University of Oregon. What can you tell me?
 

The University of Oregon is on my sons short list for colleges. He's a math/science guy who's not yet entirely sure what he wants to do after college. There are only a few California schools he's really interested in, and he's a marginal candidate for those. He'd love UC Santa Barbara, but he doesn't have a 4.0. He's extremely bright, but was pretty unfocused academically early in high school. He does not want to go to a California State University.

The U. of Oregon appeals to him for a few reasons; he's heard it has a good science curriculum and he loves the idea of going to a division I Pac-10 school (He loves sports).

My son is a good kid. Never been in any trouble at all. No drugs. Never even had a speeding ticket. Another option for him is to spend two years at the local community college then transfer in to UC Santa Barbara or UCLA for his last two years. That would be OK, but he'll miss out on those first two years of "dorm life".

Well, Pelicans. What can you tell me about the University of Oregon or the city of Eugene, OR?

A good friend of mine (we did residency together) went to Oregon. Loves the school. Of course, he was born and raised in Portland, and is now back there as a plastic surgeon. I'm sure he wouldn't mind selling your son on being a Duck. Let me know if your son's interested.

You mean Faber College? Hope he doesn't get on "double secret probation".

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After college I stayed in Eugene for 6 months in '95. I worked at a local vineyard in Lorraine. My roommates got into organic farming. The one thing I liked about the UofO was that they apparently had a nice vineculture program. We would purchase our grapes from the vineyard they sponsored on the weekends. The town is packed with culture and the Saturday Market was always lots of fun, lots of live folk music, and just a nice jovial atmosphere. There are lots of nice places to hike, lots of old growth forrests, and you're about an hour from the coast which is also nice. There were several things I didn't like, probably due to the fact that I'm an East Coaster.

I have no working knowledge of the University but I do like Eugene.

I would not, however, discount the community college notion. A lot of my high school buddies went that route because they wanted to get into a particular UC school but didn't quite have the grades.

Most of them moved out of their parents house and shared apartments, replicating "dorm life", learning a lot about themselves, working hard and getting 4.0 grades. All but one made it into the UC college of their choice.

I wish Maryland had the same robust JC system that California has. Frankly, why pay insane amounts of money for Eng 101/102, Spanish 101/102 at a large university when it all counts the same at the JC for a fraction of the price?

Good luck. My Daughter is a junior in HS this year...:cool:

Don't immediately discount the CC route. There's no better way to get the gen-ed, basic math, and science courses out of the way than a CC. They're easier, smaller, and cheaper. So long as he takes courses that will transfer to his D-1 school of choice, he still gets a BS with a recognizable name on it. Plus, many CCs do have dorms, if that's where he wants to live. I can't imagine why, my early college years were spent in rental houses and apartments, I ended up with plenty of great experiences. Plus, there wasn't anyone to lecture me for drinking or women:), and I didn't have to share a community bathroom and shower.

Holy cow... three replies and nobody has used the word "hippies" yet. I'm impressed. :D

I hope he's still at least applying to UCSB. My one regret when I applied for college was that I set my sights too low. On the advice of my counselor, I didn't even send in applications to the highly selective schools on my list like Cal Tech and Stanford.

lol... I'm waiting for some to ask me what I didn't like...

Hayward Field. Reason enough to go to Oregon. I think it's a great campus and a decent place to live. A bit granola-ee but typical University community.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1221666174.jpg

Well... What didn't you like?

I LOVE track and field.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1221667966.jpg

Go to the big school right away (unless money is truly an issue). Getting involved early is good. I can't imagine just transferring to a school right now for my junior year. In the end, I think the experience will be better overall.

Yes, there are hippies in Eugene. That's part of the ambiance. I certainly do not want to inject politics into this thread, but the approach taken by liberals and conservatives toward education and critical thinking has been discussed ad nauseum, and the liberals have captured that territory. Colleges and their professors are frustratingly liberal, from the perspective of conservatives. There seems to be a connection. And so.....the observation that a host community might lean toward the liberal side should not be disconcerting.

Oregon is a terrific state, and Eugene is a darling town. It is beautiful there. The community is active. It is small enough to be quaint. Big enough to not be boring. One hour from the ocean.

