<p>opie and barney I have to ask is there an Aunt Bea or Andy?</p>
<p>More about Linfield's study abroad: surrogate daughter (sophomore) spent Jan term in London studying art and architecture this year, and is spending a semester in France this Fall. I know financial aid is playing a large part in these opportunities for her and, couldn't happen to a nicer girl!</p>
<p>One of the things that impressed me the most about Linfield was how it seemed that students would be very supported and entertained if they chose the on-campus largely free options. </p>
<p>I forgot to include the 4-1-4 plus in my review. One of Linfield's study abroad options for Bio students is to spend jan term in Hawaii, another takes them to the South American rain forest. Tres' cool!</p>
<p>Maybe I will have D look at Linfield- she looked at Lewis & Clark and she liked it- but there was something about it that I couldn't put my finger on.</p>
<p>We didnt' have time to meet with admission person & didn't go on the whole tour- but compared to what I remember of the Reed college presentation on the other side of the river- L & C did seem more pleased with themselves</p>
<p>D wants an urban campus- like in L.A. not Bellingham- but I worry that there will be too many distractions- I just returned from a visit to Santa Barbara & I think that if I attended school there I would find it really hard to ever go to class! Attending college in a town that is cloudy and rainy would make it much easier to stay inside ;)</p>
<p>"What do you think it is? When we visited, I did find the admissions officer who led our info session to be quite a bit snootier than L&C has any reason to be, but otherwise it was a pleasant enough visit."</p>
<p>I had completely the opposite reaction. We visited Lewis and Clark one afternoon after spending the morning at Reed. To me Reed was ridiculously pretentious, where the people at Lewis and Clark seemed down to earth and sensible about the college experience. It was a relief to be there after our morning. They were very kind to our daughter and gave her an interview without an appointment. The biggest problem with L&C for the kids I talk to is it's size. It is about the size of the high school in our town and many of the kids want something larger.</p>
<p>Is Linfield pretty heavy into the Greek scene? What is student body like? I am heading out next week to visit Lewis and Clark and Whitman w/my daughter...but am open to other suggestions. She is looking for a more "alternative" student body but not one that is super "P-C" Will she find people like here there? We hail from New England.
How are musical theater, envir. studies and creative writing programs? thanks.</p>
<p>^^ radannie, have you considered Willamette and University of Puget Sound? Willamette is in Salem, about 40 miles south of Portland. UPS in in Tacoma about 145 miles north of Portland. I guess you know Whitman is 240 miles from Portland, so maybe you will be tired of driving after Linfield...</p>
<p>RAdannie, I know quite a few theater kids and enviro kids who chose Whitman. It's a really interesting school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input.
Would someone do me a favor and rank these PNW colleges in terms of competitiveness for acceptance?
Whitman
Lewis and Clark
U Puget Sound
Willamette
Linfield
Pacific U.
Comments on strength in musical theater, envir. studies and creative writing programs plus conservative student body vs. liberal would also be very helpful!</p>
<p>By acceptance rates:</p>
<p>Whitman 48%
Lewis and Clark 56%
UPS 66%
Willamette 77%
Linfield 80%
Pacific 83%</p>
<p>Also you may want to check out Reed and the Evergreen State University.</p>
<p>A caution though that the admission rate is only part of the equation. Also check out collegeboard.com for their mid 50% range on test scores. Their "How Do I Stack Up" and "Am I On Track" feature are really helpful!</p>
<p>Have some fun surfing their websites while finding out about their programs. Using the search feature will often bring you to a page you would have missed on the main menu. Best of Luck. It's a beautiful part of the world.</p>
<p>We had s strange experience with L & C. We were visiting Reed College and called admissions at L & C to ask directions from there to the school. The person gave us the directions, and just when I was saying thank you, the person to whom I was speaking interrupted and said, "You know, Reed is a much better college." I was flabbergasted. S1 applied to both, however, and strangely was waitlisted at L & C and accepted at Reed. After receiving the waitlist letter, S1 began receiving letters from the school saying that if he accepted the waitlist position, he was almost assured of admittance, etc. He actually got several of those. I remember thinking that this was one strange school.</p>
<p>That is pretty strange.
