Lewis & Clark College Top Questions

The campus is beautiful and whenever it's sunny (which is very very rare) everyone goes to a grassy area to play. There's a bus that goes to Portland every hour and it takes 30 minutes to get downtown. Portland is amazing! I'm almost going here just for the amazing vintage stores. There's so many awesome vintage and thrift stores and great restaraunts. The biggest recent controversy recently was a junior male was suspended because he sexually assaulted a sophmore at the school. The attitude on campus was that the girl deserved it because she was drunk, which made me really angry. There's a Womyn's Center that does events like "Take Back the Night", but I still feel there's a slightly misogynistic attitude here. But this probably true for most colleges. My biggest complaint is everyone smokes cigarettes. You can't go anywhere without running into a cloud of smoke. Another complaint is that there's really only two kinds of people here: indie and hippie. I really can't relate to either groups, and it's hard to find people who don't listen to weird indie bands. There are cool people here though, you just have to find them. I personally like the people in the substance free dorm because they don't smoke all the time and they're quirky. I think it's harder to find the type of people you like at small schools in general, and at bigger school's there will always be a group of people you fit with. But, it's nice to be familiar with a lot of people.

The best thing about LC is the campus. It is incredibly beautiful and well kept. There are views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Although it rains a lot of the school year, when it is a nice and sunny day outside everyone is outside enjoying it. The school is very small, and by the end of the year people start complaining that they always see the same people but it isn't a problem for me. Although there are 1800ish people at LC, about 1000 really exist, through living on campus etc. The others I rarely see. Unfortunately, the school is in a lot of debt and is cutting student oriented stuff and is taking away important things which is really unfortunate. They are also planning on building a new student center so in the upcoming years there might be a whole lot of construction. There is no school pride really, our football team is terrible, losing every game by 30ish points. The only school pride is on 420 when everyone gathers at the flagpole and smokes huge bowls. Apparently LC administration wants to be more prestigious and is starting to accept more preppy students who don't fit the old LC category, which makes older students mad!

If you're looking for sports teams and for school spirit and pride, you'd better go somewhere else. The students here are not interested in sports in the least, and the losing record of almost all of the teams does not help that fact. The campus also has a lock of spaces to go to get away. There's an on-campus cafe, and the library, and that's about it. To get to a coffee shop or other study area is at least a 15-30 minute bus ride away, not too idea for an extremely small campus where many of the students live all four years in the dorms or apartments. When I tell someone that I go to Lewis and Clark, at first they look at me funny (probably because they've never heard of it before), and then say something like, "Oh yeah, I've heard that's a good school."

I love the people at Lewis and Clark. Almost every person I've met, I've liked and wanted to get to know better. I'm surprised at how helpful people are. I wish the school were a little bit bigger at times; it's really hard to avoid someone on this campus. But at the same time, that sense of community is part of its appeal. I really like that they make it so easy to go downtown (there's a free shuttle every hour) because it's easy to get off campus when you need a breath of fresh air.

LC is a great small school. I find it hard to go anywhere without seeing my friends. Its a great close-knit community filled with friendly people. You'll never ever feel lost in the crowd. You get to call your professors by their first name and they treat you as an adult.

I happen to like the size of the school, but there are a lot of complaints about it being too small. It can be very clique-y and can leave certain people feeling left out. The athletics could definitely use some work, though it's still fun going out there and trying to cheer for the teams because you can know most of the players. The big controversy in the athletics department right now is the new mascot, which most people think looks pretty dumb. School pride is pretty much nonexistent. Having Portland so close to the campus and accessible by a free shuttle is a huge plus for our school. I think most people tend to go downtown a few times a week, and popular places to go include Anna Banana's and 23rd Avenue.

I think at some point everybody I know has had an existential crisis about attending Lewis and Clark. We often wonder if we are doing the right thing by attending a small, expensive college that nobody has ever heard of, but at the end of the day, I think that the fact that everybody I know thinks enough to find themselves in an existential crisis says something in itself.

I love LC. It is the purfect fit for me. It's small, you know your professors, they know you. People are supper chill. But, the guy to girl ratio is not in our favor ladies: 40/60. And of those here, many are gay or already taken.

One of the best things about LC is the fact that the classes are quite small. You can actually interact with your teachers, which is very helpful. If I had to change one thing, it would definitely be the tuition. LC is expensive, and while I know a lot of the money goes to good things, some of it is pissed away on things like homecoming. Like the classes, the entire LC population is small. I personally find this to be great, but I came from a high school of 45. As someone from a large school, you might feel a little claustrophobic. When I tell people I go to LC they either say, "What? Is that a real school?", "Oh, I've heard thats a good school", or "Oh, so you're just some hippie then?" I spend most of my time in my dorm building, which is a good place to be if you make friends with the other people in it early on. There are also lots of places to spend time outside if it isn't raining. Portland is great if you're over 21, and LC is only about 20 minutes away. The admin is good overall, but like any group of old people lording over young people. they can be pretty clueless as to what you really want. Controversy usually stems from misunderstanding. I will always remember living with 3 other guys in a shoe box sized room. Complaints are usually about the food, which is actually pretty good.

The best thing about Lewis and Clark, is the genuine care that the professors have for the students. Each student is in their best interest, and almost every professor is willing to go the extra mile to make sure you learn and do well. The worst thing about the school is the lack of class variety and availability. There are classes that you will never get to take because they fill up so quickly, yet only one section is offered every year. Many classes that are offered at bigger schools are not available at LC. LC is a good size, and feels small at times, but it is nice to have mostly familiar faces with strange ones here and there. When the sun comes out, LC is like a dream campus. Everyone is outside, playing frisbee, laying in the grass, and loving life. Otherwise, the rain is a bummer and keeps everyone inside or at the gym. There is not a ton of school pride in terms of athletics, but D3 is not necessarily about that. Rather than new uniforms for the whole basketball team, our cafeteria is trying to go all organic. Lewis and Clark is a progressive, "green" school, making every effort to be sustainable.