I’d appreciate hearing from current students or their parents about the campus vibe of Willamette, LC & Univ of Puget Sound. How are the three schools different from one another, which is a better launching pad for jobs/graduate schools, how would you rank them (in which order) academically? My daughter has visited all three and thought L&C was the most progressive in terms of gender identity concerns – a valid and important perspective but she is looking for a campus where the activist passion is more environmentally focused – global warming, international relations. She is outdoorsy, likes hiking, running; she runs XC and track. She also was accepted at Western Washington but wonders if that’s too large a campus for her. We are from southern California. All thoughts on any of these schools would be greatly appreciated.
Not a parent of a student at one of these schools (yet!), but my son did an overnight at UPS and spent the evening with his host’s friend group that was heavily populated with LGBTQ kids. He mentioned something about a getting-to-know-you session where people were asked their name AND their preferred pronoun. I think someone wanting to find a welcoming community around gender issues would have NO trouble feeling comfortable at UPS (though maybe that’s not what you were asking?)
UPS also has one of the most outdoorsy student bodies I’ve ever encountered. S said there are so many organized backpacking trips, it works out to something like 5 every weekend. There’s outdoors specialty housing…there’s even an outdoor-themed freshman dorm. He said he also got the strong message that it was a very activist student body.
Academically, I think it’s fair to say they’re peer institutions. L&C’s test scores are a smidge higher, but they also have the lowest graduation rate, fwiw. Looks like international relations is a very popular major at both UPS and L&C, but not at Willamette. Conversely, there are decent number of environmental studies majors at L&C and Willamette, but it is not offered as a major at UPS.
These schools get compared a lot, and I think if you search a bit you may find other old threads on CC that travel this ground.
I would rank Williamette as best. I think Lewis & Clark & U of Puget Sound are equal.
Based on…??
Really difficult to rank these 3- students have a similar academic profile. Broad generalizations: UPS is more outdoorsy, Willamette is more pre-professional/polished, and Lewis & Clark is more urban hip.
I don’t have personal experience with the campuses, but did do some research as my daughter is interested in the PNW as a possible location for college. We know a student at Willamette who is thriving there and loves it. UPS is strong in entrepreneurship and in music and has a beautiful campus. L&C, I read somewhere is trying to move away from its hippie image and the L&C president was trying to build the sports program. There may be a growing social divide between those two groups on campus. Also that access into the city was not as easy as one might think. All schools offer merit scholarships; UPS seems to be fairly generous, don’t know about the other two.
I can’t remember where I read all of this, certainly there are many threads comparing these three on CC. I also went to some popular student review sites which I can’t name here or they will be blocked out.
Actually of the four, WWU has risen in our estimation. We have yet to visit but also know somebody who goes there and she has had a very positive experience (honors program, WUE scholarship). The campus is green (has paid for carbon neutral credits for some time), students are said to be very happy and socially accepting, great connection to outdoor activities, strong in environmental studies, education, and musical theater, among other majors. It also has dedicated housing for gender-queer, non-binary folks. No football or Greek life. Beautiful location and within a reasonable distance of Seattle. We will be visiting this summer.
D2 attended L&C a couple of years ago. She loved it. Very active outdoors program, very active theater program, she attended poetry slams and student led music nights (she still gets CDs from a fellow student who is breaking into the music biz). Slightly hipster, mostly granoly, lots of things to do.
Also, not a student. My D16 is heading to Tacoma tomorrow to see UPS. We have visited Willamette and L&C. These schools seem very similar to me. Just my perception…Willamette talked more about internships and association with local government. The students we meet very nice and outgoing. The focus seemed more pre-professional. They proudly talked about the number of Oregon professors of the year that are at Willamette. The campus is small but nice. We didn’t spend a lot of time in Salem. Willamette’s outdoor education program seemed very strong.
L&C has a stunningly beautiful campus. Our tour guide was very bright and engaging. There seemed to be less open meeting spaces than at Willamette and I wonder to some extent if that plays a role in how people perceive the social life. But again, the campus is nice. Even though L&C has a law school, there was very little mention of preprofessional studies. L&C talked more about overseas studies, graduate school and working for non-profits. There seemed to be a more “artsy” vibe. .
UPS…pending.
D is interested in English and creative writing. All three seem equally strong. I don’t think it is possible to separate them in any kind of “ranking.” I am wondering if, for my D, it will come down to location if she chooses one of these three schools.
We just visited those three plus Whitman. I posted this in another thread but here it is again.
Whitman was beautiful and he really liked how genuinely nice all the students were. He sat in on a great class, saw lots of activities he’d be happy to join, and felt they would really support him. He did a dorm overnight, had a good time, and walked away thinking he would be happy there. That said, it was small and, while very cute, Walla Walla is small.
Puget Sound was awesome… gorgeous campus, friendly and enthusiastic students. He did another dorm overnight which went really well. I was impressed with the how much was happening on campus and again he saw a dozen things he thought he’d like to join. Students were really engaged and present. He said that EVERYONE lit up talking about classes and studies. They liked being there and it showed. Tacoma was great… good size with plenty to do. He did say there was a chill attitude and more of a party atmosphere than the other two, not a negative in his book. Just different. We were also there on a Thursday which may have added to that impression.
Willamette was next and it started a little bumpy as we arrived late. Admissions really went out of their way to set him up with students who shared his interests. The campus is lovely, but a little more worn than the previous two. He liked the proximity to the capitol. He also thought the students were less interested in partying than those at UPS, still fun, down to earth, engaged… just a little more serious. I think it comes in a strong second for him and after the latest FA offer, it is first for me :>)
He didn’t love LC… I have a feeling we were at tour burnout by this point. It was by far the prettiest campus. The location near Portland is great with hourly shuttle service into town. I thought it was academically comparable to the other three but he got a different “vibe” of campus… something more like rigidly pc?? Again, I think we were tired and it was Saturday.
They all shared small classes (Whitman and UPS being smaller on average than Willamette and Lewis and Clark), tons of attention from advisors, and just a “good” feeling. It’ll be a REALLY hard choice! 
Willamette seemed to be a little more generous with their merit aid than Puget Sound. Students who got ~ $23 or $24K from Willamette got ~$20K from UPS.
Not sure about L & C, as my daughter didn’t apply there.
No children attending these schools, but close friends have had heir children attend all of them except L&C. No real difference academically between the three, barring your d having a specific major that might match departmental strengths. Oregon2016 nailed their vibes. L&C has Portland, maybe one of the most desirable west coast cities for young professionals. Tacoma has made great strides, not Seattle but easy to get there, and improving culture on it’s own. Salem, not very exciting unless you are into politics. Portland and Eugene not that far away. Western is best(?) depending on program, of traditional state universities if you can get WUE. It is much larger than the privates, Bellingham is ok, and close to Vancouver, BC. Did you look at Evergreen State? Very unique program for a state school, might match quite well, don’t know if it is too late for application.
Yay PNW!
I have to say that WWU has a really good reputation in the state, and Bellingham is supposed to be a really beautiful college town. I have one acquaintance that went to WWU; I met her at Columbia when we were both in graduate school together. Good location partway between both Seattle and Vancouver (closer to Vancouver, though).
The other three are all great and I think pretty comparable. I was trying to convince my cousin to apply to UPS but alas, she didn’t. I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of these schools!