<p>Looking for recommendations for the most challenging colleges in OR, WA, CA, AZ that my d. has a solid chance of getting into. She is a junior with a 3.5 GPA and ACT=26, and will graduate with 6 IB classes from a large, good quality high school in suburban Portland, OR. Extra-curriculars: waterpolo, lacrosse, piano, painting. 3 yrs of community service in two local organizations. Interested in life sciences/oriental medicine. She is not a strong tester, and will not take the ACT again or the SAT. Socially, she’s done poorly in small private/specialty schools and well in a large anonymous school with a smart student body. Portland Metro is too close too home. Any ideas?</p>
<p>I wonder why you are seeking the :most challenging: school for her if she has had difficulty in her small high school. To me, the focus should be on finding the school where she could thrive and be successful. That may or may not mean the most challenging school.</p>
<p>I would need to know much more about your daughter to give you suggestions as to which schools might fit her best, but a starting list, based simply on the very limited information you’ve offered, and assuming you are leaning towards large schools: University of Oregon, Oregon State University, University of Washington, Washington State University, Arizona State University, and the University of Arizona. The most selective University of California schools would be iffy out of state with her grades/test scores, but UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside and UC Irvine might also be possibilities. Some of the Cal States to consider: Cal State East Bay, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach, San Diego State. All of these would be solid possibilities for her. I’d have a completely different list, of course, if you were looking for mid-sized and small schools, but since you indicated larger was better, these would be a good starting point.</p>
<p>Ok, so tiny schools are clearly out (we’ll say less than about 2,500students?). A few that come to mind above that minimum size are: Gonzaga, U of Oregon, U of Arizona, U of Puget Sound (maybe a bit of an admissions stretch), U of Redlands, Chapman, and Santa Clara. OSU and Wazzu are also possibilities though a little more engineering-focused, which may not be her cup of tea?</p>
<p>PortlandParent – Hello! I’m in Portland too. Off the cuff I’d say U of O; it’s got a very good reputation and because it’s in-state, tuition would be very nice! It’s far enough away to be AWAY from home, yet close enough for your D to come home on long weekends (if she wants) and holidays.</p>
<p>UIdaho has about 12K students and is located on a beautiful campus in Moscow, Idaho (8 miles from WSU in Pullman, Washington). It is not the most challenging U in the area but may be the right place for a child who doesn’t want a small specialty school or a large anonymous U.</p>
<p>The reason I listed “most challenging” academically is that I don’t want her to “under” apply. She doesn’t thrive to be at the top, but at the next level. So the right school for her would be where there is a top above her, but she is right under that. She discovered that she likes to be in a strong academic environment and among smart students. We were initially thinking U Oregon, U Puget Sound, U Ariz, Ariz State. (She didn’t like OSU, U Washington, Pacific U). Puget Sound might be a reach? We are wondering if there should be other slight reaches, where she has a decent chance of getting in.</p>
<p>After looking at their #s closer, UPS wouldn’t be much of a reach, more of a reachy-match 
I think the quality of her high school and IB classes would probably boost her into their acceptance range.</p>
<p>They’ll work her hard at Santa Clara.</p>
<p>You might consider University of San Francisco (USF)</p>
<p>Just reading the thread title-
I thought well Reed is probably the most challenging school I can think of in that region and my D didn’t even have a B+ average :)</p>
<p>But looking outside the Portland metro area will be harder</p>
<p>I don’t think UPS would be a reach- what didn’t she like about UW?</p>
<p>I second the U of O advice. My son is there, and though it is a big school, it manages to make the experience feel much smaller for freshmen.</p>
<p>You could try Pitzer, Willamette, USD, The UC’s , Redlands,</p>
<p>isnt university of washington very competitive?</p>
<p>or is that just the med school?</p>
<p>For a kid from Oregon, the University of California (any campus) and University of Washington are both going to be tough. With a middling GPA (for UW and UC), a middling ACT score, and out-of-state I would think nearly impossible. </p>
<p>Is Washington State out of the question?</p>
<p>UW is out because her very competitive, “perfect” older sister is there. Wash State seems similar to Oregon State, which got nixed - too rural.
U Oregon might be fine, except for lousy higher ed funding in OR.
How is higher ed funding in AZ?
UC seem out of reach because of her grades/scores.
Pitzer, according to CC, got very competitive this year.
Is Chapman the Orange County version of U Puget Sound?
Redlands sounds somewhat alternative, but not sure. She does better in mainstream.
None of these seem like reach schools, or are they?
Yes, it’s a challenge at the moment. The good news is that a year from now, this decision will be behind us – can’t wait!</p>
<p>If you are comparing Chapman and Puget Sound, I would definitely visit both. Chapman has a significantly different vibe than UPS.</p>
<p>Portland:</p>
<p>If she’s interested in a UC and she and you think it might meet her needs, I think she should apply. Although it’s more difficult to get into the top 3 (UCLA, UCSD, UCB), there are a number of other campuses she could apply for that aren’t quite as competetive (UCR, UCM, UCSC, UCSB, UCI, UCD). The application form is common to all of them and then one just checks a box (and pays an extra fee) for each of the campuses so it’s pretty easy to apply to several or all. Of course, you’d have to pay OOS tuition so this needs to be considered.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO? About half the price of UC schools for OOS tuition. Can’t speak to the quality of their life sciences programs, but SLO is a drop-dead gorgeous location.</p>
<p>Whitman, and apply early decision. It’s a stretch, but a fabulous school.</p>