I have friends in Eugene, and I have always liked the town. I can recall stopping there for coffee during a motorcycle trip as a young man several hundred years ago and being instantly impressed by the cleanliness, lush vegetation and happy faces.

I also appreciate the CC approach to the first two years of college. Why spend the additional moolah? I never attended a CC though, and my social experience as a Freshman at a full university was memorable to say the least. There is a reason universities are sometimes referred to as Alma Mater. It's a halfway house between mommy and the cruel world.

Personally, I'd rather have my kid get his/her "experiences" at a CC. That way they can show up drunk for class and still pass. Doesn't work so well at a university (ask me how I know);).

do the cc route and get guaranteed admission to UCLA, UCSB, or UCSD. where are you located? what cc's around you?

In Alamo. Diablo Valley CC is just around the corner. Only problem with CC is that it's not terribly academically rigorous. My son is extremely bright, but tends to only work as hard as those around him. I have no doubt that he'll step it up if he's put into a more academic environment. DVC might just be an excuse to coast for a few more years.

This is something that I didn't even think about in my first reply. High school is so incredibly easy it isn't even funny. I put almost zero effort into high school and graduated with a 4.0 and a 32 on my ACT. Fast forward to my first semester of college. I thought I could keep coasting on that level of effort and keep up straight A's. WRONG. 2.91 first semester. College is f'in hard. This was in gen-eds and electives. There really aren't very many "easy" or "blow-off" classes at my school. I had to get my head out of my asss and buckle down second semester. I did and I got a 3.77. If your son is anything like me, he will continue to coast at a CC. Then when he gets to the university his junior year, when classes really start to get hard, he will be screwed, plain and simply. Let him realize his mistakes sooner rather than later.

Yup, yup. I have similar concerns for my eldest.

Here is something that I can credibly comment on.

I am an alumni of UO (1988) and lifelong Oregonian. I found that UO gave me a very high quality educational experience. About the education, I found most of my upper level courses to be excellent. Basic courses were just that: basic. I believe that as an educational institution it will provide as much as a student is wanting to get out of it. Having attended two other universities at the graduate level, I can assure you that UO certainly is not a slouch act. There are of course institutions that attract a higher average level of student.

Eugene is a wonderful place. My wife and I tried for years to come up with a plan to allow us to live there. We think it is the perfect place to raise a family. Yes. There are smelly hippies. They are just part of the local color that makes Eugene a great place.

As to education. I believe that many schools can provide the level of education needed for achievement. Perhaps more important than the formal education, is the informal network and geographic area.

Where is your son planning to live after school? I subscribe to the thought that people tend to stay where they went to school. Certainly many many of my friends have migrated to Oregon after attending school here.

Also, if your son is to be in any field that is business related at all, the informal network established at college is extrememly valuable. I don't recollect much of my formal education. However, I do use my network daily.

Shameless plug: at the UO, I was a member of an amazing fraternity: Phi Kappa Psi. You have seen the building as the "Omega House" on the Animal House movie. As a board member of the fraternity, we have just completed a significant remodel and are looking to sign some quality members to carry on the tradition. Something to think about perhaps.

Good luck. UO may not be the perfect fit for your son. It was an outstanding experience for me and many of my friends.

LWJ

I second LWJ and Garrett's comments. I would avoid a CC. You are simply not going to get the challenge there in the all important 1st year.

I am a former Biology Prof (never at UO tho) and have a JD from UO. I live in Eugene and hang out in the UO Science and other libraries a lot.

Eugene is an odd mix of urban sophistication and rural, country stuff. It is either big town or small city - the largest city between Portland and SFO. It is a countercultural hub - and that includes several different counter-cultures. It is a running and bicycling mecca, the place where Pre made his marks, and the home of Ken Kesey - who among other things brought muscularity and sports (wrestler and later a wrestling coach) to the 1960s counterculture. That sort of odd, but accomodating, mix typifies Eugene.

UO is the liberal arts univ. for the rel. small state of Oregon. The engineering programs are at OSU (not a high quality school rel. to virtually anything else in the PAC10 - have an MS from OSU). The sciences at UO thus lack that engineering bolster they might otherwise have. You need to find out what fields are of interest and look at it from that perspective. Eco/Green approaches permeate everything at the campus, including some very innovative designs for teaching labs in the Chemistry Dept.

