<p>son of Opie, since your high school was 77.5% Caucasian in 2006, do you think that perhaps has " colored" your impression of the schools in Tacoma?</p>
<p>PLU</a> takes its gown to the town | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA</p>
<p>I don't know anything about Gonzaga- but it does have a reputation as being one of the stronger schools in Wa & they reportedly give good aid.</p>
<p>Oregon101- We have been pleased with UOP. My son was set to take a gap year and at the last minute changed his mind. 2 weeks before the start of school. UOP staff was on top of it. They got him set with a dorm, advisor and orientation session in days. The Disabilities Director helped him set up his placement testing. Everyone we dealt with wanted to help make it happen.</p>
<p>My son lives in a smaller dorm that is coed but single sex per floor. This fosterd some great friendships. He is shocked at how easy it was to make friends. He played on an intermural flag football team with his dorm. He also was asked to join an intermural basketball team by some fraternity guys he meet at the sports center. He has not had a class larger then 20. He knows his professors. The drawback to that is that if you oversleep and miss class they notice!
Transportation- Stockton doesn't have a regular airport. You have to go to Sacramento to get a flight. Until Dec you could not fly from Sacramento to my city without a connection. In Dec a discount airline started service from Sac to our city. That has made it much easier to get home. He usually can find a ride from a friend to the airport. The airport is served by Supershuttle but it is quite expensive. 1 time as much as the flight. Amtrak and Grayhound serve the city but the route they take to our city is crazy and a 5 hour trip takes 12.
He is happy. Happy enough to go back next year. Several of his friends have joined frats. He has no interest though was asked by several. Greek life is there but no pressure to join and events are open to all students.
I still would have liked to see him at Willamette but I really have no complaints about UOP.</p>
<p>Thanks mom60- that is very helpful. It confirms the impression everyone we have met there has given us.
S will look at Willamette. We know a grad from there and she loved it. S will be visiting. He is so busy with his Junior year that he just doesn't have much time to deal with any of this yet. H and I drove through Salem so stopped and walked around Willametter and were pleased.
Will be very glad when track is over this year but the problem is that the colleges will also be finished or be in finals week. Really want s to see the schools in session.
Waiting till fall seems difficult too....</p>
<p>Oregon 101 If your son is in track he may really want to check out Willamette. But then you probably already knew this.:)</p>
<p>How about College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho? This is a relatively small but wonderful little LAC. It's about 30 miles west of Boise. It's known for placing lots of kids in good grad/med/law schools. Has small classes with lots of personal attention from profs. For someone who wants to go west to a place no one has heard of, this is your spot. </p>
<p>They have an EXCELLENT distance running program. And emerald, we raised the drinking age to 21 in 1987 :)</p>
<p>Here's a taste of what goes on there. </p>
<p>The</a> College of Idaho Weekly Newsletter for 04/17/2008</p>
<p>csleslie51-actually I haven't even looked at schools and track-but I will check out Willamette. Thanks</p>
<p>Wow, forgot Gonzaga - and also Whitworth, a good small school in Spokane. Good D3 athletics and a wonderful close feeling on campus.</p>
<p>Hey, PNW parents, what's the 411 on the big schools in your area: U of O and U-"Dub." Pros and cons for undergrads, mainly. </p>
<p>Is the governor or legislature in your state talking about massive budget cuts (in CA, the answer to that would be "yes") that could affect admissions or quality of programs? </p>
<p>A close friend of S2's is in love with the Ducks and will likely go there, but we don't know anyone heading to UW; but we both liked Seattle a lot during the last visit. </p>
<p>Unsubstantiated opinion is fine --- it won't be the deciding factor, believe me.</p>
<p>My D's friend attends Seattle Pacific University and is absolutely in love with her school.</p>
<p>Bits and pieces:
Whitworth - good school but very christian (from their web page: In all of these endeavors, the university seeks to advance its founder's mission of equipping students to "honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity.")
