Why Attend the University of Portland? One Man's Response

As I explained in a previous post, I recently asked a group of friends about their experiences in selecting a college or university.
This account comes from a graduate of the University of Portland (Oregon, not Maine), who later pursued a Masters in International Studies from the University of Denver.  He is now a specialist in international trade at the US Department of Commerce.
“For undergraduate studies I wanted a small school focused on a classic liberal arts education. I did not want fraternities, big football games, and classes bigger than my entire high school. However, I wanted to be located in a larger city/metropolitan atmosphere but not necessarily right downtown. Picky I know, but when you think about spending a $100,000 and more for college you should get what you want and that is what I got at the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon.
Now with that said, I do not think I was totally aware of all of these needs so in some respect I got lucky. My parents did not go to college and thus had very little input as to what school would be better suited for my needs, plus I was taking on the financial burden of going to a small private school, where the price of one academic quarter was twice as much as a full year at the State schools in Washington State.
My undergraduate college was not a brand name school outside of the Northwest, but it is constantly ranked as one of the best small private schools for the price. Further, it continues to strive beyond expectations. A year after I graduated they started a financial campaign to raise a measly 7 million dollars over 5 years, in the first two years they raised 10 million and by the end of the 5 year campaign they had raised over 20 million with the majority of coming from alumni. I think this says a lot about the experience people had while attending.”
So, as usual, I have some questions for you, dear reader. Is a “brand name” school the most important criterion? What is the measure of a “good” education?
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Why Go to Cornell College? One Woman's Response

As I explained in a previous post, I recently asked a group of friends about their experiences in selecting a college or university.
This story comes from a woman who attended Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, in the early 1990s. She is now a manager of educational programs at a university in Denver, Colorado, and is pursuing a Master’s degree in social work.
“Honestly, I think I went to college right out of high school because it was expected of me. I wish I’d taken a year off! I looked for a small school with a liberal arts focus, and frankly I fell in love with the campus when I visited. I also looked for small class sizes and good access to professors. The “block-plan” system at Cornell was appealing as well because of its depth and sense of immersion in a subject. I wouldn’t say that I did tons of research when I looked at schools, but I did have help from my high school counselor and my parents. (Somehow, I think things are more competitive today than when I went, however.)
I would encourage students to find a place where they can focus on what they really want to learn, as well as an environment that supports how they learn. I appreciated the small classes, but I know some students want that “big school” feel. I liked the community-like feel of my campus as well. In my experience, I believe I landed in the right spot even though hindsight might suggest I could have done things a bit differently.”
So here’s a question or two for current students who are panicking about their applications during their senior. Will you be a person who, twenty years from now, looks back and wishes you had taken a year off before college? Are you going to college because it is expected of you? Or are you clear on your goals and the means to attain them?
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting

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Pitzer College: Social Activism, Global Perspectives, and Interdisciplinary Learning

students sitting in a circle in playground

With only 950 students, Pitzer College may seem tiny, but its relationships with the other Claremont Colleges allow it to also seem “medium sized.” Originally a women’s school, it went coeducational soon after its establishment, and developed a focus on the social sciences. The curriculum is more free-form than the other Claremonts (e.g., Pomona–see my posts here and here), and Pitzer has the fewest general education requirements.

Unlike most colleges, Pitzer does not have clearly delineated academic departments. Faculty offices are interspersed among the academic buildings, and the mantra is interdisciplinary collaboration. Having been established in the 1960s, Pitzer retains the flavor of that era. Environmental consciousness and activism tend to set it apart: the new dormitories are fabulous examples of green construction. The landscaping is full of native and xeric species, and the feel of the buildings is open and airy.

When asked about the identifying traits of a Pitzer student. The director of admission spoke about social responsibility and “global perspective.” Students tend to be interested and engaged in social issues, including human rights, GLBT rights, and animal rights (and their concomitant wrongs). It is one of the few campuses I’ve been on recently that had posters related to the war in Iraq.

