<p>If she is going to take the new SAT, than why doesn't she just take 2 SAT2 tests so she can apply to UCSC? I know she doesn't want to, but it is just 2 tests.
If she decides she wants bigger, I bet she would like UCSC and it is very different than San Diego.</p>
<p>UCSC doesn't have a gigantic big school feel and is different than the other UCs. Is it the UCs she doesn't want or she just doesn't want to take the SAT2s? </p>
<p>I would bet she would be a lock to get into UCSC (and Oregon).</p>
<p>The one bad thing about UCSC is that it would be incredibly expensive to retire near the school.</p>
<p>Have you seen the Collegiate Choice tape of UCSC? That campus is different than any campus I have seen? It's a beautiful place for the right student.</p>
<p>Anyway, this is all easy for me to say. I can't make my son take any test, not even practice tests that don't mean anything.</p>
<p>One more thing. My daughter's idea of where she wanted to go changed dramatically between junior and senior year.</p>
<p>My D's counselor also tends to underestimate her appetite for the big bad world. My D is also a sweet, 'well behaved' mellow kid. She's just a little more adventurous and "ready" than her HS behavior & profile indicate.</p>
<p>I'm very familiar with UCSC and have been there many times. I have two very good friends on the faculty there and they've both been encouraging her to apply. Unfortunately, that's probably one of the reasons why she doesn't want to even consider UCSC. :) </p>
<p>But, I do think you have a point about taking the SAT II's just in case she changes her mind about UCSC. It certainly would be cheaper for us than the U of Oregon. I'll mention the SATII's again to her.</p>
<p>The two dorms we saw at UPwere older (I'd say late 60's-early 70's), standard dorm set up but decent, not run down, just older. One nice thing was that the dorms have a lot of dorm spirit - it's the only school we've visited where each dorm had a group picture of the people living in the dorm this year on the lobby wall. Dorms also do special events and have inter-dorm competitions. Dorm rules include no opposite sex visits in rooms after a certain time and I believe that priests live in all the dorms as advisors but I could be wrong about the last - maybe it was just the dorms we visited.</p>
<p>Assuming you are looking for a Catholic school, I'm a fan of Creighton, Marquette and the University of St. Louis. However, they are all bigger than U of Portland. One school that a parent here recently brought to my attention that is similiar in size and seems to be similiar in feel to U of P is St. Ambrose, which is in Iowa, just across the Illinois border. From what I can see on their web site, it looks like a terrific, smaller school with lots of nuturing and caring. I'm hoping my daughter and I will have time to at least do a drive by on our college tour next week.</p>
<p>Looking beyond Catholic schools, I like several of the lutheran-affiliated schools in the midwest quite a bit. Specifically, St. Olaf in Minn., Augustana in Illinois and Valparaiso in Indiana.</p>
<p>I, too, recently "discovered" St. Ambrose and would like to consider it for my daughter. I hope you (Carolyn) get a chance to visit and post your impressions.</p>
<p>LaLady, I wish I could remember which parent (I know it was a dad) mentioned it to me but I'm having a senior moment. However, I do know that he said the dorms were absolutely among the most beautiful they'd seen anywhere and that the campus was very nice as well. What I like about St. Ambrose is that it is in the quad city area - not exactly Chicago, but close to a decent airport and not out in the sticks.
