Pacific Northwest Roadtrip

<p>Karen, </p>

<p>I applied to a ton of colleges: PLU, UPS, UWash, SPU, Pacific U in Forest Grove, UTex at Dallas, Marquette, Seattle U, off the top of my head. Mostly local, a couple out of state because they were free apps or made pre-emptive offers that were awesome (UTD gave pretty much a full ride to any national merit scholar who listed the school as his first choice.) </p>

<p>UW had too many kids from my high school, and was not a good deal at all as far as financial aid for a person with my numbers. UPS spreads their financial aid among more students = again, not as good a deal for the top students. I ruled out eastern Wa. as a site because of several soccer trips there over the last couple years of high school- Didn't care for Spokane. Texas was too far away at the time (I live in St. Louis now, heh.)</p>

<p>It ended up coming down to PLU, Pacific, and Linfield, in no particular order. They all had soccer programs that I could play for, a small student body, a good "vibe" or atmosphere feeling like I'd fit in, and good science programs. And initially, they were all very similar in financial aid. I really liked the coach at Pacific, which was probably why I was leaning toward that school as my first choice.</p>

<p>However, Linfield has an event called "competitive scholarship day". If your numbers are good enough and you apply by November (I think), you come to the school in February and take a test in one of three possible subjects you picked, alongside other high school seniors. Depending on the size of the department, The top X number of finishers get some extra money added onto their aid package. I took the first place award for chemistry, so I added 4K a year to my scholarship- tuition was about 21K a year at the time, and the award was renewable for four years. So Linfield jumped into the lead. That was my initial decision-maker: Close to a year of tuition paid for by someone beside me.</p>

<p>Once I got there, there was plenty to keep me there. I'm going back for my second homecoming as an alumnus in about 11 hours... super excited :D</p>

<p>Son of Opie I hope you have a fantastic time. My D is applying and planning to attend the competitive scholarship day. What is that day like? How many kids sit for the exams? Linfield has so many wonderful things going for it I really hope that it all works out for my D. Have fun at homecoming!</p>

<p>History Mom:</p>

<p>I think they said 300 kids are invited to compete for the scholarships - more info from their website:</p>

<p>Prospective</a> Students: Linfield Financial Aid</p>

<p>Linfield Competitive Scholarships
Department-sponsored competitions for prospective first-year students are held on the McMinnville campus. Participation is by invitation only. For students applying Fall 2009 the completed application for admission and the Competitive Scholarship Application form must be submitted by December 1. Departments can offer up to three scholarships: First Place - $16,000; second place - $12,800; third place - $10,000. Each award is distributed equally over 8 semesters of attendance. Thus, for a $16,000 award, a student will receive $4,000 for the first year and each of the following three years. The award is guaranteed for the sophomore year; for the junior and senior years, the student must maintain a 3.00 Linfield cumulative GPA to receive the award. To be considered, the application for admission and a separate application to take a Linfield Competitive Examination is required by December 1, 2008. A Competitive Scholarship may be received in combination with one of the other academic scholarships. The recipient must apply for renewal in a timely manner each year to receive the award at the same dollar amount.</p>

<p>And the number of scholarships in each subject varies by the size of the department. The number of students taking the test in each subject varies as well. My dad helped me out by asking, "Is biology or chemistry harder?". I said chemistry, so he thought I should sign up for that one. There were about 50-60 kids taking the biology test; only about 12 took the chemistry. Only two of them beside me had taken AP chem. The test was very similar to the AP chem test, as well as an essay, "Why do/don't you think atoms exist?". I had a good time with that one.</p>

<p>In the same vein of applying for a scholarship in a subject fewer people take, one of my friends there took the exam in philosophy- without any background. He was the only one taking the test, but he took home the 2nd place award. I found that hilarious.</p>

<p>Kind of like the Monopoly card - "You have won second prize in a beauty contest" which inevitably at our house results in "Who was first Frankenstein?" (Thanks to my mother who taught my kids that :)</p>

<p>Linfield University – visited October 2008 </p>

<p>Visit Activities: </p>

<p>Information Session: Very well done - Admissions Advisor (a former grad) had us and one other family come into her office. Time was well spent providing information and asking leading questions. She had done the travel abroad program and was full of useful information on that. </p>

<p>Campus Tour: Beautiful campus – Academic area essentially all around a nice large quad with lots of student traffic. Dorms surrounding campus – many of which were less than 10 years old and the nicest I have seen. Athletic facilities right on campus and in excellent shape – they take athletics very seriously. </p>

<p>Thought on Linfield: </p>

<p>Friendliness/Courtesy of Students: 5 - Excellent - Students smiling, saying hi to one another – lots of little groups sitting together. </p>

<p>Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff: 5 - Excellent - Could not have been nicer. </p>

<p>Appearance of Campus: 4 – Very Good - Not as scenic as the Willamette or Lewis and Clark campuses – but those were simply out of this world. </p>

<p>Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness: 5 - Excellent - The one piece of paper I saw was picked up by a student and thrown in the garbage.</p>

