Need info re Tacoma or University of Puget Sound

[Dee18]

At the last minute, decision due April 1, my daughter is considering attending the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.  It is too late for her to visit, so any information is appreciated.  She was planning to attend a small liberal arts college in the middle of the US,but now thinks she doesn't want to spend 4 years in a small, rural town.  Both schools have offered more than 75% scholarship, putting them within our budget. 

[Missk]

I can't speak to UPS as I didn't go to school there, but Tacoma is a cool place to live. Stick to N. Tacoma for housing (unless she is going to stay on campus housing).

However a last minute decision sounds risky without getting a visit in.

[Write Thyme]

We have good schools in the area...but to the locals, Tacoma doesn't have a good reputation. Gangs (in Hilltop but they may have dispersed?), bad air pollution that you can smell it in the air downtown, and generally a lower income city.

If she can't live on campus living just outside the city would be fine.

[Coonz]

I lived in Tacoma with several UPS students for awhile so I have a decent amount of information. Tacoma has a terrible reputation as being unsafe, but the area directly around UPS (from 6th st and North) is beautiful, hip, scenic, and I never felt unsafe walking in that neighborhood. If you walk a few blocks in the "wrong" direction you will definitely see the difference and crime is still a real problem in Tacoma. It is a cool city with a lot of culture and cool eateries.

The UPS students are very open, intelligent, alternative, and loving. I don't know if they still do this, but they had these first year excursions where you could go canoeing and camping etc. as part of orientation. I went to a small liberal arts college elsewhere but in hindsight I could have chosen a place with a cooler city :). It is expensive, but I'm sure you know this and you mentioned the scholarships. You have a lot of driven students there who generally have great job placement rates and other achievements in community involvement/activism, academia, etc. Their art programs are great to experience and participate in- music, dance, etc.

I lived in a house that could almost be considered on campus and it was $399/mo for a room. Walking distance grocery stores, little cafes (the Rosewood), farmers markets GALORE!!, parks (take a nice stroll down to the water front or bike/drive up to point defiance...then pint defiance), pubs, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed that specific area of Tacoma and I do miss it. I was impressed by the students I met and lived with and I see they are continuing to do great things in their lives.

[Dee18]

Thank you so much for the info!  Coonz, you make it sound so lovely. Missk, you are right so we are asking for an extension for us to visit next week.  MMMians are always so helpful.

[FreedomInc]

What about a school like UW, WSU, Gonzaga, Whitman? She could do community college for 1 year and then transfer into one of the above.

The University of Puget Sound does not have a very strong reputation.

[Picklemeister]

What about a school like UW, WSU, Gonzaga, Whitman? She could do community college for 1 year and then transfer into one of the above.

The University of Puget Sound does not have a very strong reputation.

Based on what the OP's daughter is looking for, three of those are pretty bad suggestions. I went to UW and although I think it's great, it's not even close to a small, liberal arts experience. WSU has the same issue with the addition of being in the middle of nowhere. Whitman is in Walla Walla, which is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.

Another thing to consider is how easy and expensive it is to get home for holidays. If the other choice is an hour's drive away from home, even though SeaTac airport is really close to Tacoma the cost and inconvenience of getting back home is going to add up over four years, even if you're just doing Thanksgiving, Christmas, and perhaps a summer or two.

[Dee18]

I'm curious about the comment that Puget Sound doesn't have a good reputation.  Looking at SAT and ACT scores of admitted students, only Whitman has higher scores than Puget Sound (and yes, your are right Picklemeister, she is attracted to Puget Sound because it is a small liberal arts college in a decent city.)  Student/teacher ratios are good, as are retention rates. 

[Argyle]

Which liberals arts college in the Midwest is it?  Some of them have very strong senses of community which will greatly make up for the apparent rural isolation.  If it's Carleton, for instance, I'd vote for it. If it's DePauw, a little less so.  Another possibility is that she can start at the liberal arts college and transfer after a year if she really finds that she doesn't like it.  But some of them have so much going on that they could be on the moon and the students would still have a full and active social life.