This global perspective is also manifest in the strong study abroad programs. Seventy-two percent of students do at least a semester abroad. This is an amazing statistic: most colleges report study abroad statistics to include short, 3-week sojourns abroad. Pitzer students tend to immerse themselves in cultures and languages more than most.

The Grove House, the Pitzer student center, is an early 20th century farm house relocated to the campus. Its mission style architecture and cozy wood paneled interior give it the intimate feel of a coffee house. The new dorms are constructed in a U-shape, with a new student athletic facility and a very welcoming swimming pool gracing the center. There is also an organic garden on campus, replete with a chicken coop.

By the numbers, Pitzer is perhaps slightly easier to get into than the other Claremonts. But the admissions director emphasized that with so many applications. Pitzer is able to concentrate on fit rather than on the numbers. However, Pitzer practices “need aware” admissions. So financial aid is somewhat more limited at Pitzer than at the other colleges, each of which is need blind. Pitzer is also a test optional school for students in the top 10% of their high school class or with a 3.5 GPA. Students can submit a graded essay and a graded math test instead of SAT or ACT scores.

I enjoyed Pitzer very much, and it was helpful to be able to spend enough time wandering the campus to understand that each of the Claremonts has a distinct personality. Just as Hogwarts has several houses with different traits. The Claremont Colleges constitute and interesting amalgam of academic and social characteristics.

Mark Montgomery
Great California College Advice

Pomona: A "College of the New England Type" in Sunny California

Pomona College was the first of the Claremont College (see my post about the consortium here). It was established as a “college of the New England type,” and both physically and philosophically, Pomona is true to the New England model. Pomona is a traditional liberal arts college, offering a wide range of majors in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. However, just as at the other Claremonts, Pomona students may take up to 50% of their courses at the other 4 Cs. Class sizes, as everywhere else on the Claremont campus, are small. The largest is perhaps 35 students. All courses—even the science labs—are taught by professors, not by teaching assistants.
The student body tends to be less socially and politically engaged than at Pitzer. One student used the word “complacent” to describe her peers. However, students are very involved in athletics and in the 5C outdoor club. The outdoor club organizes trips to various places in California throughout the semester, and all gear and transportation costs are included in the bargain.
Physically, the campus also seems more traditional: grassy quads, tree-lined alley ways, and residential facilities that resemble “houses” found on many New England campuses. Some of the dorms on the north end of campus didn’t look all that great, and rumor has it that there is an “overflow” residence hall that is actually a mobile home of some sort (needless to say, that was not on our tour).
Academically, Pomona has more requirements than Pitzer, including a distributive requirement in five academic areas. Some majors require an oral examination, some require theses or presentations of research to faculty committees. Pomona is also a tad more competitive in admissions than the other Claremonts, and tends to have fewer California students as a percentage of its student body than the other Claremonts: Pomona is only 30% Californian.
I enjoyed Pomona, but frankly I found it the most difficult of the Claremonts to get a bead on its distinct personality. In part, this makes sense, because Pomona’s educational model is more akin to a small, liberal arts college in New England. It has a wider variety of programs, a wider variety of students, and it doesn’t aim (as Pitzer does) to find a tighter fit in constructing its incoming class. Academics count more here, perhaps, and the Pomona admissions staff wants to create a diverse, well-rounded student body. Therefore Pomona’s institutional character is less obvious to the outsider than that of the other Claremont colleges.
That said, I came away with a very positive impression of Pomona, and would recommend it highly to students seeking a “college of the New England type” in sunny, southern California.
Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting
Expert on the Colleges of Southern California

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Loyola Marymount: A Jesuit, Liberal Arts College in Los Angeles

los angeles board

On Wednesday of this week, I spent a few hours on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. The director of admission joked that what distinguished LMC from other campuses in the US is that Loyola Marymount is the only medium-sized, Jesuit university in Los Angeles. Which, of course, is true.

The older part of campus is dominated by the California mission-style church. And much of the rest of the older parts of campus share this architectural style. And even those buildings that deviate from this style are the same general color. The campus is on a bluff overlooking the city, and in some spots, one can get a view of the Pacific.

