<p>If she likes Brandeis and Oberlin, then Reed, Willamette, Lewis and Clarke or any of the Claremont schools would be excellent alternatives out west. Reed and Willamette in particular would probably be up her alley. OH! and Whitman.</p>
<p>thanks…Whitman is on the list…I will check out the others</p>
<p>Candace, if it helps, I have a son at Oberlin and am a Willamette alum–DH on advisory board there. If she likes the liberal nature of Oberlin, I would say Lewis & Clark is more comparable than Willamette though.</p>
<p>I agree- Willammette doesn’t strike me as very crunchy.</p>
<p>Portland however…;)</p>
<p>thanks…I have lived in California, but I am now on the East coast. I have never been to Oregon and Washington.</p>
<p>cndace, has your niece been to the West Coast? She needs to visit and decide if the West Coast is what she wants. Brandeis “crunchy” is somewhat different from Lewis and Clark “crunchy” IMO.</p>
<p>She lives in the Bay area. I am on the East coast now, but lived there.</p>
<p>Yes, well Bay Area crunchy is almost as crunchie as Washington or Oregon. For a safety, she might look into Redwoods. They have some pretty cool ideas.</p>
<p>For Judaic studies info, check out the Hillel site: [Hillel:</a> The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life](<a href=“http://www.hillel.org/index]Hillel:”>http://www.hillel.org/index). The site maintains college profiles.</p>
<p>Chapman University in Orange, CA has a Judaic Studies minor, is very strong in drama, and I’ve been told has a decent psychology department. Not crunchy granola exactly, but lots of quirky, artistic kids. The dining hall caterer is very accommodating; I don’t think that being a vegetarian would be a problem.</p>
<p>Chapman looks interesting…I will pass it on…thanks</p>
<p>My D is a senior at Lewis & Clark College. It is 10 min. from downtown Portland in a beautiful residential area.It seems that it would be a very good fit for your D. We also looked Willamette and she didn’t like it. U of Oregon was good also but too big for my D. Lewis & Clark is about 2000 undergrads. There is a graduate school of education next door so they seem to have quite a few of the early childhood type things available. My D hasn’t been involved but their theater dept is very active and you don’t have to be a theater major to be fully involved. I know they have religious studies but I am not sure of the specific majors.</p>
<p>The campus is gorgeous as the main part used to be a an estate and the rest of the school was built around those original buildings. There are beautiful manicured gardens as well as forests and ravines that really appeal to the outdoorsy types and those who love nature. Your D really sounds like L&C type of student.</p>
<p>There is a free shuttle for students to go downtown every hour and until 2:00am on weekends. Portland is a great city (kind of like a small SF) and we have really enjoyed it when we visit our D. Lots of theater, restaurants, culture and concerts. So you get the best of both worlds with a beautiful woodsy campus but are only 10 min from a great city.</p>
<p>Sounds like there would be a handful of schools for her to visit in the west so I think you need to start planning a west coast visit!</p>
<p>We have two friends, one who already graduated and one there currently, at Chapman, and they love it. I don’t think of anything in Orange County as being crunchy granola, but they do also have a good psychology department and our friend got an internship and then a job offer right out of school.</p>
<p>Candace
Has she looked at Marlboro back east?
Know lots about that school and it is stellar. If you have questions PM me</p>
<p>Linfield is in nature, but it’s more blue-collar than crunchy, and lacks a Judaic Studies major… she’d have to make her own through the religious studies dept.</p>