The Professor’s Road Trip – Whitman College

Our little owl has finally arrived in wonderful Walla Walla, Washington for his first college visit – Whitman College.

Whitman’s total undergrad enrollment is just over 1,500, which permits lots of access to faculty. In fact, their ratio is ten students for every one-faculty member! 62% of their classes have fewer than 20 students. Not surprisingly, with this much hands-on access, the number of students who graduate with one of their 42 offered majors in four years is 86%!

Including room, board, and tuition the sticker price is about $54,000, but Whitman offers a significant amount of need-based and merit-based scholarships. The average need-based scholarship or grant award is $25,938. In fact, ¾ of the student population receives some form of financial aid. That’s definitely a huge advantage when considering private schools – they have the ability to manipulate the sticker price and offer more scholarships.

Whitman Seminary Building 1866

Beginning as a seminary school for pioneer boys and girls back in 1859, Whitman College has evolved into a leading liberal arts school. Every year, The Princeton Review selects Whitman for inclusion in its “Best Colleges” Guidebook. Of the 377 colleges listed, in 2012, Whitman placed 5^th for its classroom experience and 18^th for Quality Professors. US News ranked Whitman as #43 on their national list of Liberal Arts Colleges.

Whitman understands that no matter how great the education is in the classroom, it still doesn’t measure up to real-world experience. The key to developing future leaders and to create a well-balanced liberal arts education is to understand regions and cultures other than one’s own; for that reason, about 40% of Whitman’s juniors study abroad each year. In addition, their Parent’s Council and Career Center offers an internship program that provides stipends for 21 students each summer to participate in non-paying internships. Last summer, these stipends provided sophomores and juniors with local internships but also with ones as far away as Kenya. Whitman clearly puts value in the classroom and out!

Memorial Building at Whitman College

Whitman’s application deadline is January 15^th and the early decision deadline is November 15^th. Whitman is selective and only admits 53% of its applicants.

The Professor is ready to move on. He will be driving about three hours north to Spokane, WA. He’s hoping to time it just right to catch some hoops action…where will he show up next????