University Hall, however, is an interesting anomaly. Originally built by Howard Hughes, then later owned by Raytheon, and then purchased by the University. With over a million square feet, it feels a bit like an office park, or perhaps a shopping mall. It is a bustling complex and the center of most undergraduate academic activity.

The freshmen live in some of the older dorms. But upper classmen live in some very attractive, suite-style residence halls. And a brand new library is under construction, which will be a fantastic addition to the campus.

The students can be best described as happy. They seem to love their school, and most agreed that there is incredible school spirit ”among the “rowdiest fans in the leagues (Pepperdine is the primary rival). The school offers Division I sports, so LMU takes sports seriously; as one student attested. The campus feels like a big school, but the class sizes reflect the fact that it is a small institution. The academics are serious, but the academic pressure is not so intense as to get in the way of a balanced social and spiritual life.

The University is divided into five schools: business, communications and fine arts, film and television, liberal arts (which is only humanities and social sciences), and science and engineering. There is also a school of education, which allows students to pursue a certification to become a classroom teacher. Though students cannot major in English.

The student body is very diverse: nearly 19% of students are Latino, and 9% are African American. Fifty to sixty percent are Catholic–students are required to take to courses in religion. Seventy percent are from California. Despite the fact that I was there in the morning–when many campuses seem almost dead–LMU was a hive of activity. Lots of people were hanging out in the common areas, walking to and from class, and generally living up to their reputation as “happy.”

I came away with a very positive impression of the campus, faculty, administration, and students. It is definitely a college I can recommend to students who are seeking an excellent, Jesuit, liberal arts college in southern California.

Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Claremont Consortium Offers Solid Academics and A Unique Educational Concept

Earlier this week I spent a day at the five Claremont Colleges: Pomona, Pitzer, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, and Scripps. I enjoyed the red carpet treatment I received as part of a tour organized by the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), of which I am a member. We had the time to tour the campuses and speak to students, and the directors of admission also answered our many questions.
Apparently, the Claremont Colleges have historically not been very welcoming of independent counselors, because they see us as overly preoccupied with helping our clients “get in” to their top choice schools. I hope that they are beginning to understand that the overwhelming majority of independent counselors are primarily concerned with the welfare and happiness of the students with whom we work.
In future posts, I will write a bit about my experiences at each of the colleges. But for those who are not familiar with them, the set up is unique. Five different colleges (plus two graduate programs) share a large plot of land. The campuses are contiguous, but each college is a completely independent entity. Each has its own administration, its own library, its own dining halls. But there are resources that the colleges share. A central library serves all five. The five college are split into two Division III teams (Pitzer and Pomona make up one team, and the other three comprise the other team). Students can cross-enroll at any of the other colleges, and they do…all the time. They also can move from one school to another. Dining halls, for example, have their own specialties, and student know when to take advantage of the weekly menus.
One of the most pleasant aspects of the Claremonts is the town—or “village”—of Claremont. The neighborhoods are quite high-class and comfortable (most professors can’t live anywhere near Claremont, unless they can swing it with a mortgage subsidy offered by the colleges). The village is a nice 10-block area with boutiques, spas, restaurants, coffee shops, and specialty shops (for those from Denver, think Cherry Creek North). There’s a cinema, a couple of drug stores, and places for students to stoke up on necessities (though I didn’t see a full-service grocery store nearby…maybe I missed it). It seems to be a weekend destination spot for folks from LA who seek a small town atmosphere.
All in all the Claremonts have a lot to offer students, and those with strong academic records and who are interested in life in southern California should take a good look at the Claremont Consortium.
Mark Montgomery
Great College Advice in Southern California
Montgomery Educational Consulting

Chapman University: the Liberal ARTS college of Los Angeles

Today I spent a few hours on the campus of Chapman University in Orange, California. The first pleasant surprise was the drive into town. The old town of Orange is actually quite quaint for the Los Angeles area. If it weren’t for the palm trees, I would have thought I was in a small town in rural Virginia or New England. The main street was replete with little cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, and antique stores (okay, so maybe most college students won’t be furnishing their rooms with heirlooms). But it’s a nice little town on the edge of the campus.

