College of the Week

Each week, Mrs. Nilsen will provide insight into unique college options for learners and families. The source is the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2019, an annual comprehensive catalog of diverse universities here in California and nationwide, Colleges That Change Lives, and 50 Colleges that Create Futures.

THIS WEEK: Lewis and Clark College

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Enrollment: 2,078

Acceptance Rate: 63%

DETAILS: The 19th-century explorers Lewis and Clark struck out from Middle America to find where the trail ended, and their travels took them to Portland, a lush, green paradise by the Willamette River. The college that bears the explorers’ names encourages students to explore, too. Since 1962, almost 12,000 students and 300 faculty members have participated in programs in 68 countries. Each year, Lewis & Clark offers more than 30 programs in different parts of the world. Without a doubt, Lewis & Clark learners receive, as one junior puts it, “an excellent, hands-on education.”

Lest learners become too enchanted overseas, Lewis & Clark lures them back with a gorgeous campus perched atop fir-covered bluffs overlooking the river. The campus is an old estate, complete with elaborate gardens, fountains, and pools, where cement is almost nonexistent and the roads are paved with cobblestones.

Lewis & Clark offers a portfolio path (PP) to admission, where students present a package representing their talents and interests. PP students supply two teacher recommendations and two graded samples of high school work: one quantitative sample and one analytical writing sample. The key to a good portfolio is a “well-rounded approach,” administrators say. “The more creative, the better, but be sure it’s not solely artwork or writing samples.”