<p>Is there a reason there is such a high acceptance rate, yet the stats for Whitman College are incredibly high? </p>
<p>I’m guessing it’s because only the top students apply there.
Also, it’s not like UW where everyone applies, most Western Washingtonians (this is just from my observation from being a senior here) don’t really consider Whitman because of its location, its size, and its reputation isn’t as good as it should be. It kind of “flies under the radar.”</p>
<p>I didn’t really know because I’m out of state. Thanks. :)</p>
<p>S just graduated from Whitman and we were very impressed with almost everything about it, it’s an excellent school. It’s not near an airport hub or a major city, and that’s a deal breaker for quite a few, but it never phased our S because he loved Walla Walla and the intimate atmosphere. Walla Walla is big enough to have good shopping, great restaurants, and a very charming atmosphere; it’s developed into major wine growing region, and has become a vacation destination, so there are amenities most smaller cities don’t have.</p>
<p>The administration knows that the location is seen as a negative by some, and I think traditionally it’s been used as a backup school for high achieving students, so lots of high stats kids apply, are accepted and then go other places. However, this enables the school to accept a large pool of high achievers knowing that the yield of actual enrollees will be lower come the Fall. My S and several of his classmates chose Whitman over UC Berkeley because they preferred the environment. This year the acceptance rate fell to 39%: <a href=“http://www.whitman.edu/admission/learn-more/admitted-class-profile”>http://www.whitman.edu/admission/learn-more/admitted-class-profile</a>. I really believe if Whitman were on the east coast it would be more of a household name.</p>
<p>@bopambo That’s a great explanation. Thank you! Do you know of any schools (especially in California) that have a Whitman-like atmosphere? I’m too far to visit Whitman College, so if you do know of any places please let me know. </p>
<p>Claremont Colleges (Scripps, Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Pomona), UC Davis, Chico State, University of San Diego, Redlands, Whittier College, La Verne University all have an intimate college town feel but are not nearly as isolated as Whitman since they near larger cities.</p>
<p>Mello, Whitman has the small city and is an LAC, so you get the great town plus small classes and direct access to all the faculty, many of whom will become friends and mentors. I’m guessing the LAC part is attractive to you, the Claremont colleges are also LACs so you have the smaller size and access to faculty at all of them. Is there anything else that attracted you to Whitman? Great outdoor program? Laid back friendly atmosphere? Gorgeous campus? It’ll be easier to suggest places if you tell us more of what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>@bopambo I actually don’t know much about Whitman. I was just looking into colleges on the west coast and learning more about them. From what I hear now, I’m not sure if I’d like it there. I’d love a campus of around ~5,000 students with shops around campus- kind of like a Stanford. I realize Whitman is pretty isolated, so that would probably be a major turnoff for me. I would like a friendly and collaborative (versus competitive) atmosphere, and I feel Whitman has that. Is Whitman what I perceive it to be, or is it something different?</p>
<p>Hi Mello, It’s hard to describe what Whitman is like because the word “isolated” gets in the way. When I think of Isolated campuses, I think of colleges in the middle of corn fields or somehow completely removed from surrounding communities (Colby comes to mind). Whitman, however, is right in the middle of a fair sized city, in fact, the campus is a two block walk from the historic and charming downtown where there are coffee houses, great restaurants, and good shopping, including groceries. Everything a student needs is within walking distance, and if you have a bike you’re really set. There is a lot to do in and around Walla Walla, it’s especially good if you like the outdoors, loads of biking, hiking, skiing, rafting, rock climbing, etc. </p>
<p>When people say “isolated” they mean that Seattle and Portland are four hours away. Because there isn’t a big hip city nearby, life at Whitman is centered around the campus, but believe me when I say the place is hopping. There’s tons of stuff going on all the time and Whitties are active and fun loving, as well as being very serious students. “A friendly and collaborative atmosphere” is definitely an accurate description. Transportation is not nearly as hard as most people initially believe it to be, there are just some tricks to learn. Walla Walla has it’s own small airport and there is a bigger airport an hour away in Pasco. Whitman is small, just 1500 students, so the college community becomes very closely knit. Alumni tend to be extremely enthusiastic and loyal.</p>
<p>If you are looking for a school in the west with 5,000 or so students you’re going have somewhat limited options: Chapman University, Santa Clara University and the Claremont Consortium (all 5 colleges added together) come to mind. Also, University of San Diego, University of Portland, University of San Francisco and the University of Seattle are all around that size and are Catholic schools. There are LOTS of bigger schools and the LACs tend to be small. What do you want to major in and will you need financial and/or merit aid?</p>
<p>@bopambo That helps so much! Thank you, I really appreciate it! 
