Have you visited Whitman or attended their Admitted Student Saturdays? My son just committed to Whitman last week. We visited last month and attended their Admitted Student Saturday. We were very impressed and their huge Outdoor Program is a huge part of the school and culture. My son is a rock climber and they have a ton of climbing kids for such a small school (both a climbing club and comp team). They have so many classes you can take in outdoor stuff like kayaking, whitewater, mountain biking, backpacking, climbing, mountaineering, etc and outdoor trips every single weekend. In the winter/spring they have a school shuttle that takes students to the nearby Blue Mountains (1 hr) to ski/snowboard all the way into May. Every student is given $150 each year to use exclusively on outdoor trips, which is usually enough for 2-4 trips. We are also in CA and my son wanted to be in the Pacific Northwest. Students aren’t competive, lots of collaboration, all seem very happy, and Whitman is a Colleges That Change Lives schools. Have you joined the Whitman Parents Facebook group? Everyone is super nice and questions are answered immediately. There’s also an admitted students FB group and Instagram to check out, although my son isn’t on social media so hasn’t seen them. I follow the Instagram page and most of the students all proclaim their love for outdoor activities.
Also, we appealed our merit aid after our visit and they ended up more than doubling my son’s initial offer! That sealed the deal.