NW Oregon Visit Report

<p>jazzymom, I'm glad your wild ride through the PNW went well, and I'm happy to hear that your son liked some of the schools he visited. If he did not fall in love with L&C or Reed because of the size, he might not like Linfield or Whitman either - they are tiny. Both are located in small towns too, with the difference being that there are places to eat/shop within easy walking distance. Linfield has an Albertson's grocery store right behind its dorms, and the Cold Stone ice cream shop in the same plaza seemed very popular with the students. But there is no comparison to UW's urban location! There is another school here in Seattle, appropriately called Seattle University and known for good merit aid. It is a Jesuit college located smack in the middle of the urban life on Seattle's hip Capitol Hill. I've been to the campus a few times, and whenever I interacted with the students or staff, they all were very nice.</p>

<p>jazzymom ChiSquare and her D did a PNW tour recently that included Willamette and UPS. Hopefully she'll be along soo to answer your questions. I think it's great that this thread has evolved to include more PNW schools. Keep it coming!</p>

<p>I enjoy reading this thread too. The PNW is just such a great part of the country... of course, I'm biased. ;)</p>

<p>It's also fun to read people's impressions of these colleges because I know so many people attending them or graduated from them!</p>

<p>Isn't it great that there are so many options for kids in such a relatively small area? D is at Willamette but has friends at L&C and Whitman who love their schools as much as she does hers. Something for everyone up in that small corner of the world. FYI Willamette now has more kids from CA attending than OR. On another note, it seems to rain equally long and hard on everyone up there ;)</p>

<p>Do you think that if we push these great schools they might flow to the top of somebodies radar? Big flashing lights for all on the west coast: Look at Linfield, study Willamette, don't overlook UPS....Seattle U is a good school in a hot neighborhood.</p>

<p>So picturesque was the wrong word for Tacoma? Kind of like attaching that word to Jersey City, I take it. </p>

<p>How to describe Tacoma? Gentrifying, maybe. The artsy crowd moving in on the industrial areas and slowly transforming them into.....artsy industrial, artsy port city.....it's tough. The area around the college is nice, very green and blooming, pretty neighborhoods with a waterfront location. I like the quality of air and the closeness to the water in the Tacoma-Seattle area. I can see a criticism, though, as a sleepy town. S and I arrived after 6 on a Tuesday night and after checking into our very cool (Hotel Murano) hotel, could not find any place to eat dinner at less than $25 per plate. The upscale joints were open, but every thing moderate priced apparently closes at 8. The city that doesn't sleep it is not. I still got a nice feeling from UPS, though and S liked it overall except for it being surrounded on all four sides by residential neighborhoods. </p>

<p>A lot of CA students do look in OR and WA. U of O has some strong programs and is a more manageable size (16,000 compared to most UCs over 23,000) and some even refer to it as UC-Eugene because they know so many CA students attending.</p>

<p>dragonmom you are so right...no one post on the glories of Willamette, Linfield, or uhhh that other school my kids like anymore. Our secret shhhhhhhhhhhhh This time next year you can talk about them but until then...mums the word. ;)</p>

<p>jazzymom - didn't mean to harp on old stereotypes , I understand that the industrial challenges of decades past have been changed.... Glad to see some new schools discussed here. Actuallly my family still in the NW say Tacoma is newly "in" and fun.</p>

<p>I might add, it cost less (through some great financial aid) for me to go to Linfield than it would have to go to University of Washington. Although, the student body at UW is bigger than the entire city where Linfield is= more stuff to do. I found the small size at Linfield to be cozy rather than constraining. I went to a giant high school as well (3000+), and didn't know most of the people in my graduating class of 750 or so.</p>

<p>And I admit, I'm pining (pun intended) for the Northwest right now... St. Louis loses its appeal after a winter of freezing rain and a summer in the 100's with high humidity.</p>

<p>dragonmom, the aroma is gone! I used to issue a warning to my passenegers to batten down the hatches when we were driving down the interstate approaching the Tacoma Dome :), but have not had to do it for quite a while. And has anyone seen the fancy houses popping up in the area? Tacoma is getting spunkier and snazzier.</p>

<p>Dragonmom: I guess Tacoma is a place in transition and has a ways to go to stand on its own as a point-of-destination city, but it's close to a much bigger city without being smack dab in the middle, so that can be a plus. </p>