I was thinking about majoring in some type of biology and probably no financial aid, but possibly merit aid. </p>
<p>Another side question: I know the stats for Whitman are super high, but since there is a high acceptance rate, would it be slightly easier to get into Whitman than some other very selective, high stat college? For example, is Harvard (low acceptance rate and high academics) harder to get into than Whitman (high acceptance rate and high academics)? I have a slightly lower SAT/ACT score than the range for Whitman, but if my essays are great, would that make up for the scores? </p>
<p>LOL, Mello, I think it’s safe to say that Harvard is harder to get into than Whitman, however, judging from the two friends I have who went to Harvard you might like Whitman better, but I know I’m basing that on a fairly small sampling ;). </p>
<p>As far as admissions are concerned, Whitman is something of an anomaly, the high acceptance rate coupled with the lower yield in most cases would result in lowering the range of average test scores and GPAs of attending students, but it doesn’t. As I pointed out before, lots of high stats kids apply and enough attend to keep the numbers up there. It is certainly possible to be accepted with a GPA and test scores that are lower than the middle 50% range, but in my experience those students are bringing something else that is very desirable to the community: e.g. amazing writing skills, strong musical ability, entrepreneurial skills, leadership experience, etcetera. Admissions at Whitman are really pretty holistic so if you have a talent or intense interest that they see as desirable that will give you a leg up. Merit aid, however, is pretty strictly given to students who fall in the top 25% of attending students. </p>
<p>Have you looked into the University of Puget Sound? It’s bigger than most LACs, and is in a great location. Willamette may also appeal to you. Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>Haha, thank you! Your input has helped me tremendously. :)</p>
<p>Hey, you’re welcome. Be sure to follow the sage CC advice of making a college list with a few reaches, some matches and some safeties that you’ll enjoy attending, then you can’t go wrong. </p>
<p>Whitman students are a self selected group. Most know exactly what they are looking for in a college. Whitman does not get added to the list of schools to apply to just “to see” . So the admissions stats are a bit deceptive. Students lacking strong credentials won’t get accepted to Whitman in the same way they won’t get accepted into Dartmouth or Williams. The difference is that fewer ineligible students apply to Whitman and Whitman isn’t traveling the country trying to encourage ineligible students to apply in order to be rejected. The geographic location also distinguishes Whitman from others. Many small liberal arts colleges are clustered within regions so students may apply to a number of them and then they can visit a few while touring others. Whitman can’t really be thrown in with the others for a tour. It’s distance from other similar schools means that those interested have to make a separate visit. Since visits often happen before the actual application process begins, Whitman gets eliminated by those with limited time and who don’t already know the school. All in all, the acceptance rate is fairly meaningless since the criteria loading on the outcome is different by school. I’d think the strength of the academics would make Whitman a good first choice for a strong student who would get into an Ivy League university but who wants a smaller atmosphere where faculty know them. </p>
<p>Bopambo- so happy to hear your child loved whitman. My son is deciding as we speak whether to apply ED to whitman in a few weeks. Of the colleges he’s visited he also likes st olaf quite a bit and is about to visit Colorado college and UPS. Bates and lawrence u. Are in the running too. But during his two visits to Whitman he’s been very impressed by the classes he’s visited, the bright and friendly students, and the beautiful campus. He’s likely to be accepted ED (3.87 GPA, 2090 Sat, involved in extracurriculars) but will probably not get merit aid. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll get a solid need based package. What was you experience with financial aid at whitman?</p>
<p>Eertbac, my son had a couple tenths of a point higher GPA than your son does, and his SAT was 2210 using the score choice option. At Whitman he was given a merit award of $12,000 per year for high school scholastic achievement. He was also nominated for the Garrett leadership award, in the end he didn’t receive that scholarship, but was given an additional $2500 a year for having gone through the nomination and interview process. He received a total of $14,500 a year in grants. Although we were hoping for need based grants, he was only offered Stafford loans and work study. He did get into other schools with higher need based aid, as well as higher merit offers, some of them more selective than Whitman, but in the end fit won out. Every student’s situation is different and the results can vary greatly, it’s very hard to predict. We decided he shouldn’t apply anywhere ED because we needed to compare financial offers. If you really need a solid need based package and he likes other schools, why not go through regular admission and see all the possibilities? Your son has the stats to get into Whitman RD, so I don’t believe you’d be jeopardizing his acceptance chances. Best wishes to you all!</p>
<p>Opps I posted in the wrong forum and it won’t let me delete the entire post, so sorry!</p>
<p>Thanks bopampo- Your response is very helpful. He’s about to visit CC, and I hope things will become clear from there. Whitman’s acceptance rate plunged to 40% this year, so even though he’s a viable RD candidate, I think he won’t mess around and risk it if Whitman is clearly #1. Plus, In doing various net price calculations, the more attractive schools on his list seem prepared to offer roughly similar grants. Lawrence or UPS would likely offer more, but he’s less excited about them. I think it’s very cool that your son chose fit over college rankings. I think that if Whitman were in upstate NY it would be as prestigious as Bates or Colby. East coast bias! </p>
My son was accepted to Whitman and I really think the interview is huge. Others have said that Whitman admission is about ‘fit’ and I believe it. His stats were about average for Whitman but the admissions officer told him he sounded like a great fit and they ended up offering him 20k in merit based aid.
I am a little hesitant about the location but have been reassured after reading more about. It sounds like a great fit for my son (he is looking for a school with nice motivated kids). I have a ton of questions that I will make a separate post for.
The school is hard to get to (12 hr layovers at times, not often) coming from the other coast). The town is not too large and not too small for our kid who grew up on a rural area. As for the school itself my kid is in love. So corny. I agree that the interview can be pivotal. The student body is more intense academically that my kid first thought, and they do the intensity without the hostility, which might be the West Coast thing going on, or maybe it’s how Whitman picks 'em.