<p>Ds is coming from a teeny-tiny boarding school in the Santa Ynez Valley of CA. He is a self described lacrosse obsessed multiracial surfer-boy with a keen interest in economics and physics. The finanical aid packages for both schools are about the same. Willamette is closer but OWU is viewed as more prestigious. He was only just admitted so we still have time to decide.</p>
<p>Both are good schools but there isn’t much surfing in ohio. I personally would choose Willamette. Beautiful area and a great deal to do outdoors.</p>
<p>Like Erin’s Dad says, no surfing in Ohio. But the Ohio Wesleyan campus is nice, the programs seem great, and the people are amazing and friendly all around.</p>
<p>I am not personally familiar with Ohio Wesleyan so I can’t compare it to Willamette. But my son and I did visit Willamette back in February and we were very impressed with it – solid academics, good food, nice campus, and the friendliest people we have ever come across on any of our campus visits. Everyone – students, admissions office, secretaries, dining hall cashiers, EVERYONE! – was so helpful and welcoming.</p>
<p>I don’t know about “prestige” but Willamette is certainly highly regarded out on the West Coast – where very few people have heard of Ohio Wesleyan. I guess it depends on where you live.</p>
<p>While I live on the West Coast now, I am from the East so I am more familiar with OWU. Ds is a little concerned byt the distance to the beach. What did I do to my kids when I took them to surf camp when they were little, it’s pretty much an addiction. Tulane and OWU were the only inland schools he looked at the rest were on the west coast and in Maine (great winter surfing there)</p>
<p>lisa</p>
<p>OWU is definitely more well-known than Willamette. I’d say if he cares more about the academics and the sports than the location, then OWU is the place to go, if the location is more important to him than the academic reputation, then go with Wilalamette.</p>
<p>willamette’s rating in the princeton review guide is higher in all categories except financial aid- not that that is very important anyway. I would ask your son whether he wants to spend time in a more wintry climate in the midwest or just a rainy climate! I would also say the midwest is generally a bit more conservative and there is probably a more diverse ethnic population at Willamette, again based on the stats in the princeton review. But if he has a chance to visit both places before the end of the semester that might help him decide. good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks westfan! I did take a more thorough look and here are my thoughts. </p>
<p>Judging from PR’s other schools to consider…they attract similar crowd. The schools in some ways are the West Coast/East Coast versions of the applicant pool. For example, for Willamette, similar schools are Reed, Colorado College, Pitzer, while for Ohio Wesleyan these are Bard, Oberlin, Kenyon, Bucknell and Denison. Perhaps OWU attracts slightly less of the pc crunchy granola crowd…</p>
<p>Size: About the same.</p>
<p>Academics: OWU has the higher academic rating. Average SAT scores, GPA are about the same (with OWU having the higher SAT score and Willamette having the slight edge in the GPA section)</p>
<p>Admission: OWU’s admission rate is considerably lower than Willamette’s. </p>
<p>Student body: Willamette seems to have the more domestic students’ diverse body but OWU’s international students are 10 times more…so all in all if diversity includes internationals their percentages are about the same. </p>
<p>Location: This pretty obvious…OR vs OH. Need I say more?</p>
<p>I think the schools are similar enough to be in the same category. </p>
<p>I think, I’d be more concerned about the student body and the overall fit of your son’s personality with the campus culture’s of the two schools…which really comes down to visiting both and making the decision.</p>
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<p>I would also choose Willamette, but I gotta tell you that there isn’t much surfing in Salem, Oregon either. I used to live there. To begin with it’s a good 40 or 50 miles from Salem to the coast. And while the Oregon coast is very pretty in a calendar photo kind of way, it ain’t no SoCal when it comes to surfing on sunny beaches. Even on hot summer days in the rest of the state, the coast is usually cold, windy, and overcast. SoCal beach = sun and bikinis. Oregon beach = cold drizzle and sweaters plus windbreakers.</p>
<p>I live fairly close to Ohio Wesleyan and a lot of students that go there are somewhat jocky-- a lot of lacrosse and soccer players choose to go there. The school has very good sports teams across the spectrum which contribute to a nice campus atmosphere if that is important to your son. The academics are very solid and job placement seems to be good, but the jobs students seem to get seem to be more in the midwest and on the east coast (there are a lot of Easterners, although one of my neighbor’s daughters who is at Ohio Wesleyan is dating a boy who went to highschool at Cate).</p>
<p>I don’t know if any of this anecdotal info is helpful, but your son is choosing between two good choices, whic is always a good thing!</p>
<p>DD is currently finishing up her first year at Willamette. First semester was rough (see post in parent forum section) but second has been a dream. Strong asian presence due to Tokyo International and the new Kaneko living center. Lots of kids from Hawaii (read surfing vacation possibility). Her lates comment was that she didn’t think she could find a better fit for a campus. Hope this helps.</p>