<p>Have you considered Colorado College?</p>
<p>No real experience with it except I'm putting it on a list to research for my S2. Sounds unique, individualistic, outdoorsy and looks like an incredibly beautiful area.</p>
<p>rainmama:</p>
<p>I also teach mostly grad students (no undergrads for the two years prior to this, but I have an undergrad course this semester). I can't say that I've had enough experience with Whitman grads to have much of a sense for them one way or the other.</p>
<p>But let me reiterate something. Our experience may well have been an aberration. I have no way of knowing. Unfortunately, there is only one chance to make a first impression, and Whitman's was about as poor a first impression as I've ever seen.</p>
<p>My D has both Whitman and Reed on her target list. She visited Whitman and sat on an intro psychology class. She had similar experience - kids were "sort of asleep", and she thought it was a fairly easy class, although she has never taken psychology. D found Walla Walla very likable ("oh, I can survive there with a Macy's and Starbucks"), but I have to say that this child never gets bored even in the most boring place on earth if she has a book, her computer or her art pad. She will be visiting Reed soon.
I have to second that first impressions do matter, and comparison shopping has its place in college visits.</p>
<p>"Pizzagirl, Wallla Walla is not at ALL like a small, Midwestern town. It is hundreds of miles from nowhere. If you've never lived in the West, it's hard to imagine how far it can be between places."</p>
<p>Thanks. That's helpful for me to understand since I've never lived in the west. Apparently the only way to get there is to fly from Seattle (not even from Portland) and there are only a few flights a day. Reed and potentially L&C sound better from an accessibility standpoint.</p>
<p>Appreciate all the help!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Apparently the only way to get there is to fly from Seattle (not even from Portland) and there are only a few flights a day. Reed and potentially L&C sound better from an accessibility standpoint.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You know, if you're going to visit Whitman, I would suggest flying into Seattle and then driving over there. That will give you a sense for distance you can't get on one of the Horizon Air puddle jumpers. Unless you're very wealthy, most of your trips off campus will be in an automobile. </p>
<p>Then, I might drive to Spokane and look around. Spokane is the largest "city" of any size and, to my eyes, it's not all that large. Coming out of high school, though, Spokane would have looked like just about the biggest city in the world to this country boy.</p>
<p>It just depends on what you want and what you're used to. Obviously, some people love Whitman. I have a good friend and some relatives who went there, and they loved it.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Definitely consider Lewis and Clark...I really loved it when I visited there. Seems intellectual, but not as high stress. (For a specific example of the high stress with Reed, when we asked about study abroad programs the adcom said most students don't have enough time to study abroad because they have to take exams...)</p>
<p>Our D was one of numerous Reed students who studied abroad last semester; most seemed to be sophomores, perhaps because of the junior qual exams. Reed's study abroad program is active!</p>
<p>I currently live in Walla Walla, Washington, two miles from Whitman Campus. I also lived in Portland for a time, so I'm quite familiar with both schools.</p>
<p>Reed: Campus is nice, but the surrounding area is NOT nice. It's a bit dirty and chaotic. However, the students are diverse, and it is close to Portland. The school itself is one of the best LAC in the country/world. It's quite a few miles from the nearest airport, so travel would be slightly less smooth than it would be at Whitman. Princeton Review's rankings for Reed are pretty accurate. It's VERY liberal, and the students are a bit eccentric (not that either of those things are bad!). There's also quite a bit more drug use (mostly pot) than at Whitman (small town = easy job for narcs).</p>
<p>Whitman: Campus is one of the prettiest I've ever seen, and Walla Walla is indescribable. It's quite small and a bit isolated - we're several hours from any major city. Academically the school is very challenging but because there are so few students there is a lot of personal attention (one of my close friends just transferred there). Check out Princeton Review's rankings for Whitman - they're in the top ten for almost every category. They have one of the best college libraries in the world (up there with Harvard, Yale, etc.), and they also have the happiest students. The airport is about 3 miles down the road. </p>
<p>If your son prefers to be nearer to a major city and wants a strong social/night life, I would recommend Reed. </p>
<p>If your son wants to make a lot of friends and REALLY get the most out of his college experience, I highly recommend Whitman. There's a lot of student diversity, so he'd certainly be able to make friends (and learn from them), but Walla Walla is so small that he wouldn't feel overwhelmed.</p>