<p>Lewis & Clark College: The only reason I visited was that my mom wanted to see Portland, and checking out L&C gave us an excuse to stay there for a couple of days. I already wasnât crazy about it, since they didnât offer me merit money and the people in the brochures all looked like the most stereotypical hipsters ever including the lacrosse players (side note, I played lax in high school for three years, and was pretty used to the lax bro stereotype). Plus, about two months before, I interviewed with an admissions counselor who told me that a Jewish student probably wouldnât feel comfortable at the school. Not because theyâre antisemitic or absurdly Christian but because many students disdain the concept of religion. When we got there, both my mom and I were amazed by how beautiful the campus was, but once we started checking out the activities board, our opinions went downhill. It seemed as though the only thing L&C students did for fun was volunteering. Even the outdoor activities benefited one charity or another. While I volunteer all the time, it was a bit off putting to think that everything Iâd do was for a greater purpose rather than simply having fun. </p>
<p>When the tour started, the guide emphasized the usual benefits of a liberal arts college, cohesive community, small classes, a rigorous education, etc. But then we passed by the âWomynâs Studiesâ classroom and that pretty much sealed the deal. Iâm a proud feminist, but using a term that connotes a throwback to the most radical of the second wave feminists was just stupid. Additionally, the school seemed a bit too artsy to me, with little emphasis on applying things learned inside the classroom to the greater Portland area. While both my mom and I thought the school provides a very rigorous education for certain types of students, I wasnât that type. However, L&Câs outdoor orientation sounded amazing. </p>
<p>University of Oregon: Even before I started the tour, I found out why the schoolâs nickname is âUC-Eugeneâ. Literally all but one person in the 54 person group hailed from California including one guy from a high school in my district. The only other person on the tour was also from California but his dad lived in Oregon, giving him in state tuition. As soon as we started the tour I realized that it wasnât the school for me. Almost everything the guide talked about had to do with football and bragging about how Nike basically owns the university. He couthly admitted that almost all of his classes the first two years were large lecture classes, and not particularly challenging ones at that. When we walked by the volcano building, I asked if he knew anything about how easy it would be for freshmen to participate in research (In high school I did bookkeeping for two extremely accomplished engineering professors, so I have quite a bit of familiarity with different ways that undergrads interact with professors) and he basically gave me an extremely evasive answer. Now to be fair, he was a sports management major but given how prominent UO is in the scientific community, it seems like a question that any well trained tour guide should know the specific answer to.</p>
<p>Because it does attract so many Californians, I visited a high school friend who was studying architecture there. She rhapsodized about the program and the Hillel, but admitted that she wasnât a fan of Eugene, and emphasized that many of her friends had some difficulty getting even intro classes. I also had come off of a disastrous second semester junior year, and I realized that I needed a smaller supportive environment which UO lacks. However, my brother will probably go there.</p>
<p>Willamette: My mom said that if she could go to college again, sheâd choose Willamette. I loved the tour, its proximity to both the capitol, and Portland (right across the street and a forty minute train ride respectively), but couldnât get over the size. The students seemed incredibly nice, and their student run cafe had amazing cookies. If only it had more than 2,000 students⊠My mom wants my brother to apply, but weâll see how that goes. </p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz: I LOVED the school, the trees, the alternative vibe, and the way the arts and sciences seemed so well integrated. My tour guide was fantastic, and the dining options seemed amazing. After the tour, before my official class started, I spoke with a professor who emphasized the extremely low grad to undergrad ratio and stated that he was always looking for undergrads to help out since he didnât have enough grad students. Coming from UC Irvine, where the ratio of undergrad to grad is more typical of a major research institution, and where professors would never say something like that, I was quite impressed. However, I changed my mind after I sat in on an intro to political science class where the professor never asked her students questions, never asked them to discuss with one another what she was going over, and realized that I simply would not have done well with larger lecture classes.</p>
<p>Brandeis: My motherâs alma mater and a school where I wouldnât have to worry about finding an active Jewish community (thatâs an understatement). I couldnât get over the cold, the ugly architecture, and the poorly developed environmental science program. Plus, I hated how cold it was, even at the end of April and didnât want to compete with all of the Harvard and MIT grads for jobs. My high school friends who were going to Harvard, Tufts, and Babson urged me to reconsider, but alas I didnât. </p>
<p>Pepperdine: My friend, a huge surfer, and also an adamant atheist wanted to go to a school where he could surf every day, so at the beginning of my junior year, we decided to tour the school (we went to LA virtually every other weekend). Both of us were surprised at how isolated Pepperdine was, especially because when I signed up for a tour, the website emphasized its proximity to LA. Before we started the tour, both of us felt uncomfortable by how meticulously well kept the school and its students seemed. Though it seemed to have a bit of the surfer vibe the students all seemed well dressed, and not like the typical college students I was used to seeing at UCI. Almost as soon as we started the tour it became apparent to us that Pepperdine isnât just Christian in name only. Our guide talked about the chapel requirement and when I asked if any Jews or non Christians attended he happily exclaimed that Iâd be a Jewish pioneer at Pepperdine. Um no. Also, from the way the tour guide made it sound, it seemed as though Pepperdine wasnât quite sure if it wanted to be a Biola (evangelical school in LA) or Furman (conservative school that is Christian in name only). On top of that the dorms were single sex, and had a curfew for when males had to leave the room. Both of us were glad when the tour was over.</p>