I mostly remember the story about the cheese club- which made me feel like I was in Wisconsin.
I also thought it was very pretty- but I wasn't there long enough to get a feel for the school.
We knew a student who had gotten very good aid, as she attended during a time when they only required FAFSA, but according to admission person, they were going to start using PROFILE for 2008-2009.</p>
<p>That was smart of you to ask for directions- I have only happened onto L & C by accident . I ended up taking their shuttle that picks up at Nordstroms downtown- I called to ask my D where Nordstroms was ( She lives in Portland) she didn't know! Her grandmother would be so shocked! ;)</p>
<p>I would recommend the shuttle because not only do you get to see around the school, without worrying you are going the wrong way, but you can eavesdrop on student conversations ( because as in a carpool, if they aren't talking to you, you can't hear them)
:rolleyes:</p>
<p>I want to report our very positive impression of Lewis & Clark. We were on campus last weekend for admitted students day. BTW, we had looked at Reed in the fall, but decided against it because D felt the "drug friendly" atmosphere was not for her--she was offered drugs on her prospective student overnight. Gave her the creeps. We are from CA, D wants to go to school in the Portland area (lots of family), so we looked at L&C. D's main concern is that she not have to go to school with "stupid" people. She sat in on a section of the freshman seminar, Exploration & Discovery, and was so pleased with the professor and the students. The campus is stunningly gorgeous. The administration is excited about the future of the school. Went to parents' forum and heard from several professors as well as the dean of students and dean of student life. Such a positive vibe. Regarding substance abuse--If negative changes are seen in a student, they utilize a proactive intervention policy. Had lunch in the commons. Students were friendly & helpful. Had lengthy chats with two of the deans. I feel my D will be both challenged & nurtured at L&C. She was admitted to some top schools besides L&C. At this point, I hope she picks L&C.</p>
<p>cocomom, we share your positive opinion on L&C. On two visits, we have found L&C to be a beautiful school with solid academics and bright, accomplished and interesting students. They do seem a little laid back compared to some (no rah-rah school spirit here), but that pretty much describes my daughter, too. She feels very much at home there, knows some older students who have given her lots of good info, and she has decided this week that she will attend L&C over several other good LAC's in other parts of the country. She was not interested in Reed ("too self-consciously quirky and seriously druggy"), Willamette ("too boring") or UofO ("too big"). Like the last bowl of porridge, L&C is "just right" for her, and we are happy with the school, too.</p>
<p>I did not mean to suggest that the students and faculty of L & C are not great, only that we had a strange experience with the admissions office. S1 did not choose Reed either, but it was a close second choice.</p>
<p>When I went there, and I imagine this is still mostly accurate, the student body was about 30-35% affiliated any given year. There are four fraternities and four sororities. I pledged fall of freshman year and really enjoyed it. The greek system at Linfield is not much like the programs at big state schools, which was part of the reason why I joined. I don't think I would have ever pledged to other chapters of my fraternity at University of Washington or Oregon State- having interacted with both during the course of college. The system isn't as cliquish, and greeks interact with non-greeks to a greater extent than most schools.</p>
<p>The student body is more local than Willamette or L & C. Most students (about 2/3) are from Oregon and Washington, then fairly evenly distributed throughout ID, AK, HI, NE, CA, about 10% internationals, and a smattering of kids from farther east. However, we did get a new president last year, and one of his goals was to "diversify" the campus- which I take to mean bring in kids from farther out of state and more minority students. I think there is a good mix of people at Linfield- whatever your interests are, you'll be able to find a peer group. I had several.</p>
<p>radannie, University of Portland might be worth a look as well. Not sure where it falls on the selectivity spectrum, but I know several very talented students who love it. I know they were generous with merit aid.</p>