UO used to be called UC at Eugene but most Cal. students vanished when tuitions became more equalized. The quality of the student body is medium. The faculty are much better than one might expect. UO may be involved in selling its soul to Phil Knight and Nike to advance its major sports. But, track is BACK - and I consider that good.

pm me if you want to chat about anything

I went to CC my first year of college only to save money. My impression is that it was an extension of high school, i.e., not all that hard. Garrett, first year college courses, that is english, math, etc. are designed at a 4 year college to weed out those who should probably not be in college. Hence the reason they are difficult. I was an English 101 TA and couldn't believe the number of kids in my classes that couldn't even diagram a sentence.

oh yeh - re dorm life -- not sure what is req'd for Fr. year, but I know that UO has every possible type of living situation you cold possibly imagine. He may want to take advantage of that.

Overall, and in comparison to other state U's UO has an extremely well balanced sports program. I also respect the football coach here a lot 9not as much as I respect God, but he is ensconced in Happy Valley and will never leave). Basketball and Track are also big as are some women's sports.

I once worked with a girl that graduated from Oregon. She was very hot. Sorry, best I can offer (that type of info was of interest to me as a prospective student ;)).

That's what you need now? Really? Went there as a freshman before transferring to Cal. I didn't see any transcripts, but I'm certain there were a fair amount of students with < 4.0 back then (in the 80's, including myself).

I guess I'm a case in point of the trend mentioned by a previous poster. I finished my M. Arch here eight years ago, and haven't gotten around to leaving yet! In addition to my day job as an architect, I'm an adjunct assistant professor of architecture at the U of O. The architecture department consistently ranks among the top 15 nationally. I may be biased, but I'm a firm believer in the program.

The U of O has a wonderful campus, and is very much a city unto itself. As a student, I enjoyed the sensation that there was not real reason to leave campus. It is a cozy and beautiful ivory tower.

I think that the quality of departments, as in most places, varies. The best departments are very good.

That raises another good point. What is it that your son wants to do? That should play a big part in helping to determine what school makes the most sense. I knew I was going to be a business major, so I looked exclusively at schools with very strong business programs. From there, Miami won out, although nothing else was ever truly given strong consideration.

Im at DVC, there is alot of competition. Great school, I love the atmosphere and the diversity. Also, there are some teachers on campus that are prob the best Ive ever had just because they actually teach, not just lecture and expect you to understand. Its a great school, kinda sucks that its my last semester, but its really prepared me for the school i plan to transfer to. Let me know if he wants to go there, I can help him get with the best teachers and the best counselors.

Yup. As an Aerospace Engineering grad, my hardest classes were math and science BS classes. They are INTENTIONALLY designed to weed out the slackers. Like me.:D Personally, I like to focus my energy on the courses that actually MATTER.

Well, there's another reason -- the modern research university does not put much effort into teaching -- ESPECIALLY the teaching of Freshmen. Students (+ taxes) don't even really pay their own way. What the Dean REALLY wants is more grant overhead (they take half of what you bring in) so he can put new wood paneling in his office. Sad but true.

One exception is (or was) the Zoology Dept. at Univ. Wisc. They only let Full Profs. teach Intro. Biology.

But generally, you are stuck in a 1,00 person classroom and if lucky, get to watch a prof. thru binoculars instead of a TV monitor.

That is one reason why a small high quality 4 year college is so superior. They are focused on the Undergrad. My advice - if you have the bucks or can get close to a full ride - find one where the faculty do research and the students go to grad. school, medical school, etc. There are hundreds of them.

At a CC, you may very well get superior teaching. But there are two other problems. First, the other students don't generally set a competitive environment - something that is critical. 2nd, the teachers are not experts. At a res. univ. that person in front of the class is probably THE top person in the entire world (at some narrow narrow slice of teh curriculum).

Some CC's are much better than others, and all are better than they used to be - since 4 year collegs are so expensive now, many of the decent students are going to a CC's just for cost reasons, not b/c they couldn't get in to a 4 place.

Anyway, the best thing is to send your id up here and have him wander around campus for a while. Walk into some Fr. classes in the sciences and some Soph. ones also. See how big they are. Get the feel of the place. And visit his other top 4 favorites too.