The Chapman campus is relatively small, belying the size of the student body (just under 4,000). But it’s architecturally coherent, with nice walking paths and open spaces. The student center and library are both relatively new, and the residence halls are also well designed and modern–and all contained within a “residential village” adjacent to the academic campus.  One drawback is that campus housing is not guaranteed after freshman year, so 60% of upperclassmen live off campus.

I met a few very enthusiastic students who had nothing but positive things to say about their experiences. The 4-1-4 calendar allows students to keep motoring through the curriculum, helping keep kids on track for graduation within four years. And the winter interterm allows for some interesting curricular offerings, some of which include travel abroad or within the US.

The brightest stars in the Chapman crown, however, are the arts programs. The school of performing arts includes music, dance, and theatre. The facilities and the faculty attract a talented bunch of students. So the campus as a whole has an artsy feel to it, but the focus on the traditional liberal arts disciplines plus the popular business school helps keep the campus as a whole very well-rounded.

Then there is the film school. One word: amazing. This is one of the best undergraduate film programs in the United States. The few and the proud who are admitted to this competitive program not only complete general liberal arts requirement, but they also receive a BFA. The facilities are tremendous.

The faculty members are all practitioners in the entertainment industry (including some very well-known names). The first year students are able to launch right into their creative work, and all students who want to are able to pursue professional internships. The one thing our tour guide admitted is that the program is especially intense–lots of late nights, hard work shooting on the weekends, and pressure to produce. But graduates from the film program are among the most successful in gaining entry to the industry.

All the arts programs require an audition and a supplemental application, the requirements for which are available online.  Anyone interested in the film school MUST apply by the early action deadline on November 15.  This is an extremely competitive program, and there is virtually no possibility of acceptance during the regular process.  Merit and talent scholarships are available for the artists.

One drawback to this excellence in the arts is that non-theater majors cannot participate in some of the main stage productions, which are reserved for theater majors.

All in all, I was enormously impressed by Chapman. A pleasant town, a challenging liberal arts curriculum, an active Division III sports program, and a vibrant arts community who could ask for anything more?

Austin College: The Liberal Arts Gem of Sherman, Texas

a group of students in austin college

I recently spent half a day in Sherman, Texas, visiting Austin College. I was very impressed with the campus, the students, the administration, and the faculty. What’s not to like about it? Very little. The students are academically serious. The faculty does an outstanding job of preparing students, and everyone in Texas knows that if you want to be a pre-med with near certainty of admission to medical school, go to Austin College. The science programs are excellent.

The campus is not huge. It’s also not the most picturesque place to attend college, but the campus is attractive, architecturally coherent, and the landscaping is very nice. But what is most attractive about the place is the curriculum, the academic programs, and the faculty. But the faculty members I met were dedicated, intelligent, involved in their discipline, and devoted to their students. It’s no wonder that Loren Pope included Austin Colleges among his 40 Colleges That Change Lives.

This campus is one of the best teaching colleges money can buy. Too bad it is in Sherman, Texas. Or, as others might say, it’s a good thing it’s in Sherman, otherwise more people would want to go there. As it is, the students who are on campus really want to be there. So perhaps we should think of Austin College as a “destination school.”

The one complaint I heard consistently from students was that the dorms were a bit old and crowded. A couple of students mentioned that the science facilities needed more and better equipment in some areas, but that this lack had not been detrimental to their studies. (Many, in fact, told us of research they had completed with professors and then presented at national conferences in their disciplines).

If my kids, nieces, or nephews expressed an interest in Austin College, I’d nurture that interest. It’s a warm, welcoming place that would undoubtedly foster intellectual, social, and emotional growth. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Mark Montgomery
Montgomery Educational Consulting