ECs and international athletic competitions, and an ACT of 33 or a little higher.</p>
<p>I am a high school senior from Texas who visited Evergreen three weeks ago with my dad. It was an incredible experience. Never before have I seen so many interesting and impassioned people in one place. Feel free to email me with any questions.</p>
<p>To answer your question, Evergreen is the 'hippie" college of Washington, like UC Santa Cruz in California. Lots of academic and personal freedom, which can be good or bad, depending on your child.</p>
<p>IllinoisDad, the late school year is a function of the quarter system. You'll find the same schedule at U of W and Stanford, to pick just 2 other West Coast schools. Good and bad. The late start can be strangely stressful for freshmen - all their friends are at college and they are still home for another month. Good point - the quarters end at major vacations so they really are vacations. Bad point - summer jobs may not be willing to wait for you.
Evergreen is famous for being a place for self-directed kids and older students who want to design their own major. Not such a good place for someone who has no idea which of a million different interesting fields they want to delve into and no experience designing their own course of study.</p>
<p>Check out Warren Wilson College in NC:</p>
<p>Warren</a> Wilson College</p>
<p>When I described my D to a college counselor, he suggested WW. I'd never heard of it before, but it sounds fascinating. It was not what D was looking for, but I can definitely see how it would appeal to a certain kind of kid. Check it out. They sent D a neat DVD when she expressed interest.</p>
<p>I should add that they have a working farm and food co-op that are student run.</p>
<p>StepD went to Evergreen many years ago and loved it - she was very self-directed. Looks like S will go next year as a freshman. I think it will be a good fit for him. Very interesting school - wish I could've gone someplace like it!</p>
<p>S and I visited Evergreen a year ago. Really enjoyed our day there. Quite amused to hear thePresident singing the "Gooey Duck" fight song. Agree with most of what's been said. S did apply (in state) mostly as saftey and was accepted but haven't heard back on aid yet, although in his acceptance letter they told him he would have about a 20% reduction of tuition for his grades. Of the approximately dozen schools we visited, I would agree that Evergreen is most like Hamphire. They had very much the same vibe. Probably because the buildings were of simlar vintage and both campuses are quite sprawling and bucolic. I did notice more cigarette smoking at Hamphire did not notice any overt pot use at either campus during our visits. After looking at all of the schools, we realized a good education can be had anywhere and it really is what you make it.</p>
<p>You also might want to check out Fairhaven college (Part of Western Washington) and their outback farm program Fairhaven</a> College: About the Outback Farm
"The Outback is a program of the Associated Students of Western Washington University. Founded in 1972, the Outback Farm is a five acre student-run site at the south end of Fairhaven College which teaches, develops and implements sustainable growing and land use methods in order to enrich the student body, the University, and the Bellingham community."</p>
<p>"Evergreen is kind of like the Reed College of public schools. Very interesting courses, committed and smart faculty, lots of flexibility with curriculum, no grades, but evaluations instead. I've known many Evergreen graduates, and they're perfectly normal people who play well with others, and don't shy away from following their own path."</p>
<p>Actually, Evergreen is nothing like Reed academically. At Evergreen there are areas of study like Agriculture, Sustainability, Hydrology, Queer Studies, and Health. </p>
<p>Reed has majors like Biology, History, Economics and Classics. </p>
<p>(Evergreen has these too, but its curriculum is built on flexibility and on being non-traditional).</p>
<p>Contrary to popular belief, Reed has grades and a very demanding, very structured curriculum.</p>
<p>The only thing the two schools have in common is that they are both in the Pacific Northwest (though over 100 miles apart) and tend to draw students who are somewhat independent.</p>