<p>Dormitories: 5 - Excellent - By far the nicest I have seen. The room we saw was larger than average in size and seemed well maintained. Apartments “the HPs” are practically new with 4 to a suite. Laundry free on campus. One newish dorm is built into the football bleachers – tucked underneath with 10 rooms (Women only)</p>

<p>Security/Safety: 5 – Excellent – cannot imagine any issues</p>

<p>Overall Campus Impression: 5 - Excellent - Wonderful visit - moved well up the list – probably to the top.</p>

<p>Campus Visit Notes for Linfield University: </p>

<p>Visit Description: We arrived at McMinville in the mid morning after a short but scenic drive over from Salem. Next time I would schedule the visit for the afternoon and make stops at the many great wineries I saw. </p>

<p>We arrived on campus and found the admissions house without any problems. Plenty of parking right next to door to admissions. Receptionist gave us a very warm greeting and then we were off on a tour with a member of the women’s soccer team. One other family went on the tour with us.</p>

<p>Tour was well done – we started by going through the academic buildings and then worked out way across to the dorms, athletic facilities and the library.</p>

<p>Athletic facilities are gorgeous. Football field and Baseball infield are both turf grass and appeared to be new. Soccer fields (they had about 4) were all in great shape.
Nice weight room with plans to expand it in the near future.</p>

<p>Library was nearly new and seemed almost oversized in comparison to the other schools of this size we have visited. Lots of space to spread out and do your work. Multiple small study group rooms.</p>

<p>McMinville is a classic old time small town. Third street is the main street with four or five blocks of small store. Great food – with lots of organic options for my vegetarian daughter. Nice brew pub for us parents</p>

<p>Willamette report can be found here: </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visits/willamette-university/7684176.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visits/willamette-university/7684176.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>To summarize it - beautiful campus with a great layout. Very friendly students. Decent dorms. Good food in cafeteria.</p>

<p>Lewis & Clark report can be found here:</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visits/lewis-amp-clark-college/2429410.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visits/lewis-amp-clark-college/2429410.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>In summary - Beautiful campus built on the grounds of a former estate. Great location - just minutes from downtown Portland yet in a somewhat secluded neighborhood. Somewhat formal feel to the school. Decent dorms - could use a little better maintenance. Cafeteria food looked and smelled good but we did not eat there. Definitely worth a visit.</p>

<p>scualum: Thanks so much for the information! Your experience at Linfield mirrors ours. </p>

<p>Opie: good insight re which test to take. I heard from another parent that some of the exams require homework. Did you find that true of the Chem exam?</p>

<p>I just wanted to add that Linfield has a discussion forum here on CC under the "alphabetical list of colleges" page. I was hanging out in there all alone for awhile but left back in the spring on account of the lonliness ;) would enjoy having some company!</p>

<p>Another reason parents can find Linfield and McMinville appealing - Oregon:</a> In the valley of wine - Travel - LATimes.com :)</p>

<p>I knew I was missing out!!!!</p>

<p>Whitman is in WallaWalla, currently trying to become the next big wine destination. Dozens 0f wineries in town to sample. Alas, most make great little boutique reds in the $30+ range and I can't go into a winery and not buy something...seems too rude. So I limit us to one or two tours per trip.<br>
McMinneville does have the Evergreen Aviation Museum, which houses the "Spruce Goose" if you get bored with the wineries....</p>

<p>BTW - Spruce Goose did make it to the top of the list this time - it was really amazing along with the other planes that they have on exhibit.</p>

<p>Now will have to make sure that H can go along on our Northwest road trip. He loves plane museums.</p>

<p>We discovered a great Pacific NW school recently and I thought I'd share our impressions here as the trip report section does not have this school available.</p>

<p>My son wants to stay in the Pacific NW, specifically on the western side of the Cascades, which eliminates schools like Gonzaga and WSU. He prefers an urban area, but even a medium city will do--as long as he has access to the amenities and transit systems in a city he's fine.</p>

<p>His list is pretty small: University of WA, University of OR, Willamette, and University of British Columbia. He prefers a big school but added Willamette because he knows students from his HS who speak highly of it.</p>

<p>We visited UBC last week and for those of you who want big schools in a vibrant, amazing city in the Pacific NW you should not overlook this amazing school.</p>

<p>We arrived in mid-morning and drove through a leafy and gorgeous neighborhood as we wound our way down Marine Drive out to campus. The campus is on a peninsula overlooking the Pacific Ocean and has a view of a mountain range which they told me the name of but now I can't recall. The campus sits on an enormous tract of land so there is a feeling of space and of separation from the city.</p>

<p>Once we arrived we found a multi level parking garage and parked there. The campus is well marked and we had no trouble finding the main campus area. Our overall first impression was that most of the destination buildings were 1960's or 1970's era-no ivy covered Gothic turrets here. The grounds were a bit worn and there seemed to be a lot of concrete. We found the admissions building and met up with our tour guides, both of whom were Americans. I think they try to match American guides with tours where there are several American students. Once you get away from central campus there are some beautiful buildings and pretty wooded grounds--the Chemistry building is the oldest on campus and is very pretty, and the Asian Language library is stunning. The campus Rose Garden is also quite beautiful.</p>

