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We are beginning the college search and Whitman, University of Puget Sound, WSU, and Western WA U. come up as contenders. I lived in Enumclaw for a few years as a kid, but things are different now...and are very different in very different parts of the state! I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. Whitman, UPS, WSU, and Western WA have different climates too...so when do the daffodils start to bloom in Walla Walla, Tacoma, Pullman, and Bellingham?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
Bellingham is going to be the cloudiest. Kids seem to love the town- it was voted best college town in WA (I can't remember what source). It has good mass transit, lots of outdoor activities nearby- beaches, trails, rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing in winter (in the nearby mountains) and a nice outdoor center on Lake Whatcom.
Dec.- March can be tough for most due to the short days, rain and clouds but the spring, summer and fall are great. Daffodils bloom at different times in different years depending on how warm or cold the spring was. Bellingham has had a big spike in property crime in the last couple of years. Lots of students got their cars broken into, stolen or catalytic converters cut off this year. That wasn't a big problem in the past.
Bellingham will have the most alternative vibe of those. WSU is a traditional research university with football, frats etc. It's in a very small town in the middle of farm fields and those wanting a more urban experience might be disappointed. It has more majors available and more school spirit.
The best way to know is to visit each of those schools. They all have very different feel, and what looks good on paper might not be a good fit in person and vice versa.
I like Whitman/Walla Walla a lot, we are seriously considering it for our 11th grade daughter. Here is a little video about the community and area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHJsW0dV3Lo&t=49s
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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#1, what is your student's major?
#2, How is placement / alumni progress in that chosen career path?
#3, do you have family / friends near any of the choices?
#4, How outgoing is your student (Can make their own fun?(Whitman), like water sports? skiing, access to Canada (WWU), College social stuff (WSU), Urban environment (U of Puget Sound)
#5, how often and how do you plan to visit? (SWA just added Bellingham on very limited schedule), if you are Alaska / Horizon fliers, Walla Walla might work)
#6, all of the above have quite a different 'vibe' college experience (and expertise / major focus)
WWU has a lot of social, environmental, location benefits if it has appropriate academics and alumni / grad school progression for your major. The majority of students love the WWU location and want to stay (Including my own kids, who had excellent academic / career experience in their WWU field).
Any of the above could be the right choice (or wrong) for your student, but likely all are acceptable / possible of excelling.
We are beginning the college search and Whitman, University of Puget Sound, WSU, and Western WA U. come up as contenders. I lived in Enumclaw for a few years as a kid, but things are different now...and are very different in very different parts of the state! I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. Whitman, UPS, WSU, and Western WA have different climates too...so when do the daffodils start to bloom in Walla Walla, Tacoma, Pullman, and Bellingham?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
Thanks in advance
I attended the UW in Seattle, after growing up in the Bay Area. I had no problem with the weather, nor the short days in winter. The trick is to remain active in winter, and get out and do things during daylight hours, as long as it's not raining too hard to prevent that.
What kind of subject areas is your student interested in? One thing I liked about WWU, was their design-your-own-major program, for students with interests that don't fit the established cubbyholes. for example, a student who has mastered a couple of foreign languages and is interested in foreign affairs or human rights can put together a major relating to UN work. Faculty will assist them in putting together an inter-disciplinary program of study, that includes relevant internships..
I think one of the main things that should guide you, is which school's course offerings are the best fit for your student's interests. And sometimes students don't find out what they're interested in, until they get somewhere, with broad enough choices, that they can try fields of study they didn't even know existed. The UW's Geography Department has a minor in International Development, for example. Let the student peruse the program offerings and the course catalogs, to see if something sparks their interest.
Another thing in favor of WWU is, that they organize some of the dorms according to students' academic interests. So students end up sharing a dorm floor with others they have interests in common with. This is brilliant! It overcomes the impersonality of the first year of school, and the sense of alienation some students feel. It obviates the "is it friendly" question. As soon as you get settled into your dorm, you already have a group of people to talk to about shared interests.
U of Puget Sound is a very small private university with Methodist roots. WWU is a large public university, though not as large as the UW. IMO a larger university is better, because of the greater choice in programs, and greater variety of course offerings. It gives students more opportunity to explore courses that are off the beaten track, that the student may find inspiring.
And at large universities, faculty, the dorm system, and other resources work to create a sense of community in various ways, whether through outreach to students who declare a major, or by organizing study groups or hobby groups, or like at WWU--organizing dorms by students' academic interests. They make an effort to counteract the potential for students to feel lost in a huge institution.
Whitman is even tinier than U Puget Sound. I would worry that that would be much too limiting academically; stifling potentially.
