College Spotlight - The University of Portland

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

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