How do these three Oregon schools compare to each other?
I’m looking into WICHE schools somewhat, and I wanted to know which would be give me the most rewarding college experience. As I’m more interested in smaller schools, SOU and WOU appeal to me somewhat more than PSU does, as I think I would be better apt to thrive on a campus with less students. However, I like the Portland location. I haven’t yet had a chance to personally visit these schools, although I’m hoping to within the next month or so, so I’m hoping that somebody in Oregon/familiar with the area could give me some idea of what to expect.
Which school offers the best academic experience?
Which school offers the best social experience? (I understand that PSU is largely a commuter school)
Which school is regarded most highly within Oregon?
How do these schools (asking about WOU & SOU here) compare to LACs?
I can’t speak for WOU, but I think highly of both PSU and SOU. They are VERY different. PSU is right in downtown Portland. SOU is in Ashland, a small town of 15,000 or so, in between two mountain ranges. There’s more city things to do in Portland, but there’s far less traffic and thus easier access to outdoorsy things in Ashland. As for which is best academically, that would probably depend on your major.
I don’t know SOU, but I’ve been to both the other two campuses multiple times. Monmouth is a small town of about 10,000 people. Portland by contrast is a vibrant city with a lot of things to do. The PSU campus has a nice location near beautiful Washington Park, although the area on one side of campus is kind of hilly.
What is your major? If you want to be a teacher WOU might be the better bet for you since for most of its history it has been a teacher’s college, and Education is still its strongest department. For pretty much all other majors PSU is probably stronger.
So overall I’d vote for Portland State (unless you plan to major in Education).
@eyemgh Thanks! I definitely need to consider whether or not accessible outdoor activity vs having an urban experience is more important to me. Right now, out of the two, I’m leaning towards SOU- Ashland sounds like a pretty cool little town.
@washugrad Yes! I actually have applied to UP and am waiting to hear back. Doubtful that I’ll be able to afford it though, which is why I’m looking more into public institutions atm. . . I’m also aware of what happened at the Wally’s awards ceremony, and it has somewhat put me off to the idea of going there.