While its good to get advice and different perspectives from others, most of this will depend on your child, their preferences (big city, suburbs, boonies, size of campus, feel), areas of interest (outdoor activities or other local hobbies/interests), major and so forth. Once you have strong contenders, go visit them! Talk with professors, counselors, walk the halls, check out the dorms, scope out the community! That will help you quickly eliminate some while also discovering other schools not considered before.
We moved to WA from Monterey, CA just before our son went off to UW Tacoma where he graduates from in a couple weeks. We visited all three UW campuses among other schools and this is the one he selected based what 'he' was looking for (not mom or dad). Although we definitely provided him advice, feedback and support. The smaller campus was a better fit for him and he enjoyed that experience over the larger UW Seattle campus. We visited other WA schools as well as some in CA.
Bottom line is there is no one size fits all including private or public. Rather, there are pros/cons with each campus that are better suited for certain students. Your job is to help your college student find the best fit for them with lots of their input and final decision. It will go much better if they 'own' that decision whatever it is.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 06-02-2022 at 07:47 PM..
I'm a 5th generation Northwesterner and am starting the process of college search and visits for our third and final daughter. I'm also a teacher and have advised many college bound students. If you are looking to send your child from CA to attend school in the PNW, these are your choices arranged by category.
FLAGSHIP STATE SCHOOLS: There are four: UW, WSU, UO, and OSU. Of the four, UW is significantly more selective and the only school in an urban setting. Daughter #2 is currently attending. UO, WSU, and OSU are all roughly equivalent in terms of selectivity, size, and resources. WSU is BY FAR the most remote and the only one of the three that is in the eastern side. UO is probably the most popular for California students. If you are looking at WSU then also look at UO and OSU as cost and competitiveness will be about the same as will the college experience.
DIRECTIONAL/REGIONAL STATE SCHOOLS: Western Washington, Central Washington, Eastern Washington and Portland State. There are several much smaller state schools and branch campuses in WA and OR but these are the big four. WWU probably has the most appeal for an outsider. Bellingham is beautiful and the campus is beautiful. CWU is kind of in a cowboy town and its growing niche is educating Hispanic students from the Yakima valley. EWU is more of a commuter school for Spokane and has little to offer for folks from outside the region. PSU is an urban campus and has some good programs but won't provide the residential undergrad experience.
SELECTIVE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES: There are five: Whitman, Reed, UPS, Lewis & Clark, and Willamette. Whitman and Reed are the only two with national status and are a step above the others in selectivity, resources, endowments, etc. The other three are pretty comparable peer institutions. If you are looking at UPS then you should also look at Lewis & Clark which is very similar except that it lacks Greek Life and doesn't have a Business school/program.
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES: There are three main ones: University of Portland, Seattle University, and Gonzaga. UP is the most conservative, being run by the Congregation of the Holy Cross (same as Notre Dame). Gonzaga and SU are both Jesuit Universities. SU is a liberal urban place, Gonzaga is more middle of the road and probably the most popular for out-of-state students.
BRITISH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITIES: British Columbia is right across the border and you have several options up there that may be interesting. UBC in Vancouver is the top option and a world-class university on par with UW in Seattle. Very popular with international students, especially from Asia. You also have University of Victoria in Victoria and Simon Fraser University in suburban Vancouver. Those two are roughly equivalent in quality but UVic is probably the more attractive location and option for international students. Simon Fraser is kind of more of a suburban commuter school.
There are lots of other small religious colleges and small regional public branch colleges or tech schools scattered about. None really worth looking at for an out-of-state student except *Maybe* the two UW branch campuses in Tacoma and Bothell which are both growing good quality institutions but both more commuter schools than destination campuses.
As an out-of-state student from CA I would recommend limiting your choices to the four flagships, the five liberal arts colleges, the Catholic schools, and WWU. And as a wild card option look at UBC and UVic across the border in Canada. Cost will be equivalent or cheaper than paying out-of-state tuition at a public school in OR or WA. If you are going to road trip up to WWU for a visit, might as well take in Vancouver and Victoria for kicks anyway as they are both right across the border.
EDIT: If you also want the same sort of woodsy northwest vibe you should also look at Humboldt State which CA is planning to upgrade/convert to the 3rd Polytechnic University in the state. It has some of the same feel as Western Washington. Both the campus and the town. And will obviously be a LOT cheaper for you.
As an ex-UPS parent (Class of '19), I can toss in some personal observations;
- My first impression of Tacoma was quite negative. We took the train south from Vancouver, where we'd toured the U of B.C. That was my first choice, because Canada, but she didn't want to get lost in a huge campus. Our hotel faced railroad tracks under a drizzling rain. I was not impressed.
