Questions about University of Portland

College Search & Selection
1

Hello, I am a prospective high school senior seriously considering University of Portland. I will be visiting campus in the next two weeks, but I was hoping to get a couple of questions answered from current students that I might not on a school-organized campus tour.

First, what exactly is the student body like? I’ve heard all sorts of descriptions of UP students, and while I understand that it may be a difficult group to generalize, I have a very fuzzy image in my head of what people are like there. I’ve heard everything from athletic to outdoorsy to quirky to hipster, and I’m basically just wondering if the social vibe is more akin to a school like Lewis & Clark or Reed, or to somewhere like Gonzaga.

What is the sports culture like UP? I know that it is a D1 school, with the girl’s soccer team being a major point of pride. I ask this as somebody who is extremely apathetic about sports, and has trouble holding a conversation with anyone about anything sports-related. I do not plan on participating in intermurals and such, and I wonder if there is a social niche for somebody like me at UP who has more artistic interests.

How catholic exactly is UP? I have a sister who attends a pretty lax Jesuit University, so I understand that the implications of affiliation are not always overbearing. But UP is also Holy Cross, and has a reputation for being comparatively more religious than my sister’s University. I am 100% fine with taking a few theology courses to graduate, but I am also positively secular, and uncomfortable with any religion being imposed on me.

Finally, my least important question. Is there any trace of a party scene? I’m not looking for anything comparable to that of a state school, but I get the impression that the administration is pretty strict in this regard. I’m by no means a 24/7 rager type, and academics always come first for me, but I don’t want to go to a University where everything gets broken up. I’ve heard that they are a lot more strict concerning marijuana/drugs than with alcohol, but could that change in the future (with Marijuana becoming recreationally legal in July)?

Thank you in advance.

2

My understanding and (limited but some) experience is that Jesuit schools are they are a more typical college.Oniv of Portland is founded by congregation of the Holy Cross like Notre Dame. Maybe you should look at more Jesuit colleges. Sorry I don’t know anything more about it but you might want to see if the student handbook is online and check if the code of conduct is very restrictive.

There isn’t a forum for that college here but you can plug it into the search bar on top and see previous threads.

3

Yes, it has a good and balanced party scene. U of P, is in what is known as North Portland, and about 15 minutes from City Center. Portland is blessed with a huge pub/bar/food cart scene comparable with Austin, Texas and LA, although U of P, is sort of by itself on the northern edge of the city. And I do not hear it is overly religious…