What are some good colleges in Oregon? (Portland, McMinnville: cliquey, home)

[Smartie_Pants]

I have lived in a rural part of KY my whole life and I will be a senior when I go back to school in August. I am going to be applying for colleges, and I want to have a few on the list that are from the Western states. CA, OR, WA, CO, etc.

I really want to go to a liberal arts college, and I'm having a hard time finding any in the west that have good reviews from students who have gone there. Here is what I am looking for in a college:

1.) Friendly profs. who are acessable and always there for you.

2.) A friendly student body that isn't super cliquey or super greek oriented.

3.) Relativly small student body. Max. 2000 people.

4.) That I'm going to get the best education possible.

5.) Small class sizes. Max. 20 people.

6.) Not a school that is heavily focused on drinking and partying.

[FVWinters]

Two come to mind, both in or near Portland.

Lewis and Clark. A four-year institution. Reportedly to have an outstanding music department. The college is divided into three schools: a "college" of arts and sciences, a law school and a graduate school in counseling. There are a shade under 2000 students (I think) and of the few I have talked to who have graduated from there, it is a challenging but fine school.

Reed College. The quintessential "Liberal Arts" college. Stressing humanities and sciences it provides undergraduates (who are willing to work for it) one of the best classical educations west of the Mississippi. An expensive school, tuition alone is about $12000 per year. There are grant-in-aid and work-study programs but you pretty much have to own your own steel mill or gold mine to afford it. You get a great education here but with the average SAT scores of incoming freshmen of over 1400 (out of 1600, old style) and typical high school grades of straight "A's", as tough a school to get through as Cal Tech, Vassar or MIT. If you can hack it here, however, you can just about write your ticket to any graduate school in the country. Student body runs in the mid 1000's and the "leftist" reputation the institution has acquired over the years is more in the imagination than the reality.

There are other schools in Oregon but these two are the only ones that fit what I believe are your requirements that I know anything about.

[Oregonbeachlover]

US News and World Report has an annual college ranking edition. At least that would be a good starting point and it would give you the latest stats. My oldest graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. It had a high success rate for graduates finding jobs and was always ranked at the top. But, that was in the early 2000's, and I don't know anything about it now. I have heard George Fox University is another quality college. The Princeton Review online is another resource for college info. Good luck!

[skinem]

Every one of the colleges mentioned above are excellent colleges--as all schools do, they each have an individual "feel" and personality. I've taken classes at both Linfield and Lewis and Clark and from first-hand experience I'd say they are excellent schools. Of course, I was grown with a family while taking classes there, so don't know what it would be like to go as a young undergrad.

The only other college I would add to the list that I think fits your criteria is Willamette University.

Oregon has been blessed with some fine schools, both public and private.

By the way, be careful choosing. I did what you are contemplating, only in reverse. I graduated from high school in Washington state and went to school in Tennessee--and graduated from there. It's tougher than you might think to go to school 2400 miles from home--especially in the long run. You need to be mature and able to absolutely take care of yourself.

Also, consider that studies in the past has shown that when a young person leaves their home state to go to school, the majority of them do not return. This can be tough, as it can often take you away from friends and family for much of your life. Often that is just due to circumstances, but also, it's due to where you can more easily get a job. While Reed College is well-known in Oregon and has a great reputation with people who know of it, I dare say most people hiring in Kentucky haven't heard of it. (Again, like me, in reverse.) So, any perceived "status" or whatever that a college may have relatively locally can really be lost with distance.

Going away for school can be a wonderful, broadening and life-changing experience--both good and bad.

Please forgive me for rambling and giving unasked for advice. I'm old and just can't help it...
It's worth what you paid for it!

Good luck with your choices and I hope you do well.

[Smartie_Pants]

Trust me, I have no problem with never returning. The only person I am close to or ever to talk to on a regular basis is my mom, I do not speak to my dad or his side of the family, and I only see my mom's side at holidays. There are a few friends I will miss, but I can still keep in contact with them.

All of my college choices aren't that far away. In fact, my number one choice is Rhodes College in Memphis, TN and its only seven hours from here. (App. 270 miles, as opposed to 2000 miles.) I just want to have the option to go far away, should that me my ultimate choice.

[Rob Allen]

One factor to consider - do you want a secular college, or one with a distinct religious identity? We have some of both kinds here, although even the secular schools have a religious identity in their history. Here's a quick breakdown:

Secular:
Reed
Lewis & Clark
Pacific University (not to be confused with the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA)
Linfield
Willamette

Religious:
U of Portland (Catholic)
Marylhurst (Catholic)
Concordia (Lutheran)
George Fox (Quaker)
Warner Pacific (Church of God)

[Smartie_Pants]

I am a Baptist, but honestly I am sick of having it force fed to me like I'm some kind of racehorse and its a steriod. I want to be free to worship and talk about God with like minded people, but I don't want everything I do to center around it. I also don't want to be forced to take Theology classes, so I guess I'm going with Secular.

[Rob Allen]

Linfield College in McMinnville has a Baptist background but is open to all and is secular in day-to-day life as far as I know.

Reed and Lewis & Clark are also very good schools.

You might also look into The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. That's the school for people who can't afford Reed.

[Smartie_Pants]

The thing is, I am not going to be able to visit any colleges beforehand, unless I take a year off between Highschool and college. All I can go on is the reviews online of people who have gone to those schools, and how the schools are rated by other institutions.

Usually when looking at the reviews I decide based on the ration of good to bad. Like, if a college got 20 reviews in all and only 3 were bad, those people must have just not been a good mesh with the school. However, if the college got 20 reviews and 10 or more were bad, then I'm going to have to assume that there is a problem with the college.

Besides studentsreview, the princeton review, etc. what can a look at to help me decide.

[hummingbird3]

It is important to note that Marylhurst, while historically Catholic is pretty well secular these days. The only place you're going to experience Catholicism is the religious studies department. The school has gone in the direction of increasingly business/online. The background however, is a nice backdrop. Beautiful buildings, campus and nice hourly chimes from the bell tower.

Professors are mixed. Some are friendly, some are uncooperative and unfriendly. Most are contract workers, so beware. They're stressed and impersonal.

warner Pacific is very, very conservative and seems insular (have studied in the library).