The next school I would
like to highlight is the University of Portland. UP is in beautiful Portland,
Oregon, surrounded by a picturesque river and mountain range. It is a Roman
Catholic school, and is part of the Holy Cross congregation. The two other
colleges that are Holy Cross schools are Stonehill and Notre Dame. Although UP
is far from the east coast, this is definitely a school worth checking out. The
campus was stunning, the academics are diverse and strong, and you get a real
sense of a strong and vibrant community. This is a school I would feel very
comfortable recommending to my students. Below are some “quick hitter” stats
about the school, and I will have my final thoughts at the bottom. Enjoy!
University of Portland Stats
Undergraduate
enrollment: 3,320
Middle 50% for admissions: SAT: 1610-1940, GPA: 3.64, Percent Accepted: 66%
Average Amount of Merit
Scholarships Awarded per year, per student: $13, 420
Average Amount of Need
Based Financial Aid Awarded per year, per student: $21, 120
Colleges: College ofArts and Science, School of Education, Pre-Professional Programs, Pamplin School of Business, Shiley School of Engineering, and School of Nursing.
Standout Majors offered
at UP: Drama, Environmental Ethics and Policy, Social Work,
Elementary/Secondary Education, accounting, Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Management, Global Business, Engineering (Civil, Computer Science, Electrical
Engineering, Mechanical), and Nursing.
15 D1 Sports, with
soccer being one of the hottest sporting events on campus
18 years in a row, UP
has been ranked as a top 10 western university by U.S. News & World Report
UP students annually
spend 163,000 hours in community completing volunteer service and
service-learning projects.
UP is the number 1
school in the nation among peer institutions for the number of students who
have received Fulbright Awards to
study or teach abroad since 2010.
Bloomberg Businessweek
named UP top college in Oregon for return on investment in 2011 and 2012.
Final Thoughts
To be honest, I did not
know much at all about the University of Portland before my visit there last
month. I arrived eager to learn about the school, and left with a ton of
knowledge on the school and I even had a little bit of UP Pilot pride. UP is a
perfect place for students who are adventurous and want to go to an entirely
different part of the country. For east coasters, you are looking at a 5 hour
plane ride, but it’s a ride that I think is worth it. Once you arrive to UP,
you will be surrounded by a beautiful green campus, minutes from the Columbia
River Gorge, Oregon Coast, and Mount Hood. The environment doesn’t get much
more spectacular than this, and for individuals who like the outdoors, but
still want to be close to the city, downtown Portland is only minutes away from
the campus. UP offers a free shuttle to downtown, where Portland is known for
its delicious food, music and arts scene, incredibly friendly people, and a
wealth of learning and employment opportunities.
Academically, UP has a
ton of different areas for students to study. They have great study abroad opportunities, solid internship connections for all students with majors
ranging from accounting to history. For anyone interested in nursing, they have
a 90% job placement rate within 6 months of graduation. UP also has small class
sizes, and a very caring faculty. Students are well-cared for at UP, and you
know that everyone will be closely watched and supported through graduation. UP
also has an incredible residential experience. With more than half of their
students choosing to live on campus, they mix their years, so upperclassmen
could share the same hallways as the underclassmen. This creates an inclusive
community where everyone is working and living together. Finally, UP has one of the best orientation and freshmen
transition programs I have seen. They have mandatory parent and student
orientation programs, for a few days, so both students and parents make a
successful transition to college. Also, they also place orientation groups in
at least one freshmen academic class together. This way, once school starts,
students will already know a few familiar faces from orientation.
All in all, if you are
looking for a school on the smaller side, a good mix of outdoors and city
living, committed to service, and a caring, inclusive, and vibrant community,
you may just want to give the University of Portland a look! Happy searching…
-Joseph Korfmacher, MA