Check out Oregon State University while you are near Eugene in Corvallis. Unbelievable engineering school, nuclear science program with our own reactor, best Wave (tsunami) lab in the country, Marine Mammal Institute. Ag school from the 1800s, forestry engineering, turf grass management sought after by all top golf course supers, etc etc.

Developed wave energy concept. clones mussel adhesive for plywood industry, purple tomatoes, NCAA World Series champs 2x, beat USC 2 a couple of years ago, righteous babes that will make you cry.

Go Beavs

At most 4 year schools, you won't get the good professors until grad school. Very sad but true. Most major colleges simply don't care about undergrads, because they just want grants. Grad students operate as GTAs, not only do they teach the undergrad courses (for nest to nothing), but they do the grunt work for research. So, it's cheap labor for the grants, which bring in money and acclaim to a university.

For the record, I have had one class taught by a TA. The rest are full professors. Or, in the case of my business legal studies teacher, a part time instructor, who works full time as a lawyer in town and teaches a few classes. Thus far, it is the best class I have ever taken.

Direct from the UCSB website, admitted freshmen for Fall 2007, the average weighted GPA was 3.98 and the average SAT Reasoning score was 1866. Seems like it is a pretty hard school to get into.

This is how Arizona State works, the masters students teach the 100-200 level classes and phd students teach everything else. Then everyone so often a professors will come out of his office and teach a class.

I just went through this with my son who's going to be a freshman at UC Santa Cruz this year (we will be moving him into his dorm this weekend). He is a very bright kid but had too many extracurricular activities (all good) going on in HS so he only had a 3.3 GPA. Not bad but should've been higher since he had 4 AP classes between his junior and senior years. He had his sights on UC Davis, San Diego and Santa Cruz, all because of his dream to play college level water polo.

He didn't get into SD or Davis. The average GPA at both is around 3.9. The average GPA at Santa Cruz is 3.7. If hadn't had all of those extracurricular activites and sports under his belt, he probably wouldn't have been accepted. But I think the clincher was his high SAT score. We invested about $2k in SAT prep courses with Princeton Review. Classes were held near UC Berkeley for several weeks and it was a pain to transport him to and fro but it was worthwhile.

He never did make the water polo team. He tried out but he just wasn't a fast enough swimmer. He does love the UCSC campus though.

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He should look at Corvallis as well as Eugene, as mentioned above.

I liked Corvallis better than Eugene, smaller school too, which has some allure. Choice of major may have some impact too.

I know you are a rich doctor and all, but he will want to establish residency in OR to save a boatload of cash

+1 on checking out Corvallis as well as Eugene.

Both schools are nice; it's all where you feel you fit in. I went to OSU in Corvallis and loved it. I had many friends at U of O at the time and would visit often. Eugene didn't appeal to me. Way too many hippies "outraged" over absolutely everything.

My .02....after many years have passed, I've noticed one underlying fact - the school you went to matters little (unless you want to be a professor). It's personal drive, determiniation, a solid work ethic, social skills and who you know.

:eek: Wow, I guess things are different these days.

When I went to UCSB back in the day, there were dudes who came in with like sub-2.5s majoring in P.E. or something like that, who where basically there to surf, get stoned, meet chicks, and surf, literally. Sounds like "that dude" has been weeded out well before the admissions process.

Some students were admitted to some of the aforementioned campuses as their "second choice" (something that's no longer part of the UC system's application process). I guess they'll only admit Rhodes Scholars by the time my kids are ready to apply.

My local City College has a 100% transfer credit to UCSB....I also have a rental 1 mile from the campus. It pays to be a Pelicanhead.....

I also can keep the little scheister on a short lease....and teach him how to turn a wrench.

3rd year applicants get a break...the weenies are weeded out by then.

UNFORTUNATELY...the UCSB track and Field program would have to improve to suck. The SBCC field and program is actually better funded.

Nearly all of my business classes (business management minor) were taught by part-time instructors. My finance class was taught by a CFP. My accounting class was taught by an accountant who had just quit her day job to teach full time. My marketing class was taught by a lady who owned a market research company. All were EXCELLENT teachers. I majored in aerospace engineering at a school known for aerospace engineering, and my best teachers were in entry level business courses. BUT, the college of business isn't obsessed with research and grants.

Do the CC and have him challenge himself with the newly available free courses from Stanford!

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