Our family visited during Oregon private college week. Great that Willamette has it’s own law school plus the internship opportunities at the courthouse/Capitol.
Hoping it will be a viable option for my daughter as she will apply EA.
Anyone else applying? Thoughts? What do you like/dislike?
My D is also applying EA. My S21 (ended up at a different school) really liked the proximity to the State House, and my D appreciates their relationship with Tokyo International University.
I know how valuable I find these threads when researching schools, so I figured I’d start a thread. My DS was admitted to Willamette with $33K in merit (we’re full pay). We visited, he did an interview, and have met with the admissions rep at CTCL fair. He has strong ECs and relatively high stats (3.96UW, 4.6W, 1490 SAT). I’m not sure where it will end up on his final list.
My DS was admitted EA with $25K in merit. He attended an online session (where he was the only student), attended the WU presentation at his HS, visited campus, and did an interview. 3.65UW, no tests, average ECs (4 years of running, summer internship in his desired field with a high profile tech company, some volunteer work), strong essays.
My D was admitted with $24k merit. 3.68 uw, pretty strong EC and essay. Wilamette’s merit has been lower than other privates albeit COA is reasonable as it is a bit lower cost than most.
I haven’t been on CC for a long while but I wanted to chime in on an update. My D decided on Willamette and is a first year. She absolutely loves it. She was admitted into other higher ranked universities but WU had everything she wanted.
The current first year class is well over 500 students, the community is thriving, lots of opportunities, close relationships with professors (profs invite students to their home for dinners even) and staff. The students are all very friendly and supportive of each other. A very collaborative academic environment.
Tokyo International University brought students back on campus this semester and my D has made several friends to practice Japanese with already.
If any of you have any questions I am happy to try and answer them!
It’s nice to hear that the first year class is that large. I thought the overall undergrad population was about 1200, and I was a little nervous that classes might be about 300. Are the stats wrong or is the first year class just large? My son was admitted and we are going out to visit (for the first time) in a week and half. We live in MN and he is really interested in the proximity to government internships and the outdoor program…and he got a full tuition scholarship, which is a pretty great deal. BUT he goes to a SUPER small high school (i.e. 40 kids in his graduating high school class!) and wants to be around a diverse group of people and have some social opportunities. Being from MN, I don’t know a lot about Salem or Willamette. I’d appreciate learning more about the vibe on campus and social opportunities for kids. Thanks!
Hi!
The first yr class this year is the largest class on campus at over 500 and the most diverse. I don’t know how large the previous classes are. Internships and volunteering opportunities are easy to get. Plus great relationships with the professors and staff on campus. My kiddo is already working at Salem Health, the hospital on the other side of campus. The outdoor program is very active and from what my kiddo says everyone is very friendly. It is easy to make friends. There is always something to do around campus. Salem is a small town and has plenty of restaurants, cafes, live music, a riverfront area, and is an hour from the beach and 1.5 to skiing.
You should go to Bearcat Day. It helped solidify my kiddo’s choice. She is very happy there and is almost WAY too busy. She doesn’t have a car, but it is an easy walk to downtown and has found friends to drive on get-aways. It is easy for her to get to Salem Health and the Capitol. Getting to the airport is not hard because the university organizes buses to PDX but there is also Amtrak, sharing an Uber, Greyhound buses, Shuttles from Salem’s airport to PDX, and other ways to get there.
A full tuition scholarship is pretty hard to pass up. I’m not sure if I answered all your questions. Please ask more if you need to. I apologize I didn’t respond sooner, for some reason I didn’t get a notification.
In terms of social life, like any university, it is what you make of it. Most social life is built off of the activities you choose. WU is a artsy, liberal, vibe but there is something for everyone. The events board does a great job of planning amazing events: black tie, trivia nights, arts and crafts, guest speakers, open mics nights, guest symphonies and music guests put on by the music dept. Kids like to go downtown or do day trips to Portland too. There are a lot of sports clubs and most kids are involved in many different activities/clubs/etc. It is not a commuter school at all, if that matters. It is a small school, so most everyone knows everyone. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. If you like to be invisible, this is not the school for you 
.