<p>I was compiling a list of Whitman College plusses and minuses and despite all the, oh, whatever, great academics, and yeah, the wonderful people, the first thing that came to mind which seemed most important and awesome was FREE LAUNDRY. Here is my list, which I will append to as time goes on. Feel free to add your own faves and anti-faves.</p>
<p>The Official 2014 Whitman College Plusses and Minuses List:</p>
<p>I. Plusses</p>
<ol>
<li>FREE LAUNDRY.</li>
<li>Great wine selection.</li>
<li>Oh yeah, the superior academics.</li>
<li>Not too close at all to the decay of large urban centers.</li>
<li>Easy to find in a college roster, either at or near the bottom alphabetically.</li>
<li>Easy to pronounce based on spelling, and vice versa, unlike Beloit.</li>
<li>Has a crunchy and natural feel that is good for the Earth.</li>
<li>Wholesome and natural sorority babes! <a href="http://www.whitman.edu/greek_life/sororities/images/threeKappas.jpg">http://www.whitman.edu/greek_life/sororities/images/threeKappas.jpg</a></li>
<li>Bromances. <a href="http://www.whitman.edu/assets/images/Sig%20House%20%20Photo.jpg">http://www.whitman.edu/assets/images/Sig%20House%20%20Photo.jpg</a></li>
<li>Sorority babes! <a href="http://www.whitman.edu/greek_life/sororities/images/threeKappas.jpg">http://www.whitman.edu/greek_life/sororities/images/threeKappas.jpg</a></li>
<li>Nearby to a lot of really interesting geological formations, and not too far from Portlandia.</li>
<li>Seahawks</li>
<li>Cheap onion prices.</li>
<li>Open countryside without alligators or NASCAR. <a href="http://m0.i.pbase.com/o9/13/303913/1/150242740.wZedr7HO.461Z2016copy.jpg">http://m0.i.pbase.com/o9/13/303913/1/150242740.wZedr7HO.461Z2016copy.jpg</a> | <a href="http://m5.i.pbase.com/o9/13/303913/1/150242735.83CCuJ6d.461Z1131a.jpg">http://m5.i.pbase.com/o9/13/303913/1/150242735.83CCuJ6d.461Z1131a.jpg</a> | <a href="http://m3.i.pbase.com/o9/13/303913/1/150242733.rjmFA66P.461Z1094.jpg">http://m3.i.pbase.com/o9/13/303913/1/150242733.rjmFA66P.461Z1094.jpg</a></li>
<li>Name of the town is fun to say over and over.</li>
</ol>
<p>II. Minuses</p>
<p>a. Not too close to any large urban centers.
b. The occasional lock-down at Washington State Penitentiary (converts to a plus during Zombie epidemic)
c. Site of some really dysfunctional social conflicts between settlers and indigenous natives.
d. Still hot in autumn.
e. Seahawks.
f. Too much drinking leading to events that are hard or impossible to unravel. <a href="http://whitmanpioneer.com/news/2012/03/01/delayed-reporting-gives-sexual-assault-victims-fewer-options/">http://whitmanpioneer.com/news/2012/03/01/delayed-reporting-gives-sexual-assault-victims-fewer-options/</a>
g. Bromances. <a href="http://www.whitman.edu/assets/images/Sig%20House%20%20Photo.jpg">http://www.whitman.edu/assets/images/Sig%20House%20%20Photo.jpg</a></p>
<p>Got a bit intense on the minuses, but I figure it is important to go in with an authentic sense of reality.</p>
<p>So Archer1415, I’m trying to figure out if you like Whitman or not. BTW, my S has never reported a lockdown at the penitentiary and avoids the zombie invasion like the plague. I guess the mathcam is in the plus column because it certainly is exciting. You know, I think you’d fit right in there. </p>
<p>Hi Bo - My gut feel is Whitman pretty darn nice, yet I am entertaining all manner of the downside early on, so as to avoid disillusionment. </p>
<p>For example, Whitman’s mascot is (are?)</p>
<p>h. The Fighting Missionaries; evokes an image of belligerent religious zealots prone to fisticuffs.</p>
<p>They could consider a change to something like “The Whitman Bobcats” <a href=“http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/bobcat.pdf”>http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/bobcat.pdf</a> | <a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost. Because there is nothing more awesome than a stealthy predator paw print on a college insignia sweatshirt.</p>
<p>There is some concern over</p>
<p>i. Questionable traditions:</p>
<p>“An unusual tradition that Whitman has is Beer Mile. During the Spring semester students run a mile around Ankeny Field naked. There is also a fish statue that if you stand two feet away and speak you can hear yourself!”</p>
<p>The</p>
<ol>
<li>Hipster scene so-intense-it-involves-self-reflection-over-degree-of-hipsterness; <a href=“The Fake Hipster | Film & Media Studies Theory”>http://fmstheory.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2013/09/25/the-fake-hipster/</a></li>
</ol>
<p>may be attractive to certain kinds of progressive counter-culture minded students.</p>
<p>Whitman has</p>
<p>j. No Zipcars. <a href=“http://whitmanpioneer.com/feature/2013/04/04/zipcars-considered-for-campus-use/”>http://whitmanpioneer.com/feature/2013/04/04/zipcars-considered-for-campus-use/</a></p>
<p>with which students could use to explore the beautiful surrounding countryside and vineyards; and when tired of studying, spend some time</p>
<ol>
<li>Fishing for trout in Bennington Lake. <a href=“Walla Walla District > Missions > Recreation > Mill Creek Dam and Bennington Lake”>Walla Walla District Recreation; | <a href=“http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/projects.cfm?Id=G455120”>http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/projects.cfm?Id=G455120</a> | <a href=“http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/album/images/G455120-3_jpg.jpg”>http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/album/images/G455120-3_jpg.jpg</a> | <a href=“http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/album/images/G455120-4_jpg.jpg”>http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/album/images/G455120-4_jpg.jpg</a></li>
