September 2005

New in September

Our counselor tours this summer included a week at Oregon colleges, hosted by the Pacific Northwest Association of College Admissions Counseling. We began at the University of Portland where ESPN2 was filming the US Women’s National Soccer Team playing the Ukraine on beautiful Merlo Field. Located atop a hill overlooking Portland, this mid-sized university offers a core curriculum in the Holy Cross tradition, similar to Notre Dame. They offer an honors program that is interdisciplinary across all majors.

Reed College (right), located in a beautiful Portland suburb, has a strong honor code that influences life on campus in many ways. The school offers an academically challenging environment and a variety of campus housing themes, from a "Mad Scientist Dorm" to a "British Life Dorm." "Reedies" enjoy conference-style learning and must complete a thesis to graduate, which is great experience as a high percentage of graduates go on to PhD programs. Grades are given but are rarely seen—a system intended to foster a non-competitive atmosphere in this rigorous curriculum.

Our next stop was Linfield College (below) in McMinneville, Oregon. Hewlett-Packard donated a substantial amount of land to this institution, which includes newly constructed dorms, a wonderful theater, and an inviting library. This Division III college has many strong athletic programs (including a national title in football) and lots of school spirit. Their January term includes many intensive courses as well as programs abroad with faculty. Students choose Linfield because of its access to faculty, a friendly and comfortable atmosphere, strong athletics, and a challenging and supportive academic environment.

Oregon State University in Corvallis is a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant university where over 19,000 students explore 150 different majors. We toured the new Kelley Engineering Center Building, set to open this fall, which houses state of the art facilities for engineering and computer science. A critical factor in admissions at OSU is finding students who are motivated and show commitment to what they find important.

The University of Oregon in Eugene is the only school in the Pacific Northwest that offers undergraduate degrees in architecture and journalism. The university has an 86% retention rate from freshman to sophomore year because of the many programs they have created to make students more successful, including The Society of College Scholars and Freshman Interest Groups (FIGS). Read more about the U of O from our previous counselor tour.

Willamette University (right) sits adjacent to the state capitol, allowing students to participate in politics and internships while in school. Willamette's debate team is one of the top in the nation, and students can major in rhetoric and media studies in addition to participating in an overseas program in Greece and other events around the world. We had an opportunity to hear a presentation from a faculty panel and it was evident there is a very high level of commitment and academic excellence at Willamette reflected in many of their strong programs in science, music, classics, archaeology, and politics.

Lewis and Clark College in Portland is one of the few small, liberal arts colleges located in a major city. Many students here have lived abroad prior to attending, and want to continue their international focus in programs which require overseas studies. Foreign languages, international affairs, anthropology, and environmental studies are popular majors on this idyllic, green campus.

Our final visit was to the large, urban campus of Portland State University. Located in the city's downtown core, this public university offers a wonderful opportunity for internships in Portland businesses, particularly in computer science, engineering and fine arts. The honors college here is an option for students who want to work directly with faculty and design their own program. Independent, self-starters do well at PSU, particularly those who can work with all of the distractions of a big city university.

See the September newsletter for more new information.