Notes from my first University of Oregon visit

Katie D.

August 3, 2010 - 3:36 PM

I've been cleaning out my home in Littleton, figuring out what furniture, books, and clothes will be coming with me to start grad school in Eugene. In the process, I've been going through lots of old papers, pictures, and scrapbooks. I found an old stack of notebooks, some empty that will come with to Oregon, and others full of high school notes.

But I was extremely excited to find the notebook I brought on my college tour of the Northwest in July of 2005, the summer before my senior year of high school.

It records all kinds of things. Notes from campus tours, scheduled recruitment events, directions to hotels and restaurants, and journal entries. During that week trip with my mom, I visited five campuses: the University of Oregon, Lewis and Clark, Portland State, the University of Puget Sound, and Western Washington.

The notebook is a fascinating account of what I was thinking as a high schooler entering the college world. It shows how confused and excited I was, how ready I was for a next step and how intimidated by a world away from my Colorado roots. The trip was a revelation and inspiration to me.

Some of it is hilarious. One university (name to remain undisclosed) inspired the unfortunate scrawled note to self "If hiring a recruiter, be sure he's interesting!" And also "Here I learned what not to do professionally."

I also have to laugh at my interpretation of Portland, which revolves around our constant state of confusion and directional mishaps. We probably saw the entire city, street by street, just trying to find Lewis and Clark. My impressions of the schools there are colored by my impression of the setting as inaccessible and terrifying.

The University of Oregon was the first campus I visited outside of Colorado--and therefore the first campus I saw where I might actually consider attending. I needed to get out of my home state and see more of the country. So when I arrived on the Oregon campus, I was completely overwhelmed by the variety and potential of the place. I wrote "Eugene is beautiful!" "It's so green." and "I can totally imagine myself here." My impressions on the first day, before we'd even had a tour, was of a beautiful campus, a politically engaged campus concerned with activism, and a vast array of student organizations, publications, and activities. I wrote about a flier I'd seen on campus offering credit for interns working to rehabilitate wounded wildlife. I wrote "How cool is that?!"

I wrote down details from the tour:
• Professors' office hours are for student meetings only, not other work.
• Dorms include halls arranged by interest or activities
• The city buses are free for students
• There are 263 student groups on campus
• Nearby restaurants, shops, and outdoor stuff
• Rock climbing wall!
• Lots of performing arts, including music, plays, and visiting authors
• Lots of big classes, but usually with discussion sections.

It's so funny now, with all my experiences, to look at this list and see what stood out to me at the time.

I also so enjoyed my list of "cons" to the UO. One was the last item on the list: the class size for introductory classes. Another was "weather?" "Tiny dorms" was a major concern, and I can remember looking in the model dorm room and just trying to imagine cramming a life into that tiny space. I was also concerned about it being such a big biking campus. If you're a long time reader, you'll know that bikes have been a major source of angst in my life. Another "con" was the large presence of Greek life on campus. For some people, this is a major draw. As a seventeen-year-old I assumed this was not a crowd I would be involved with. Turns out I was right, but that the Greek groups on campus haven't detracted from my college life. They do their thing, and I do mine.

The final question I had was about the culture on campus. The idea of a huge public school was actually not so appealing to me. I thought there might be a less motivated student body than the small liberal arts schools I was looking at. I wondered if some classes might be sub-par or if certain parts of public school culture, like the sports scene, might somewhat detract from the academic side of a college campus. But I could also see the other manifestations of a huge campus. The hundreds of student organizations. The beautiful and ecclectic student union building. The craft center. The activism and diversity of options in all areas of student life.

Once I visited the Honors College, I was sold. I loved it. I loved their philosophy and the focus on academics and student-faculty interactions. I learned that I would be taking 2/3 of my classes outside of the Honors College, in the general university. I imagined I would get to know a group of HC students, plus others around campus. I tried to plan out a time that would include demanding classes, student group organizations, and maybe some sports or other activities.

I measured every other school I visited or researched against the University of Oregon. I never found anything to match the variety of opportunity and quality of academics I encountered at the UO. By the end of the trip I had made up my mind, and had only to apply and search for scholarships.

Looking back, I know now that I was looking for the right things. For an exciting and energetic place in a city I would come to love. I looked for professors I would come to respect deeply and to befriend. I wanted opportunities for volunteering and creative credit options.

It's amazing how closely my list of UO "pros" from five years ago would match today.