</ol>
<p>Though, I suppose, you could bike there.</p>
<p>Whitman would be only a half hour by Zipcar to reach</p>
<ol>
<li>Skiing at Bluewood. <a href=“http://www.bluewood.com/maps-and-mileages”>http://www.bluewood.com/maps-and-mileages</a></li>
</ol>
<p>and about 45 minutes or so to</p>
<ol>
<li>The Blue Mountains, <a href=“http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/WindTurbinesBlueMountains.JPG”>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/WindTurbinesBlueMountains.JPG</a></li>
</ol>
<p>and varied drive times to 186 State Parks, <a href=“List of parks in Washington”>http://www.stateparks.com/washington_parks_and_recreation_destinations.html</a>, – and – various hiking, <a href=“Environmental Studies”>Environmental Studies, – and –</p>
<ol>
<li>Unique sightseeing for bored parents. <a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60992-Activities-Walla_Walla_Washington.html”>http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60992-Activities-Walla_Walla_Washington.html</a> | <a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g60992-i1498-Walla_Walla_Washington.html”>Walla Walla Forum, Travel Discussion for Walla Walla, Washington - Tripadvisor;
</ol>
<p>Finally, it is</p>
<ol>
<li>Sufficiently upstream and (80 miles) remote from Hanford Nuclear Reservation</li>
</ol>
<p>and the legendary “Reactor B”. <a href=“http://www5.hanford.gov/c.cfm/publicTours/?tour=tourInformation”>http://www5.hanford.gov/c.cfm/publicTours/?tour=tourInformation</a>.</p>
<p>I was looking for any evident reasons why Whitman has an approximate 6/4:female to male ratio, and I found tangentially that it is actually a trend in Washington State according, at least, to the Washington (state) Student Achievement Council:
<a href=“http://www.wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/KF2012ChapterIV.pdf”>http://www.wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/KF2012ChapterIV.pdf</a> | (Page 5)</p>
<p>"More than half of college students at two- and four-year institutions are female</p>
<p>In 2010, females continued to outnumber males on Washington college campuses— although the percentage of women enrolled at community and technical colleges continued a slight decline from the previous two years. Female enrollments at most institutions have consistently outpaced male enrollments at most Washington institutions since at least 1996.</p>
<p>While females outnumber males in overall numbers on college campuses, they trail in pursuit of degrees in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In 2009-10, just 32 percent of all STEM postsecondary degree awards in Washington’s public and private institutions went to female students.1 That represented a slight downward trend from two years earlier."</p>
<p>So, it seems a balanced ratio is preferable; maybe it makes up for male overrepresentation in the past; neither a plus or a minus.</p>
<p>From the same source indicated above, but on page 10, the county that Whitman College is located in has the highest CTC (community or technical college) participation rates as a percentage of the county resident population age 17-64, at 10.5 percent, which is nearly double the state average of 5.5 – this serves a plus, since </p>
<ol>
<li>One out of ten members of the Walla Walla community are educationally active.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Library open all night, all day, all library, all the time.</p></li>
<li><p>Matches up with some of the better known LACs in California and Oregon, per CDS:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Whitman CDS 2011-2012
AVG GPA 3.81
Class Rank: Top 10%: 68%
SAT Math Read Write ACT-Comp
25th 620 630 630 29
75th 710 730 710 32
Freshmen in the 700-800 group
32% 44% 32%
Freshmen in the 600-699 group<br>
55% 43% 53%
Freshmen in the 30-36 group: 65%
Endowment: 400 million 2012</p>
<p>Reed CDS 2012-2013
AVG GPA 3.90
Class Rank: Top 10%: 63%
SAT Math Read Write ACT-Comp
25th 630 670 650 28
75th 720 770 740 32
Freshmen in the 700-800 group
37% 63% 49%
Freshmen in the 600-699 group<br>
51% 32% 44%
Freshmen in the 30-36 group: 63%
Endowment: 500 million 2013</p>
<p>Claremont CDS 2012-2013
AVG GPA Withheld
Class Rank: Top 10%: 63%
SAT Math Read Write ACT-Comp
25th 660 650 660 29
75th 760 750 740 32
Freshmen in the 700-800 group
60% 51% 57%
Freshmen in the 600-699 group<br>
38% 43% 36%
Freshmen in the 30-36 group: 68%
Endowment: 520 million 2012</p>
<p>Occidental CDS 2012-2013
AVG GPA 3.60
Class Rank: Withheld
SAT Math Read Write ACT-Comp
25th 600 600 610 28
75th 700 700 700 32
Freshmen in the 700-800 group
27% 26% 28%
Freshmen in the 600-699 group<br>
54% 53% 53%
Freshmen in the 30-36 group: 52%
Endowment: 330 million 2012</p>
<p>Pitzer CDS 2008-2009
AVG GPA 3.75
Class Rank: Top 10%: 51%
SAT Math Read Write ACT-Comp
25th 580 580 - 25
75th 680 690 - 30
Freshmen in the 700-800 group
19% 24% --%
Freshmen in the 600-699 group<br>
50% 47% --%
Freshmen in the 30-36 group: 34%
Endowment: 110 million 2012</p>
<p>Since I screwed up #26, this is actually #27:</p>
<ol>
<li>Whitman Encounters is profoundly self-aware and hilarious.</li>
</ol>
<p>k. Long haul to get there… sort of like Oregon Trail wagon train mode.</p>
