University of Washington, Seattle University, or Seattle Pacific University? (Pullman: crime, landscaping)

[jessemh431]

Hi everyone.

I will soon be applying to colleges and am seeking information.

Which one of those universities would you recommend for someone interested in dentistry, pharmacy, something to do with urban studies or population, or something to do with geography?

I took a mock SAT last year and got 510, 550, and 570 in critical reading, math and writing, respectively. I'm positive I did better this year, because I didn't know enough math last year, so hopefully, all of my scores will be over 550, maybe even 600. My GPA will be 4.0 or higher, and I am very involved in school activities and clubs.

So, with that said, where do you think I should apply to, because I don't want to apply to too many colleges. Also, which one is in a great area that mixes liveliness with safeness.

Thanks for any replies ahead of time.

[scirocco22]

I believe the only dentistry school in the state is at the U of W. Pharmacy schools are at the U of W and WSU.

U of W is a public institution. Probably the least safe, whatever "safe" means. It's plenty lively in my opinion.

Seattle Pacific is run by the Free Methodist Church. Very safe environment. Very conservative. Lively? If you're Christian and into good clean fun, perhaps.

Seattle U is run by the Jesuits. Not in the best area of town but the area in general is a lot better than it used to be. Close to downtown. Activities will probably be more off campus than typical.

With that said, I didn't go to any of the three so I'm not an expert by any means. Let's here from those who actually attended those schools.

[jessemh431]

it sounds like UW will be my choice in WA. im trying to only apply to one college from each state that i want to go to. im jewish so the other two are knocked off right away.

in terms of safety, have you been in LA? USC is in a very bad area of LA and I would not want to attend school there because i would either have to live on campus or several miles away. UW is not like that is it?

[scirocco22]

No, I wouldn't consider the U of W being in anywhere near the kind of neighborhood USC is in. The University district used to be a safe area when I was growing up decades ago but has had increasing crime in recent years. Still nowhere near the type of crime you'd associate with a university that's located in an inner-city area.

I'm betting you'd like the University of Washington. Not only the campus but the surrounding area. Did you (or have you seen) see the game on TV yesterday? Washington versus USC? ...if you did, you'd have seen that the stadium is almost on the shores of Lake Washington and it's on the canal. If you were sitting in the stands, you'd be able to see the lake in most of the higher seats. You'll also be able to see the lake and Mt. Rainier (when the skies allow) from several spots on the campus.

[jessemh431]

i looked at some pics online and found the campus on googleearth. its beautiful and in a beautiful location. i will definitely apply there.

so now how is Washington State? that's the one out in the eastern part of the state right? what's the surrounding area like

[scirocco22]

Two words: cows; wheat

[scirocco22]

But if you like to party ...it's a party school. Not too much else to do around that campus.

[_Charles_]

UW has an excellent reputation for its business and engineering programs.
SPU is very expensive - in general all of their programs are considered to be of good quality but the cost $$$ is high.

[scrubbydew]

I just graduated from the Univeristy of Washington. They have a great pharmacy and dental program, but any of the medical pre-req classes are pretty tough (especailly at the UW). They also offer geography as a major. Also, I believe they offer an "urban developmet" along the architecture route. The campus is also beautiful and it is also a public institution ( lower tuition). The problem with UW is that there are many students, the student/teacher ratio isn't that great. But there are many assistants. The general area is pretty safe. People are everywhere, but it does get a little quiet at night.

SU and SPU are also great schools. SU is located around downtown. They also offer a lot of technical courses. It's an urban place to be. A very unique and wonderful mixture culture. If you head a few blocks SE, it isn't the very safest part of town though.

SPU is located by the city of Fremont. There are many artists living around the area. Very safe. These schools are "alot smaller" than UW though. SU and SPU are also private institutions....which means higer tuition.

Washington State is a few hours away from Seattle. There isn't very much around there (cows, fields). It does have a rep. as being a partying school, but they have great Veterinarian and Journalisim programs.

If you want to go into Pharm/dentistry, it's easier to get into these medical schools at UW if you graduated from UW. Their medical programs are in the top 20 (#1 for primary health care) in the nation.

[jabm67]

I've been faculty at UW, WSU, and SU. I know nothing about SPU other than where it is.

UW and WSU are Enormous State Universities with undergrad enrollments at around 30000 and 20000 respectively. SU is a small private (Jesuit) school with about 4200 undergrads. The 100-level courses at UW and WSU will have hundreds of students in them ... I think the largest such I taught was 230+. At SU, the 101 course I teach, which occasionally gets as big as 60 students, is considered shockingly large. There's lots more individual attention and recognition at SU. I would not let religion rule SU out for you; the Jesuits are remarkably tolerant and accepting of other faiths.

UW and SU are embedded in a major metropolitan area, with all that means. By contrast, WSU is in Pullman, eight miles from U of Idaho in Moscow, and the surrounding area is agricultural, growing wheat, lentils, & dry peas. Otherwise, in terms of cities, there's a whole lot of nothing for miles around there. Off-campus housing in Pullman is surprisingly expensive (though nowhere near Seattle's costs now). The climate is harsher than in Seattle, but some people prefer that.

UW has, perhaps, the best reputation for academics in the state. WSU does ... less well in that regard, and it has a reputation as a party school. The reputations of individual programs vary, of course. SU is a liberal arts school, and again does very well in some things, less so in others.

UW has the most beautiful campus I've ever been on (a couple dozen), though the south end of it, around the Health Sciences complex, is a glaring exception to that. WSU is run-of-the-mill in that regard. SU is a small campus in the middle of the city; its landscaping is nice and well done, but there's limits to what can be done in those circumstances.

In terms of personal safety ... I don't know of any real safety concerns at any of them, but the urban area around the Seattle schools is inevitably scarier. OTOH, you're likely to log a lot more highway miles if you go to WSU, and car accidents are quite possibly the thing you should worry about most.