University of Oregon. What can you tell me?

Moses · 09-17-2008, 07:04 AM

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?

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

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.

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

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

http://www.acmewebpages.com/animal/locales.htm

Palum6o · Palum6o's Garage

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.

Seahawk · 09-17-2008, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moses

The University of Oregon is on my sons short list for colleges.

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?

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...

onewhippedpuppy · 09-17-2008, 07:24 AM

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.

gtc · gtc's Garage

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

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.

Palum6o · Palum6o's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtc

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

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

Burnin' oil · 09-17-2008, 07:43 AM

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.

Moses · 09-17-2008, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palumbo

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

Well... What didn't you like?

Moses · 09-17-2008, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burnin' oil

Hayward Field. Reason enough to go to Oregon.

I LOVE track and field.

gprsh924 · 09-17-2008, 08:23 AM

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.

Superman · 09-17-2008, 08:26 AM

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.

onewhippedpuppy · 09-17-2008, 09:14 AM

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)

.

beasty · 09-17-2008, 09:16 AM

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

Moses · 09-17-2008, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beasty

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.

gprsh924 · 09-17-2008, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moses

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.

Burnin' oil · 09-17-2008, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moses

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.

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

LWJ · 09-17-2008, 11:04 AM

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

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

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