Willamette track team: After a dominating performance at the Northwest Conference Championships last season, the Willamette women will look for
their seventh straight NWC title this spring. The Bearcat men will seek to regain the NWC title after losing it for the first time in six years. Both teams return a large core group that is committed to success in the NWC and at the national level. Media</a> Guide - Track & Field - Teams - Athletics - Willamette University
U of O - D loved the school; got into the Clark honors college and got the WUE scholarship which would have allowed her to pick any major and even change majors (as opposed to the regular college's WUE program where you had to pick a specific major and stick with it). Willamette came through with a lot more money in the end.</p>
<p>Haven't read the entire thread, but felt I should jump in - have visited every school of every size in oregon and washington (or at least it feels like it!). Willamette is physically very small and Salem has little culture or flair - no concert venues, no dancing, but a nice park is within walking distance as well as downtown. Comparing campuses, though there seemed to be much more happening and many more on-campus places to go at UPS, SPU, Whitman, Lewis and Clark - even Linfield. Willamette students seemed very happy though, while they're driving to Portland :) Many commented on good profs.
Linfield didn't seem as rigorous as some of the others, but has a good sports environment and some really nice dorms. Specific competitive scholarships are available and even though they were once affiliated with the Baptist church, it is truly a secular school.
UPS is expensive, beautiful, and in a great location.
PLU had the nicest admission and financial aid staff I've ever talked with and a way of making students feel really great. I think there would be plenty of individual attention there, but the rigor is a definite margin below L&C, Whitman, Willamette, UPS. So is the price, however.
Our experience with Whitman has been that there is plenty to do on campus - including plenty of non-drinking activities. Very active community service groups, and undergrad research opps. It feels twice the size of Willamette and 4 times as active as PLU when you are there. Also very academically demanding, with class sizes of 20 or fewer. Skinny (to me) list of majors, though - the assumption seems to be that it is grad school prep.
Other possibilities I haven't seen mentioned: Univ. of Portland, George Fox, Pacific Univ, and (a bit of a geographic stretch) Westminster in Salt Lake
Happy hunting, everyone!
Oh - and Jazzymom - U of O - if you like the size and the weather - is a great spot. The staff just negotiated a new contract, but I would inquire about tuition increase plans. Also, as csleslie mentioned, if you are out of state, but in the PNW the WUE or WICHE is a wonderful deal.</p>
<p>is Whitman as small as willamette?</p>
<p>orjr:</p>
<p>What does WUE and WICHE stand for? </p>
<p>I may have to schedule a second trip to OR and WA to do see the flagship unis. We didn't get over to Eugene on our most recent trip, and the tour of UW was a quick one on our own. We need to start focusing on specific programs and areas as well rather than just traipsing along on the group tour, which doesn't always go to the the areas S is most interested in.</p>
<p>Janey from college board</p>
<p>Willamette 1,932 undergrads 388 graduate students</p>
<p>Whitman 1,489 undergrads 0 grad students</p>
<p>
[quote]
The WESTERN UNDERGRADUATE EXCHANGE (WUE) is a program of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Students who are residents of WICHE states may enroll at participating two- and four-year college programs outside of their home state at a reduced tuition rate.
[/quote]
<p>Hi History Mom...Sorry, I meant size of campus.
Thanks</p>
<p>Thanks, EK. I'm running out now, but I'll look over those sites later.</p>
<p>I'm not an expert, but I visited both in March. Willamette felt smaller - a very compact campus. One of my guide books at home gives the campus size (in acres) - if I remember, I'll check it out.</p>
<p>Willamette is 72 acres
Whitman is 117 acres</p>
<p>Linfield is 193 acres
Reed is 110 acres</p>
<p>Lewis & Clark is 137 acres
UPS is 97 acres</p>
<p>UW is 680 acres</p>
<p>Ah, I was right. Good. Willamette is the smallest campus of any we've visited. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. Hey, maybe less money on grounds upkeep translates to more scholarship money!</p>