<p>I also am up to travel to a winery in eastern wa-
I don't drink wine that much but I want to go here bad
The</a> Cave B Inn at SageCliffe</p>
<p>Re college- a tiny school in a city, can feel bigger than a midsize school in a town IMo anyway.
Where it is situated makes a difference too. If you can walk to the town its' much more appealing than if you have to get a shuttle.</p>
<p>Pacific University, I liked- it is fairly close to Portland- and in a nice little town of Forest Grove.</p>
<p>Oh, wow, emerald. That inn looks awesome. I may have to swing by there when visiting whitman.</p>
<p>Janey - what is your S thinking of studying? Is he a regents scholar at PLU?
I got the impression last year that PLU took very good care of their scholarship kids - Presidents and Regents and made sure they had lots of opportunities. Have you looked at the study abroad opps there including Jan term? If he likes the school, it seemed like it could be a good spot and great grades never hurts for grad school. You can get info. from the dept that he is interested in re: grad school placement.</p>
<p>historymom-I have heard that Carroll is very nice, warm, good overall and gives merit $. Brochures we have received make it look great. No first hand knowledge though.</p>
<p>ojr--he has a provost scholarship which is one step down from presidents. he applied for presidents and regents and ended up receiving the provost. he is an honors student and has done very well in hs. thanks</p>
<p>A quick update to my son's Puget Sound visit. I can't say enough good about the school. He really liked it there. The campus is beautiful and welcoming and comfortable. The surrounding area is lovely. The faculty and coaches were more than willing to meet with him to discuss his interests and the campus was full of students wearing UPS sweatshirts and the like. I hope he accepts their offer and am trying not to let him know how strongly I feel or he will surely choose another place!</p>
<p>thanks oregon101...The only negative I have heard re Carroll is the weather and the ease of getting into and out of Helena in the winter.</p>
<p>historymom-having gone through 4 years with D being in Vermont-2 plans and a 45 min car ride-we are taking the travel plans very seriously this time around. "sort of" our rule of thumb right now is that it is a direct flight. Even UOP -which goes into Sacramento- still has a need for a shuttle or getting a ride somehow. Older students figure all of this out with ease but the first year is a worry each time. We will probably open up the search further away but am trying to keep in mind the difficulties of travel and shipping the stuff and....gets me tired just thinking about it!</p>
<p>Ack...I'm tired too ;) we live 2 hours from the closest airport so it's always a hassle to fly.On the plus side there are direct flights to Helena. On the enormous plus side are academic and recreational programs and merit opportunities at Carroll. I wish I could find a network of parents who send their kids there to talk to about it.</p>
<p>It's funny how the travel thing seems more daunting the second time around. My H gamely accompanied S on trips to look at colleges in NH and upstate NY "in the boonies" and the hassle of getting there from CA barely sunk in. With S2, I'm like, I don't think so. What's wrong with the West Coast?</p>
<p>This thread has made me want to visit Walla Walla and the wineries. The heck with the college tour.</p>
<p>If there is a direct flight that is a huge plus-any problems and you D's are at home or at school.
You could start another post re:Carroll.</p>
<p>jazzymom-we posted at the same time-don't forget all of the great wineries in the Willamette Valley, too. There are also some Inn's and such being built near the wineries.
Yes! isn't the travel piece interesting?</p>
<p>Oregon101- regarding getting from Sacramento airport to UOP. My son has found it easy to get a ride to and from the airport. He only resorted to the Super Shuttle once. Many of the UOP students are from the Sacramento area and it is an easy drop at the airport.
At Thanksgiving he got a ride from a friend who lived in San Jose and flew home from San Jose airport. (at that time you could not fly from our city to Sacramento direct)
Another time to consider visiting is at the beginning of the college school year. Many schools start up a few weeks before the high school and that might be another time to see a campus with students. I think UOP starts the week before labor day.</p>
<p>mom60 -great tip about when schools begin-totally forgot that!</p>
<p>Just came back from our PNW trip to Lewis and Clark and Whitman. My daughter fell in LOVE w/Lewis and Clark! It was rainy/sunny/sprinkly, had a great tour, a class where she was actively involved and met w/prof. afterwards, lunch w/students. Campus is lovely, and not too sprawly which she liked. Huge seller was proximity to Portland, being a hick from a small rural town in northern new england. And, as a result of her upbringing she freaked out when we drove into Walla Walla and said no way could she ever see herself going to school in such a desolate town! And her classI was frankly surprised and a bit ticked off as we spent alot of time getting there, but now she knows she wants a small LAC w/in a 5-10 minute drive of a college town/city. We did not see UPS or U. Washington but may have to make that trip later..she is currently a junior.</p>
<p>radannie, my D1 had the same analysis of Whitman when she visited for a weekend over the fall of her soph year. As inconvenient as the drive to Walla Walla was, the knowledge that your D will not consider LACs in isolated towns is INVALUABLE, as you will be able to narrow your search considerably. Once I got over the feeling of having "wasted time" on that trip, I realized what we learned was worth the effort. </p>
<p>My D2 soph was on the UW campus (among others) last week, and rejected it because it was "way too big." She also visited UPS for a second time, and thinks very highly of it. It's "not too small." She's somewhat of a Goldilocks.....</p>
<p>Yes, riverrunner, I completely agree...I was miffed at first but quickly apologized! Her latest comment was she could see going to a small LAC w/a college town or even just in a town, if it were close enough to drive home from...never thought I would hear that one (because it would mean a northeastern located school). BUT, she adored L&C. I think she would like UPS as well, and UW would be too big! I suggested she revisit her college list and find small LACs in great college towns, or near cities...</p>
<p>One of the things my hick DDs didn't like about Pacific was its rural setting. This surprised me as our town is just 15,000 ppl. </p>
<p>On the other hand Linfield got high marks. I think that's because even though McMinnville isn't exactly urban, it is charming and offers way more amenities than Forest Grove</p>
<p>McMinnville does have more amenities than Forest Grove, especially in the way of coffeeshops and restaurants. McMinnville supports a tremendous number of restaurant for its size. This is largely due to the Yamhill County wine industry which brings in a lot of visitors to the area.</p>
<p>One advantage Pacific has is its accessibility to Portland via public transportation. From Forest Grove there is regular bus service to the MAX transit system into Portland. Public transportation in McMinnville is very limited, and using it to get to Portland woud be arduous.</p>