Looking for Colleges

[RVD90277]

Originally Posted by Blackhawk4440

Seacove:

I don't think SF has any major universities on Market Street either. Unlike, the UW, SCCC, and SPU bums simply don't move in and take over huge parts of campuses.

Have you ever seen the areas around California campuses? Clubs, restaurants, bookstores, malls... nothing quite on the ghetto/slum level of the Ave or Broadway.

All within a few blocks from Market Street in SF:

Academy of Art University - over 10,000 students
UC Hastings - one of the decent law schools in the country - over 4,000 students
Golden Gate University - over 3,000 students
California Institute of Integral Studies
Wharton San Francisco

etc.

And of course, UC Berkeley has a lot of homeless...

RVD.

[BellevueNative]

First of all, if you think UW is hard to get into from out of state, just try a UC (the first choice California system Blackhawk is talking about). They're damn hard for Californians to get into. That didn't stop that messed up kid from shooting up UC Santa Barbara, which features student housing that is even more shanty-like than UW's. And hey, who needs bars when every night there are 5 house parties on your street, complete with burning couches!

Or maybe you prefer a UC with a different kind of wild nightlife like Blackhawk highlights. Maybe UCSD (La Jolla) or UCLA (Westwood). RIGHT. Towns that have crazy expensive housing and *maybe* two bars in walking distance of campus. I spent a lot of time in Westwood while in college, back when there were actually a couple of good bars; now the bars in the area suck or are non-existent, but I guess that works since the kids at UCLA aren't there to party. Otherwise you have scintillating locales like UC Irvine (the mall), UC Riverside (might as well be the desert) or UC Santa Cruz (where conservative-raised kids go to get hooked on drugs).

OR if you aren't lucky enough to get into a UC, you've got the Cal State system to fall back on. Let me tell you, I felt SUPER safe visiting a guy I dated at Long Beach State <sarcasm>. They have schools in other towns that any young person would want to spend four years of their life in. Places like Pomona (gangland usa), San Bernadino (more desert), Fullerton (I don't even know what's there), Northridge (porn capital of the world), Chico (party school in the middle of nowhere), Bakersfield (more desert) or Fresno (desert with orange trees).

Anyyyyway... I agree that the only PUBLIC school in Washington worth paying out of state tuition for is UW. And maybe WSU for certain programs. Private schools are a whole 'nother game, because the good ones have great endowments that can actually make attendance cheaper than out of state tuition at most public schools.

[max8761]

Hey guys sorry for not replying right away...

Anyway, I want to go into the urban planning, urban design, environmental engineering, anything of that sort, for a major. (Urban design seems to be the least specific.) As a minor, business. After undergrad school, I plan to get my masters in a more detailed and specialized field related to my degree.

Nightlife isn't that big in Denver except for the drunkards on Colfax constantly at bars with the night being their excuse to get crazy. The actual fun nightlife that I know of is only downtown and even that isn't that big. Denver's a
quiet city despite what people might think.

I would rather keep my options open when it comes to public or private schools. And it's not a big deal if a school has any religious affiliation, but I don't want their faith up in my face.

I grew up in a weedy part of the city with drug addicts and bums on most corners and because of the high drug and gang activities where I grew up, in the summer you ask yourself whether those were gunshots or fireworks. So I'm used to crime, but I mean I'd rather get away from it even though it's not a huge deal.

Seattle is probably my first choice for a city outside Denver to live in but any other metro area in the PNW (Vancouver, Portland, and although I'd prefer to stay out of California even San Francisco.) So any of those schools would work and who knows I might decide that I want to move back to Denver after college, so I need one that'll do good in possibly finding a job in Denver.

I'm definitely staying out of SoCal because (not to offend any Southern Californians) all of the people I meet from there are pretentious and believe that they're better just because they're from the Golden State. I have no idea if it's like that in Northern California but yeah.

If you think any of my decisions aren't well put together, go ahead and say something.
Thanks everyone for all the replies.

[Teeth Price]

Just want to give my opinion on University Way (The Ave) near UW as someone who has been at UW for three years now. Yes there are some homeless people and there is one corner where drug dealers hang out, but the street is primarily filled with UW students and staff. I have never felt unsafe there, even when leaving a bar late at night. I am there all the time and it is great. Lots of cheap ethnic food, cafes to work in, and some shopping as well. I love it, and most the other people I know really love it too.

Yes it is rougher around the edges than most of the other surrounding neighborhoods, but it is nothing like what Blackhawk makes it sound like. And for reference, if you walk off of campus in the other direction you end up in one of the fancier shopping centers in the city. So you have different options within walking distance of campus.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Teeth Price

Just want to give my opinion on University Way (The Ave) near UW as someone who has been at UW for three years now. Yes there are some homeless people and there is one corner where drug dealers hang out, but the street is primarily filled with UW students and staff. I have never felt unsafe there, even when leaving a bar late at night. I am there all the time and it is great. Lots of cheap ethnic food, cafes to work in, and some shopping as well. I love it, and most the other people I know really love it too.

Yes it is rougher around the edges than most of the other surrounding neighborhoods, but it is nothing like what Blackhawk makes it sound like. And for reference, if you walk off of campus in the other direction you end up in one of the fancier shopping centers in the city. So you have different options within walking distance of campus.

I agree about the U District. It's gone downhill over many years, but so have other university shopping districts around the US, Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue being a case in point. Still, there are some cool places to hang out there, good restaurants, the U Bookstore, and as Teeth Price says, during the day it's full of students and UW staff. It's a bit rougher at night.

But some of the commercial activity formerly located there has shifted to University Village, down the hill from the U. So I wouldn't say the UW lacks a "strip", as someone else said, even if you discount University Way. U Village has become the new shopping area. It's not as convenient for students, and lacks the plethora of restaurants, but it's a university-related "strip" or outdoor mall, nonetheless, and there's not the problem with transients that there is on U Way.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by max8761

Hey guys sorry for not replying right away...

Anyway, I want to go into the urban planning, urban design, environmental engineering, anything of that sort, for a major. (Urban design seems to be the least specific.) As a minor, business. After undergrad school, I plan to get my masters in a more detailed and specialized field related to my degree.

Evergreen State College and WWU, and probably UW, have Environmental Studies majors that they consider the first step towards further study for environmental engineering. WWU has a faculty member in their program who has degrees in civil and environmental engineering, so you could get some of that coursework as an undergrad. UW also has a good Business School.

Oregon State University has an undergrad and a grad program in Environmental Engineering. http://cbee.oregonstate.edu/ It also has a College of Business. OSU might be the best fit for your academic interests.