University of Portland

Parents Forum
21

<p>I've known a boatload of people who went to Seattle Pacific University (SPU) and they all liked it. It might be the only school I know of where I haven't heard negative comments from at least one student. If they had a real engineering department it would have been on John's list.</p>

22

<p>I plan on applying to UMiami, LMU, USD, UCSB, SDSU, and UH-Manoa, so you can see I really love the beach.>></p>

<p>Well, Chicago, Milwaukee, and New Orleans are all on the water. (Of course, New Orleans is sometimes in the water as well. ;) )</p>

<p>Focusing just on Div. 1 schools makes for tough going. Have you looked at some of the southern state U's?</p>

23

<p>Well I'm not a huge fan of the south...so not really. But I also have Indiana University on my list. I know location wise it can't compare to CA, FL, and HI, but it is a Big 10 school and if offers me the typical college town experience. Indiana is by far my favorite public school so I'm not looking into changing it or adding another public since I know I will get into Indiana.</p>

<p>However I'm still unsure if Portland is my best private option. Do you know of any D1 privates, with a good business program, that is close to water (preferably a beach)?</p>

24

<p>Actually, NYC is also on the water, but it doesn't fit the criterion of having a BEACH. LOL.</p>

25

<p>University of Portland is at least an hour and a half from the nearest beach. It's also about an hour to an hour and a half from the mountains. The proximity to beach and mountains, while still being in a good-sized city is one of the things I love most about Portland. However, if you are looking for someplace NEAR the beach, Portland is not it.</p>

26

<p>Yah I understand it isn't near the beach....but Cannon Beach is like an hour away, and it does have a good proximity to surf and skiing. Also there is a lot of rivers for kayaking. </p>

<p>So it sounds like a nice place.</p>

27

<p>Academic wise....is UP on par with LMU and USD? Or is it on the level of SDSU?</p>

28

<p>Umm, how do you rank LMU, USD, and SDSU?</p>

29

<ol>
<li>Usd</li>
<li>Lmu</li>
<li>Sdsu</li>
</ol>

30

<p>I would put UP closer to USD than LMU. All Catholic universities are going to be quite different than a Cal State, so I don't know if the comparison is valid. For one thing you have a far greater degree of selectivity and an expectation that students coming in have completed a college prep course of study. The core requirements are going to emphasize the liberal arts to a greater degree--UP, like ND, requires philosophy and theology classes to graduate--no state school is going to have that detailed a requirement. I'm too lazy to check their website, but I would not be surprised to see them require competence in a foreign language.</p>

<p>I freely admit to being biased, but in my experience Catholic education is worthwhile for its emphasis on competence in the full range of human expression: drama, music, writing, speaking, and less worry about test scores and technical knowledge. They didn't teach to the test and as a result the kids got a rich and rigorous education. Since the Catholic K-12 system feeds the Catholic universities you have a high proportion of students coming in with that level of preparation and the colleges have the freedom to really educate, as opposed to backfilling for what people missed in high school.</p>

31

<p>WashDad, a good friend of mine sits on a national higher-education board. She's originally from Oregon and is very familiar with northwest schools. I asked her about U of Portland and she wasn't inclined to recommended it. That's just one person's opinion but I believe she thought that the small college alternatives in and near Portland, such as Lewis & Clark, George Fox and Willamette were stronger than UP.</p>

32

<p>I don't know any actual graduates from UP, but I do know several kids at different levels who are going there now. They all seem quite happy with their choice, and with the education they are receiving. They are a good group of kids, and if they reflect the quality of the student body then UP will be a quality place. Only time will tell how their job opportunities work out.</p>

<p>When my son applied there a couple years ago they were quite generous with their initial grants for good students. It is certainly a place worth exploring further.</p>

33

<p>The only problem with that LakeWashington, is that neither L&C, or Willamette have engineering or undergrad business programs. George Fox does, but its mission is very different--it would probably not be a good fit for somebody who is not a committed Christian, where Catholic universities encourage a diversity of thought and belief to promote a dynamic intellectual community. </p>

<p>Here's a snippet from the GFU website: </p>

<br>


<br>

<p>I concede that a lot of people would not see much difference between a GFU and a UP, but if the OP does not want a Christian perspective, UP allows for a more general approach to the theology requirement.</p>

34

<p>Saint Mary's Moraga and Santa Clara University both D1 and while not on the water, Santa Clara is 45 minutes from the beaches in Santa Cruz and St. Mary's is about the same distance to the beaches in San Francisco.</p>

35

<p>Mombot, you didn't note that the education at George Fox University is of the Quaker tradition, which I would say does not compel religious fealty on the part of the students. Perhaps GFU is different from other Quaker schools in this regard (a Jewish friend is an alumnus of Earlham College and absolutely loved it) but it should be investigated and evaluated.</p>

36

<p>Not private, and not too near the beach, but U of Oregon in Eugene is a beautiful campus with many excellent programs. My H and I just returned from Eugene, we took a campus tour and were very impressed. The coast isn't too far away - and it's a beauty when you get there.</p>

37

<p>Pepperdine? Can't get much closer to the beach.</p>

38

<p>I like Pepperdine, but I'm always back and forth with the school. Right now it is currently off my list, but I'm still undecided on whether or not I should apply.</p>

39

<p>Re: Pepperdine. Be sure to visit and spend lots of time on campus and visiting with current students. One recent grad I work with described it as "Baylor on the Beach".....seems to be very different than LMU or USD.</p>

40

<p>LakeWashington: Quakers can be surprisingly conservative..I should know I attended church there in my teens because I had this woo woo notion that Quakers were like Christians but cooler..uh, no. They take their faith extremely seriously. The kids attended a Quaker preschool and it was right in line with conservative Evangelical teachings, plus the whole thing about actually living out the inconvenient commandments about loving thy neighbor; thus the pacificism. I have tremendous respect for GFU and one of the reasons I respect them so much is that they have not compromised their primary mission to be popular--you WILL get a terrific education there, but unless you are totally comfortable getting a Christian education, it might not be the best fit. It's like Seattle Pacific or Notre Dame-you don't have to settle for a sub par education to get a clearly Christian education, but the mission is to prepare Christians for a life of service to humanity, not to get everybody into med or law school.</p>

<p>Edit: I just checked the Society of Friends website, and they explain that doctrine is set within each local community and so you can have a range from almost-Unitarian to something that looks like Southern Baptist. In the Pacific NW, there are a number of more evangelical Friends communities, and that is my experience of them. I would not be surprised if GFU looked different from Earlham or some of the New England Quaker schools. Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore and Haverford were also Quaker schools, although I don't know if there's any affiliation today.</p>