<p>historymom – I have lived in WA almost all of my life, and I am not sure I agree with the statement that Whitworth has a better reputation than Gonzaga. I know many folks who have gone to Gonzaga, but I only know 1 who attended Whitworth. Gonzaga graduates are generally viewed favorably (and their alumni contacts are pretty strong around here), but Whitworth is probably mostly thought of as “that small Christian college in Spokane”. In a few circles it might be thought of highly, but for most folks they know almost nothing about the school.</p>
<p>Since your son and your family is from so far out of state, I could see that he may leave WA once he graduates. A few folks may have heard of Gonzaga where he ends up, I would imagine that Whitworth will be a mystery to most.</p>
<p>Somemom, I was about to make the same point! Because both start with WH and both are in eastern Washington, I find many people do confuse the two if they are not familiar with the fact that there are two similar sounding colleges from the same geographical area.</p>
<p>I have deep eastern WA roots, and although I love Whitworth, I have to agree with Tuition Dad’s assessment of reputation or known-name factor. I would personally say Gonzaga is stronger in business and engineering, Whitworth in the humanities and biology, but I don’t think Whitworth even rings a bell with most people out of the region (as others have observed, people assume you mean Whitman), while Gonzaga has some name recognition due to the success of the basketball team. And locally, the law school adds some prominence.
Still, I REALLY like Whitworth…they take their motto “an education of mind and heart” seriously.</p>
<p>I hadn’t heard of Whitworth until they started sending my daughter a ton of stuff and I had to look it up
I would agree that Gonzaga is more well known
Basketball ya know
We do have a friend who is attending and also one who attends Redlands- both are very happy.
( you might also look at Pacific University just outside of Portland in Forest Grove- very friendly and helpful on campus- nice little community- rural but Portland is relatively short distance)</p>
<p>Emeraldkity - My guess is that if L & C likes a particular student they might be willing to overlook not having the 4th year of the language. My son did have French through French V, though he chose to take regular French V rather than AP.</p>
<p>Greatlakes Mom says her daughter fell in love with UPS and was turned off by L & C. My son applied to UPS and was accepted but liked L & C much more. He ended up getting more merit money from L & C also. It really does speak to the fact that visiting schools is pretty important in the selection process.</p>
<p>Tuition and Renee…I guess that’s is what I meant. I know Gonzaga because of its basketball program and my SIL is a Saint Mary’s CA grad. So I know the school has better name rec. But when I looked at other factors, specifically biological sciences, Whitworth seemed not only a better match for one or both of my DDs but also better program wise. Thanks for the input. </p>
<p>Hey emeraldkitty Pacific is on the tour…UP, Willamette, and Pacific spring break 08 We’re rural and I don’t think DDs will mind that it is esp. w/ the proximity to Portland to balance it out.</p>
<p>EK, have your D talk to the admissions folks at L&C. They accepted my D with “only” 3 years of French and offered merit money. Don’t let such a tiny requirement put her off. I got the impression that demonstrated interest was big for them. If she shows up often and loves them, I’ll bet it will help.</p>
We’re rural and I don’t think DDs will mind that it is esp. w/ the proximity to Portland to balance it out.</p>