On the Road to College with Betsy Woolf – Lewis & Clark College

The address is Portland, Oregon, but the Lewis & Clark campus is a beautiful, rural enclave only 6 miles from downtown. Students do use the city (there is a school shuttle). The site of a former estate, the college has retained the manor house, one of the prettiest Admissions Offices I’ve seen, as well as a rose garden, a reflecting pool and plenty of green spaces.

Lewis & Clark has a global focus, and more than half of students study abroad in semester and year-long programs. All freshmen take a year-long class called Exploration and Discovery, small seminars taught by professors from a range of disciplines that present an overview of important works and projects in the liberal arts. Most classes at the school feature between 19 to 22 students, which encourages discussion and close relationships with professors.

According to the college, Lewis & Clark is a place for an academic achiever, an independently minded scholar who loves a challenge, a planner with the ability to carry through on projects, a creative and collaborative thinker, a committed and open-minded member of the global community, and a multitalented person with diverse interests. Many students are outdoorsy, and as one of my tour guides said, even if you aren’t an outdoorsy type, you will become one just by living in Portland!