<p>As a senior in high school right now, I'm torn between Whitman and Colorado College. I've also been accepted to Grinnell, but I think I don't like it as much as these two.</p>
<p>I visited both of these schools and love them. I think I would send in my enrollment right away to Whitman if it weren't so close to home. I live in Portland, and while I love the Pacific Northwest, I've always imagined college to be a time of experiencing something different from the norm. With a large percentage of students from Seattle and Portland, I'm concerned that I'd just be surrounded with the same type of people.
For those who go to Whitman or have went there in the past, what are your thoughts on geographical diversity? Did you notice a very high concentration of Oregonians/Washingtonians? Did it really matter much?</p>
<p>CC is pretty diverse, so that's nice. However, this factor isn't make-or-break for me. I would prefer a school composed of different types of students, but it's not my top priority.</p>
<p>I’m a mom of a Northwest kid who is a freshman at Whitman. He had a similar concern, but it ends up that nearly all of his closest friends there are from other parts of the country: mostly Midwest and East, a few from California.</p>
<p>And, Walla Walla is very different from Portland and Seattle.</p>
<p>Ironically, I think Whitman is more diverse and different than Colorado would seem (This is based on having a kid at Whitman and my best friend’s kid at CC) </p>
<p>It is hard to make these decisions and it can be tempting to look at something “definite” like numbers of one kind or another and make an extrapolation from that…but actually these can be misleading. I’d look more at where you can picture yourself as happiest. Also, are you certain you will like the block plan–since that is a definite contrast.</p>
<p>My daughter visited both CC and Whitman and definitely felt Whitman was more relaxed, diverse,friendly and at the same time exciting academically; there is also a very different “fit” with the local town between Whitman and WW and CC and Colorado Springs, which is much more of a big city (and very conservative). Oddly, the distance between Walla Walla and the NW cities is somehow “far enough” that I think you will feel you are well and away. And the Whitman campus has lots of students from outside of the NW for certain.</p>
<p>And Indiana91 says, WW is not at all like Portland/Seattle. If you want contrast to your hometown, Whitman and Grinnell will be more of a change than CC.</p>
<p>I do agree with mmaah. Whitman and Grinnell are very different from Portland/Seattle. We looked at Whitman and Grinnell. Our S is going to be going to Grinnell and I can tell you that after visiting both Whitman and Grinnell, both are very different from Portland/Seattle.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry much about “geographical diversity”. There are more important considerations. In the heirarchy of diversity, it’s at the bottom. There is value in attending a college where there’s diversity of ethnicity, socio-economic background, religion, political values, gender, academic interests, etc. But I don’t believe there’s much substantive difference between an upper middle class kid from Portland vs Chicago vs Atlanta. </p>
<p>FWIW… My daughter went to Whitman and LOVED it. When she left after graduation, she was depressed for weeks. Our son is deciding between Whitman, CC, and CMC. Good luck.</p>