Augustana College is just across the river and is another school that strikes me as being a great school.</p>
<p>Thanks, Carolyn. With one child at Beloit, the prospect of another heading for the midwest is fine with me. I'll be looking forward to your entire midwest report.</p>
<p>dstark, when he was home for spring break we ran into his counselor at the theatre. She asked him what he liked most about Beloit and he said "the conversations." He seems intellectually challenged and very much engaged in his education for the first time. He was attracted by the variety of course offerings and the small size (he went to a huge high school). What he isn't fond of is winter! For me the biggest positive is having a formerly unmotivated child come alive with intellectual curiosity. I would be happier if the town were nicer (I'm not sure he cares as much as I do) and if it were easier to get there from where we live or even the Chicago airport. If you have specific questions you can pm me.</p>
<p>Carolyn, I thought of you yesterday when we were at a dinner that was part of a conference that brought faculty together from various northwestern schools. My H and I chatted with a faculty member from the University of Portland who commented that there is a feeling among some faculty there that the administration has decided to recruit faculty who tend to be of a more conservative bent. He said that it impacts on how and what he can teach, and went on to compare what was considered appropriate at a Texas college, a Washington college and now at U of P. They were quite different, although in two cases both were Catholic schools. Once again school culture raises its head, although in this case it is refected in rules as well, like curfews for students and priests living in every dorm. Although he said that only half the kids are Catholic, he believed that many Christian parents send there kids to the U of P because they felt it was the kind of environment they preferred for their kids.</p>
<p>In another example, he said that The Vag*na Monologues were banned on campus, and the admin tried to prevent students from attending a performance off campus as well. He said the U had to back down on that one, after they consulted with their lawyers. </p>
<p>I did not check his "facts" but have no reason to disbelieve him. I am not criticizing the U of P - just wanted to let you know what I'd heard, as I know your D had been considering it, and you were at some point wondering if it was too conservative for her.</p>
<p>I remembered this thread from months ago but haven't read it lately so I hope I am not duplicating anything said above.</p>
<p>One of my kids is an out-of-stater at the University of Oregon, attending on a reciprocal tuition agreement. He loves Eugene and is doing great at UO. It is a beautiful , traditional looking campus with a huge variety of students. (Rent Animal House for a campus tour, LOL.) Of course it is very large compared to Oregon's LACs. Lots of emphasis on sports, especially football and basketball. He went to UO from the island of Kauai, he panicked during the first winter when it was getting dark at 4PM and there was rain rain rain with few sunny days. He has since "weathered" the changes in season and is a senior who has really grown fond of Oregon. UO is wildly popular with students from Hawaii, their Hawaii Club is among the largest in the US and their annual luau is very popular.</p>
<p>Several of sons HAwaii friends attend Pacific U, near Portland which also has a huge contingent of Hawaiians. Ditto Southern Oregon U in charming Ashland. </p>
<p>Niece attends Univ Portland, very happy there in its nice, cozy atmosphere. Nephew at OSU, thrives on the sports and social scene.</p>
<p>Neighbor's kid at quirky Reed and enjoying it.</p>
<p>eloise, how are the academics at Oregon? How strong are the students?
At my kid's high school almost everyone who applies gets into the school. Many of these are not very good students. There is a lot about the school and the area surrounding the school that appeals to me. However, I am concerned about the academics. What's your kid think? You didn't mention academics in your description of the school? Is that telling?</p>
<p>Wish, Yes, when we visited the debate about the Vag. Monologues was in full tilt. It wasn't just that it couldn't appear on campus, but that the school said students couldn't participate in any way in the off campus production. The kids weren't banned from attending the off campus production, but were told they couldn't do things like work in the ticket booth or put up posters on campus. U of P's administration is definitely conservative, even more so than most Catholic schools. This is the main reason that my daughter has dropped it from her list, although she says she may re-add it later if she needs a safety. After attending a Catholic high school, she's ready for something different. I still think, however, that it is a great school for someone looking for decent academics, a nuturing atmosphere but a more conservative flavor - sometimes difficult to find these days. </p>
<p>I'd also be interested in hearing your opinion about U of Oregon, Eloise.</p>
<p>Dstark- Son is in Clark Honors College at UO, its like a college within a college. Basically there are some extra grad requirements and seminars and there was a separate dorm for freshmen. He went to an extremely lacksadasical high school on Kauai so this SEEMS more challenging (he is a Physics major) but it's probably would not be too terribly taxing for someone who went to a normal school on the mainland. </p>
<p>Out of state students in the Western Undergrad Exchange pay in-state tuition plus 50% at UO, it is a real bargain. But it is tough to get a WUE spot at UO, when son applied there were 200 kids trying to get in with WUE
waiver and they only had 40 spots available.</p>
<p>He turned down acceptances to UCSB and UCD. I thought he was nuts but he seems comfortable at UO, it has been a good fit for him. (The UC out of state tuition would have been astronomical , BTW)</p>
<p>On the topic of Oregon schools- any impressions about Reed other than the 'out there' comment {that was funny =) } ? Is it sort of Lewis and Clark-y or even more out there?</p>
<p>I think that Reed is more intellectual than L & C. We attended an evening at a Reed prof's home recently and I was surprised that the kids did not seem more "out there." I am sure there are some who are, but these kids just seemed very smart, very well read and very engaged. Not much small talk and the jokes were all laced with references to things they were reading or had read. We spend a fair amount of time with academics and these kids seemed like budding academics to me. Which makes sense - Reed sends quite a lot of kids to grad school - at one point they were among the top schools for that. </p>
<p>As for U of P, another thing the prof we met yesterday said was that he did not feel that his students' critical thinking skills were as strong as he's seen elsewhere. But he did not elaborate. Now the Reed kids have excellent critical thinking skills. No question about that.</p>