<p>The dorms are amazing--60% of the rooms are singles and there are quad-style apartments for upperclass students. Housing is scarce, but UBC has resisted the trend in the US of doubling or tripling. Instead they have a lottery and after the first year few undergrads live on campus. There is an exception though: international students can get on campus housing for all four years. We did not sample the food and it was not mentioned good or bad. </p>

<p>There are not as many amenities such as elaborate workout facilities. There is one area but there is a fee to join, just like a private health club. There are 40,000 students--I believe 25,000 are undergrads, so introductory classes are quite large, but all the students we talked to said that second level and above classes are small enough that they can have discussions. It is not an intimate environment, but more like a large state flagship university experience. </p>

<p>Interscholastic sports are not that big a deal in Canada, but intramurals are a huge deal at UBC. There are intramural leagues for almost every sport, and the campus has a lot of space for playing fields, etc. The university owns a lodge at Whistler/Blackcomb and skiing is heavily subsidized--free transport and a very inexpensive season pass available to students. </p>

<p>Students are heavily subsidized in BC--your student pass gets you free bus transportation and deep discounts/free admission to museums and cultural activities in Vancouver as well as that amazing Whistler discount.</p>

<p>Programs: The school is well known for its international relations, Asian studies, science and engineering programs. There is a huge Asian languages library in a gorgeous wooded corner of campus. There is a co-op program that allows students to finish in five years and alternate work and study each semester in third and fourth years. There are also exchange programs with universities all over the world and students are encouraged to spend at least a semester in a different country, in keeping with UBC's vision of itself as a truly "international" university.</p>

<p>The amazing part: Tuition is a bargain by US standards. This year's costs are around $22,000CA which is roughly $20K in US dollars at current exchange rates. Dorm fees are around $7,000CA. The even more amazing part: the admissions process is almost as stress-free as they can make it. They look at grades in what they call "senior level" academic subjects. They also look at SAT's but don't use them in admissions decisions. So if your son or daughter has a B+ or better average in college prep subjects junior year and the first half of senior year, he or she is competitive for admission. They do not look at grades 9 and 10--a boon for boys who may be a little late to understand grades matter. One significant different in admissions is that you apply to a specific faculty, or college. Because Canadian high school science requirements differ from US, my son found he didn't have the prerequisites to apply to engineering which was a disappointment until the admissions staffer told him that he could apply to Arts or Science, take the second chem class he was missing and then transfer. So the college-specific admission system does not appear to be a huge barrier. </p>

<p>All of this had me shaking my head at what limitations we put on ourselves by being so US centric. This amazing opportunity is sitting in our back yard--2 hours away--and we almost missed it. My son and I both really warmed to the school after the initial impression which was "wow, lotta concrete here!" The people we met: students and admissions staff, went out of their way to make us feel welcome and explain how everything works. </p>

<p>I came away really hoping my son chooses this school--the academics are basically the same as the other big schools he's considering, but his other choices would not give him the perspective of viewing the world from a perspective that differs from the US perspective.</p>

<p>It may also be the economy and the political environment right now, but Canada as a society seems to me less broken and more functional--their banks are healthy and things appear to be humming along.</p>

<p>My DD attends Berkeley and did a term abroad at UBC and played a varsity sport there; she really loved the school and the experience; she likes Vancouver better than the city fo Berkeley and really liked the friends she met there. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.</p>

<p>One caveat, the Canadian grading system is different, 80% and above is an A, but it is a very tough to achieve 80%, not at all easy, so don't be misled by that into thinking it is an easy scale</p>

<p>Both tour guides mentioned that difference; thank you for pointing it out. We learned about the school from a friend whose son goes there and he has had a wonderful experience and has made lots of friends and gotten involved in sports. </p>

<p>After our visit UBC went from last on DS's list to a dead heat with his first choice, which is still Washington. He even said he finds the distance appealing--I think the reality of trooping off to college with 50 from his high school and being crammed with two other young men in a smallish room designed for two is beginning to sink in. UW is incredibly overcrowded, and I expect the economy means it will only be worse next year.</p>

<p>My son wants to study biomedical engineering, but he really wants to settle in the Northwest. He goes to a Jesuit High School in New Orleans, but wants to be out of the south, and won't touch Texas, thanks to Katrina. We visited Marquette and loved it, but would like to have a backup in case he doesn't get in. </p>

<p>It will take us a day just to fly up to PNW, and I've read your road trip with interest. We get a lot of mail from University of Portland, but it is liberal arts and we need an engineering school.</p>

<p>Any recommendations on any colleges up there that would have a biomedical engineering program? </p>

<p>Thanks for any help you can give.</p>

<p>Montegut UP does offer engineering. don't know if it meets your S's needs but UP is a wonderful school and at the top of the list for one of my girls and close to the top for the other. Here is the link <a href="http://engineering.up.edu/:%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://engineering.up.edu/:&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>