- On every subsequent trip to visit, I liked Tacoma more and more. By the third trip, I longed to move there! The well-wooded neighborhoods near campus were decorated with Craftsman-style bungalows, each with its own little botanical garden in front. The park system was excellent, the museums were always interesting, and the city had an overall charm that was not yet broken up with modern renovations.
- So what about the kid, and the college? UPS was definitely small, about half the size of her high school. The students were typically from the PNW, Colorado and New England. The facilities left a little to be desired- there's no research reactor or brain-scanning lab like at Reed, and there still is no indoor hall large enough to seat the whole student body, but there is a world-class collection of preserved birds' wings.
-UPS excels in sports and music. My daughter got to be a member of the third-best women's Ultimate Frisbee team for three years; running (and running, and running...). She played in the symphony and sang in the best women's a capella group. As a non-music major and a frisbee rookie, she said, "I don't think I would have had that kind of opportunity at a big school."
- UPS students call it "the bubble." It's a world unto itself, overwhelmingly liberal, white and affluent. With a large gay population, my daughter dated guys from other campuses.
- Tacoma, in contrast, is the most ethnically diverse city in the state, which can make up for that somewhat.
- I wondered if Tacoma would be safe for my only child, but she never encountered any threatening situations that I know of. Once I spent a few days at an AirBNB owned by the retired dispatcher of the TPD. She said Tacoma's gang problem was turned around in one day in 1998 when 100 suspects were arrested, and the rest left town. Vacant lots still stand near downtown from the past riots, but gentrification is certainly underway north of Sixth Avenue, where UPS is located.
My kid's time at UPS was definitely a success. She made many good friends through extracurricular activities. She worked to manage the outdoors-oriented freshman orientation program, and parlayed those organizational skills into a budding career in outdoor recreation management. She developed good values and kept her strong work habits. Further graduate education will be necessary for her to gain more specific skills, once her direction is set.
We are beginning the college search and Whitman, University of Puget Sound, WSU, and Western WA U. come up as contenders. I lived in Enumclaw for a few years as a kid, but things are different now...and are very different in very different parts of the state! I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. Whitman, UPS, WSU, and Western WA have different climates too...so when do the daffodils start to bloom in Walla Walla, Tacoma, Pullman, and Bellingham?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
Thanks in advance
I'm originally from CA so I'll try to translate.
Western is basically UCSC with the hippies and very biker friendly similar to UC Davis. Western is a wet and cloudy place, sunshine is rare during Fall/Winter. Bellingham is an artsy community and a popular place for Canadians from Vancouver to come and shop. 40 mins south is the Tulip Festival in the spring which draws people all around the world.
Tacoma: A big city with an art scene. Tacoma has some areas that are kind of dangerous but there are nice neighborhoods too. I'm not as familiar with that school or the area since I lived North Sound when I was in W. WA.
WSU: I live near WSU so I can give you the vibe. WSU/Pullman is very sporty. The greek scene is very active, much like Chico State with the parties, either SDSU or UCLA for sports fandom, and rolling hills of green in the spring. WSU is a good school and a solid one for Ag and sciences but of course UW is the signature school. WSU has a more conservative jock vibe but it's a swing county so either party will feel welcome. I personally prefer Moscow as it has a Davis type of vibe (esp the downtown area) except for the snow. But U of I is obviously in Idaho so we'll leave that out. It snows a lot.
Whitman: Walla Walla is a cute little town. Lots of great wineries to try, amenities that aren't found in smaller towns. WW is conservative but laid back. WW gets snow, more than most places on the west side but less than Pullman. To the west of WW, the annual snowfall really drops off and slowly picks up to the north and east as you get away from the rain/snow shadow of the Cascades. WW kind of reminds of somewhere like Paso Robles mixed with the foothills of CA (but the Palouse is unlike anything we have in CA with terraced hillsides harvesting winter wheat).
We are beginning the college search and Whitman, University of Puget Sound, WSU, and Western WA U. come up as contenders. I lived in Enumclaw for a few years as a kid, but things are different now...and are very different in very different parts of the state! I have read and gotten great insight and advice from city-data for years, so here are some questions:
1. How is the college and town relationship...is it friendly for the most part?
2. What is the town's "vibe;" that feeling of being there that only comes from being a part of the community or living near the community for a while? It's subjective of course, but is also not something that surveys or rankings can really pin down.
3. We're from the Sacramento, CA suburbs, so our kiddo is used to very different weather. Climate zones can only tell you so much when you're not living in the environment. Whitman, UPS, WSU, and Western WA have different climates too...so when do the daffodils start to bloom in Walla Walla, Tacoma, Pullman, and Bellingham?
4. Anyone willing to share their experiences with the university/college on their own are welcome too!
Thanks in advance
What major he/she is looking at studying may be more important than where to go for it.
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