My son and I were both pleasantly surprised and really impressed by The University of Portland, located in the northern part of the city of Portland. The campus was exceptional, with lush green lawns, tons of trees, and magnificent old, brick buildings. The staff was very friendly, and the whole campus had a very warm feel to it. Although the U of P is a Catholic institution, only about 50% of its students are Catholic; and the emphasis appears to be more on students’ developing ethics and spirituality, rather than on any particular religious dogma. There are about 3,700 students in attendance, which seems to me to be the perfect size – not so small that it feels like high school, but not too large to get completely lost in the shuffle. There is a real focus on the college “community;” to encourage that, freshmen are not allowed to have cars on campus. There are, however, numerous planned excursions to downtown Portland venues for concerts and other entertainment, and regular (free) transportation is provided to downtown. The U of P considers itself a “teaching” institution, as opposed to a “research” institution, like the U of O. We also learned that US News and World Reports identifies the U of P as one of the ten best colleges of the West. The academic programs and study abroad programs seem really strong. One thing that really distinguishes U of P is their rolling admissions policy; whenever you apply for admission, you’ll hear whether you’ve been accepted in about two weeks.
-Contributed by the Jordan family. Thank you!
