Hi! I am in the process of building my college list and wanted to narrow down between two options: Uni of Portland & DePaul Uni. I am also pre-law and would go to these schools if they gave me a great scholarship (any info on their scholarships/cost would be great!) If anyone could help me decide/give me your own thoughts that would be great! Here is a quick pros/con list:
University of Portland:
Pros:
-nice location
-small student population
-nice campus
-Major: Political Science & Global Affairs (I like the department)
Cons:
-Less diverse
-More religious
-Core curriculum is more strict ( 3 years theology, have to take a science & math course, etc.)
DePaul University:
Pros:
-nice location
-Major: Public Policy (really like this major!)
-Can get my Masters combined with my bachelors
-more “liberal”
Cons:
-more of a commuter school
-campus isn’t that great
Those seem like to rather random school choices. I know nothing about DePaul but I assume you are looking at both because they are both Catholic schools?
Here on the west coast I have visited all the larger Catholic universities with my daughter. Honestly, if you are pre-law then perhaps a Catholic University that actually has a law school and stronger policy programs might be a better choice than University of Portland which does not have a law school and seems more focused on nursing biomed STEM degrees, and business.
The west coast Catholic Universities that have law schools and a bigger public policy focus are Gonzaga, Seattle University, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, and Loyola Marymount. I would think any would be better for pre-law than University of Portland.
To expand on my comment above. We live about 25 minutes from the University of Portland campus. It’s a pretty campus in a fairly out-of-the-way residential neighborhood in North Portland. Not inner-city at all, but more suburban feeling despite actually being within the Portland city limits. It has a good reputation locally.
Have you also looked at Loyola University of Chicago? Or Creighton? My DS (who is not Catholic, BTW) applied and was accepted to all of those (including U of P) with decent merit (for nursing). We have yet to visit the midwestern schools due to COVID, but I have visited LUC and it is a gorgeous campus right on Lake Michigan in Chicago.
Hi! I am a grad student/employee at DePaul University (so I am a little biased). I did not attend here as an undergraduate student but I do think it is an awesome school. The Catholic piece of DePaul shows itself in the mission of the university focusing on social justice and serving underserved populations. DePaul does have a College of Law so it is a great option for undergrad if that’s your end goal. And the combined degree option is a great deal. I would recommend following @iamdepaul on Instagram- current students take over the account each week and answer questions about class, campus life, living in Chicago, etc. Best of luck with your college search!