<p>I can’t speak much to UP–I visited and did summer camps there–but I didn’t actually apply. However, I’m an alumna of Lewis & Clark and now work there so I can speak to some of its strengths and weaknesses.</p>
<p>Pros:
Great academics all around. Some programs–like international affairs, sociology/anthropology, and biology–get a lot more attention and press than other programs, but I don’t know anyone I graduated with who was dissatisfied with their academic experience.</p>
<p>Related to the above: Really great professors who care about and respect their students. As one example: When I did my senior thesis in history, a professor in the religious studies department (who I had taken a couple classes from) went out of her way to help me because the subject matter of my thesis crossed over into an area of her expertise. It was great to have someone who had no responsibility to help me still be willing to do so.</p>
<p>A very accepting student body. If you’re strongly conservative, you might have a different perspective on this, because the student body definitely leans left and some of the students are really outspoken about these beliefs, but generally there’s a “live and let live” attitude among the student body that I found very comfortable.</p>
<p>A celebration of international diversity. I did an overseas program in Scotland, which was awesome, and there are so many opportunities to study off campus you’re almost certain to find something you like. And on campus, Lewis & Clark drew a lot of international students and third culture kids (people born in one country who grew up in another).</p>
<p>Good opportunities to get into Portland. I wish I had taken greater advantage of these. It’s easy to get caught up in the work and everything going on on campus and forget there’s a whole city to explore. L&C has lots of ways for you to do this, including service opportunities and a shuttle that goes right downtown. Even though I basically hunkered down to study during the semester, I still felt like I had seen a good portion of the city by the time I graduated thanks to the many opportunities for accessing the city that LC made available.</p>
<p>Biggest positive: My fellow students. I still have a strong group of friends from my time at LC. (Met my husband there, too.) They’re interesting, idealistic, action-oriented people with different perspectives on the world. We get together for dinner parties, barbecues, and just to talk. We talk. We argue. We have a lot in common and just enough differences to keep it interesting. </p>
<p>Cons:
This wasn’t a big negative for me, but I know it bothers some people. There’s not a strong varsity sports culture on campus. People are really active, but it’s expressed through outdoor activities, playing club sports, and even activities like dance. The people who play sports love what they do (it’s a D-3 school, so they have to–there’s no financial incentive to play). However, they don’t necessarily get a bunch of people coming to games to support them. So if you are looking forward to going to big noisy football games, you might be disappointed.</p>
<p>Also not a big negative for me, but again, I know it bothers some people. As noted above, the student body leans left pretty hard. I consider myself a moderate liberal and sometimes I felt like the voice of conservatism. The degree to which you experience this depends to some degree on you major–I had this experience a lot more in sociology classes than, say, in history or foreign language or science classes.</p>
<p>Finally, perhaps the biggest negative–although the school is really working to rectify it–there’s not a lot of domestic racial diversity (i.e., not a lot of black, Native American, or Chicano students). There are lots of kinds of diversity at LC–people from different economic backgrounds and vastly different life experiences–but racial diversity is not a strength.</p>
<p>As someone who went through all this and now has the benefit of some hindsight, my only specific piece of advice would be not to agonize too much about your choice. Some agonizing is okay, just don’t drive yourself crazy. You’ve got two good, if quite different, schools there. Wherever you go is going to have challenges you’ll wish you didn’t have to face and exciting opportunities you hadn’t anticipated. Still, it’s a good choice to have to make. Congrats. :-)</p>