<p>cocomom, check out L&C's #5 listing at Princeton Review under the heading "Reefer Madness".</p>
<p>Recently did a PNW tour of four colleges with h.s. junior son. It was helpful for narrowing S's focus on what he wants to look for. For example, the small college is starting to wane in appeal. He "liked" both L & C and Reed in some ways, but by the end of the tours was reacting against the small "bubble" feel that both project.</p>
<p>The L & C campus is gorgeous and foresty --- like exploring the island in Never Land --- but reminded S a bit too much of the arts boarding school/camp in the mountains of CA that he went to for several summers. No complaints with the admissions staff or the tour guide, a charming young woman of Hawaiian descent who was there majoring in Japanese and international affairs.</p>
<p>S enjoyed Reed a bit more, maybe because its architecture is more impressive and there were quite a few dogs around the place, making it seem more home and neighborhood-like. The hard-core academic focus that was emphasized in the info session neither intimidated nor enthralled him particularly. He bought a T-shirt (atheism-communism-free love) in the book store because he liked it, but I don't see him putting Reed at the top of his list due to its small size. Said something like, "there's not enough places you can go....(on campus)." Like my older S, he commented that maybe he will prefer a college that has an enrollment at least the size of his h.s. (which is 3,000.) It bothered him if you can't just cross a street and be in a shopping/restaurant, townie area .....with both Reed and L & C, it seems it's a hike up or down a hill, or a bike ride, or a shuttle ride, to get to somewhere interesting off campus. </p>
<p>He found the "lots of places to go" experience at UW-Seattle, of course. Cool college city, with public transportation to the airport (a plus). Impressive science programs. Huge campus, but S felt quite comfortable there. </p>
<p>High marks also to University of Puget Sound in picturesque Tacoma, about 25 miles from Seattle. New science building, friendly vibe from the students, excellent tour guide, very earnest young man who answered all questions candidly and patiently. We were given an impromptu tour of the ceramics and metal-works rooms of the art department by a staffer after we wandered into the art gallery and inquired about those programs. Easy-going, nonbureaucratic attitude from the university staff. </p>
<p>To my son, the fact that UPS is surrounded by residential neighborhoods was a negative (along the lines of "not enough places to go.") But as a parent, I can see it as a positive, because being in a residential area means the university housing and its frats/sororities have to make an effort to be good neighbors and keep the wild stuff to a minimum. </p>
<p>This one is staying on the list as a "likely" college with several positives: an enrollment that's not as small as the LACs (about 2,600); attractive red-brick campus with cozy student center (huge fireplace is a focal point), a serious attitude to the academic mission (new $25-million science building), down-to-earth, friendly student body. </p>
<p>Didn't have a chance to look at Willamette, Linfield, or Whitman but I suspect the latter two would be pronounced too small by S2. </p>
<p>Anyone who's been to both want to compare Willamette to UPS?</p>
<p>"picturesque Tacoma"<br>
The 60's kid from Seattle in me is rolling on the floor.
Oh my, how times change.
Years before I went to UPS, there was a top 40 song on the radio titled "The Aroma of Tacoma". If memory serves, the tune was to Yellow Rose of Texas... you had to be pretty proactive in defending your decision to attend school in what was considered the "armpit of Puget Sound" Pulp mills, metal works, pollution...
My D was turned off by the fact that the UPS tour didn't move any closer than about 50 yards to the library. They don't want to show you the LIBRARY?
We were also turned off by L&C, which she thought she would love. The tour guide kept stopping next to kids who were aimlessly and without-smiles doing skateboard tricks on the brick sidewalks/courtyards. Hard to hear. Didn't see or meet anyone who looked glad to be there. The gorge that divides the campus looked like a spooky walk alone in the dark and the rain (any time after 4PM in the winter - OK, maybe 4:30)</p>