A bright spot of being stuck at home is the generosity of Admissions Directors, who are agreeing to speak with educational consultants like me, through the IECA, to share information about their schools. Last week I heard from Jim Rawlins, the Director of Admissions and VP of Enrollment Management at the University of Oregon.
Here are Five Fun Facts (and some bonus ones) about the University of Oregon:
1) The University of Oregon is in Eugene, which is halfway between the top and bottom of the state. It is 2 hours from Portland, 1 hour from the Pacific Ocean, and 1 hour to the Cascade Mountains. If you are a fan of the outdoors and want to live in one of the "greenest" cities in the U.S. you might want to check out Eugene and the University of Oregon.
2) Phil Knight, the Co-Founder of Nike, and his wife, Penny, have given UO the largest single gift in its history to fund the Knight Campus, an investment in accelerating scientific impact. The vision for the Knight Campus is "integrating research, training, and entrepreneurship into a single, nimble, interdisciplinary enterprise." Two new academic majors are anticipated as a result of this investment - data science and neuroscience.
3) While you may be familiar with their Pac-12 Oregon Ducks for their football and basketball teams, they have won 31 NCAA national championships in 3 different Track and Field disciplines. The home of the Ducks has actually been nicknamed TrackTown USA and was slated to host the 2020 Olympic Team Trials prior to the postponement of the Olympics due to COVID-19.
4) Five outstanding out-of-state students (and five Oregon residents) may apply for the school's most prestigious financial aid award, the Stamp scholarship. This award provides non-residents with tuition and fees for all four years of college in addition to up to $12,000 in funds towards activities like study abroad or unpaid internships. In addition to the Stamp scholarship, University of Oregon offers a variety of other scholarships to students.
5) University of Oregon has been named one of the top 25 LGBTQ friendly colleges and universities according to the Campus Pride Index.
Prior to the outbreak of the coronovirus, University of Oregon already had plans to move to a test-optional admissions process. They also have implemented the Oregon Guarantee, locking in tuition as of freshmen year for four years of enrollment.
University of Oregon is primarily focused on undergraduate education, as undergraduate students comprise over 80% of their enrollment. If you are a student looking to take advantage of research, UO is a great place because you won't be competing with graduate students for the same opportunities. 75% of undergraduate students are engaged in research at this Tier 1 research university that is the only public institution in Oregon in the Association of American Universities and one of only 2 in the Pacific Northwest.
Go Ducks!