<p>The strategy I'm trying to pursue is: cast a wide net and know what's out there. No point in looking only at UCs or CA colleges --- particularly since S2 wants a change of scenery and weather from always sunny, practically perfect So Cal. There's just not a lot of options in No Cal. Stanford and UC Berkeley are not out of the realm of possibility, but they are truly reaches; UC Davis could be a match or a safety except that UC admissions are not easy to predict, and the only other college I can think of that would fit is University of the Pacific. (I wonder if any OR or WA students look at that one.) </p>

<p>Might as well look to the North. And while we will look at some Midwest and East Coast colleges as well, it wouldn't bother me one bit to have him stay on the West Coast.</p>

<p>jazzymom, U of the Pacific is quite known around here. Some kids from D's school ended up choosing it.</p>

<p>AND ALSO when you're in portland go to voodoo donuts!! try the fruit loops or the bacon one</p>

<p>My Oregonian son is going across the country to go to college, but fortunately my daughter will stay in-state for undergrad. I am happy for my son, too, because he got into a college he really wanted to attend, but I know because of distance, finances, and the fact that he's an athlete in a winter-season sport that we will almost never see him... maybe one week at Christmas and then summers, I suppose. My daughter will end up about 3 hours drive from us, and that sounds pretty good. Far enough away so she gets to separate, close enough that we can hop up for a visit from time to time.</p>

<p>I would really like to hear more about the U of Pacific. When I have asked on a completely different-decorating, actually-forum all anyone could tell me about was Stockton. My s is very interested in UOP. They were so friendly when we went to an accepted students meeting that they invited him to attend after meeting at a college fair.
Anyone?</p>

<p>Hi -
Just noticed this tread.... Historymom is right, I did the PNW tour of L&C, UPS, Willamette, and Whitman over spring break. Unfortunately, I didn't know about Linfield, or probably would have visited that as well. Here are our thoughts:</p>

<p>UPS - worst tour guide of the group, and the visit was a little disappointing because in contrast to the other 3 colleges, this visit was not at all tailored to our individual interests. However, there were some things we really liked about the school. I agree with your comments re: lovely setting in residential neighborhood. It reminded me of some of the LACs we have here in St Paul.</p>

<p>I also liked the theme houses - cute little bungalows surrounding the campus that the college bought up to house students, with themes like "Le Maison Francais" and "The Board Players House". An official told me that establishment of these houses came out of research into factors that increased retention; apparently small-scale housing with like-minded students was one of those factors. D loved the architecture of the UPS campus. It's very, well, collegiate. </p>

<p>During D's first half hour of our L&C visit, that campus shot straight to the top of her list, based on the gorgeous campus. After the tour, we separated, and she went off to a class and to lunch with students. As we were leaving the campus, though, she announced that she didn't think she would apply there after all. "I don't think this is a good fit. It's too hippy-dippy-trippy for me. I mean, I don't want to, like, stop shaving my legs or anything." I'm not sure what, exactly, occurred to cause this change.... But re: the "trippy" part, I did come across a student indulging, in a quiet part of one of the gardens as I was keeping myself busy during D's class. </p>

<p>We also liked Willamette. I liked the fact that there doesn't seem to be a particular "type" of student that attends, and the grounds are pretty, with a stream running through the middle of campus. One the metrics the tour guide quoted was the average number of ducklings born on campus each spring. There were some negatives too, though; the architecture is more utilitarian than inspiring; both the campus and the dorm room we visited were smaller than the other 3 schools; and my D was annoyed that some students were surfing the internet on their laptops during the class that she attended. Also, Salem didn't seem to have a lot of "charm".</p>

<p>D loved Whitman, despite the remoteness of the location. She liked how the college is in town, adjacent to Main Street. She was advised, though, by a Whitman grad whom we met (she was waiting tables - hmmm...) that D would probably "fit in" better at Whitman if she joined a sorority. This advice came about because D confessed to her that she wasn't an outdoorsy type, and was probably more of a self-proclaimed preppy. </p>

<p>So, final score card (according to D):
Whitman: ***
UPS: **
Willamette **
L&C: not her cup of tea</p>

<p>I don't know much about UoP either. I was born and raised in CA, and now live in Oregon, and honestly I never heard a mention of it that got past "it's in Stockton."</p>

<p>I don't have time right now but this is beginning to look alot like my son's college list. Of the schools listed so far he visited Univ of the Pacific, Willamette and U of Puget Sound. He is finishing up his freshman year at Univ of the Pacific.
Also have a couple of relatives who attend Whitman.</p>

<p>Also adding my son would have visited Lewis and Clark had be been accepted.</p>