College Road Trip Series: THE NORTHWEST

Hi everyone! We are moving on to the great Northwest today on our College Road Trip Series! What's great about the northwest is that it has its own distinct culture and is definitely something you should experience once in your lifetime, even if it is just on a road trip to see some colleges! Let's get started!!

OLYMPIC COLLEGE
Olympic College is located in Bremerton, WA and is right across the water from Seattle, so it has a very prime location for any type of student! OC primarily grants Associate's Degrees, however the Bremerton campus does offer a Bachelor's Degree in the following programs: Nursing, Information Systems, and Mechanical Engineering. If you are hoping to attend a higher profile university in Washington like Gonzaga University or the University of Washington, you may want to start here to earn credits and then transfer those classes very easily into the university of your choice. Some of their articulation agreements are listed on the Olympic College website here!

While the OC website does not offer any information on visiting campus, you can find the Admissions Office's contact information here in order to discuss a tour of campus with an employee! If you are just spending a couple of days in Seattle and want to look around by yourself, you can do that as well by printing out the campus map here and taking it with you while walking around!

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART
The Pacific Northwest College of Art is situated in an art-centered city, Portland, Oregon. This creative city not only provides students with tons of inspiration, but it also lets their business and internship opportunities expand beyond the college's campus. The academic programs that students can pursue include: Animated Arts, Printmaking, and Communication Design. The college also provides students with amazing opportunities to showcase their work in 11 galleries and an acclaimed art museum! If you or a friend within your road trip really wants to experience a creative place and have their artwork shown, you should definitely plan to stop at PNCA.

To schedule a tour, you will need to contact the PNCA Office of Admissions. They are offered Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10:00am and 2:00pm. You can also meet with an admissions counselor and have you art portfolio reviewed. They also have a virtual tour on their website, so if you want to check out the campus before planning to tour it, you can do that also!! You can check out all of this information here.

WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY 
Located in Salem, Oregon and about an hour away from Portland, Willamette University is a private, liberal arts college that offers a variety of academic programs, but also houses a law school and an MBA program for graduate students. Their undergraduate programs include: American Ethnic Studies, Civic Communication and Media, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Russian. While their liberal arts curriculum leads students to a long career in academics, the student life aspect of campus also allows students to also focus on their community service and volunteer philosophies. All of these things should be important in choosing a school, so visiting the campus allows you to see them first-hand.

When you check out their website here, you will see why visiting this gorgeous campus should certainly be on the top of your Northwest Road Trip list! The Admissions Office staff will help you plan your visit whether you want to go on a campus tour, sit in on a class, or just talk with current students. It is a really great opportunity to understand what all Willamette University has to offer students so definitely take advantage of visiting campus!

BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY
Boise State University is situated in the southwestern corner of Idaho State. This large, research university offers a small college feel with all of the amazing opportunities that a larger university offers. You can study one of their many programs like: Addiction Studies, Entrepreneurship Studies, Respiratory Care, or Internal Auditing, while taking advantage of their esteemed athletics teams and on-campus organizations! With their prime location in Boise, students are immersed in city life and are able to expand their internship experiences into the civic and private sector for businesses - perfect for building your resume!

BSU offers a ton of great opportunities to visit campus. They have the normal weekday and Saturday tours when you can meet with an Admissions Counselor and take a tour of campus and they have special Open Houses and Department Information Sessions throughout the school year. Something really cool that they are doing on Fridays in the summer is a Bike Tour of campus. You definitely have to register for it because it gets capped at 15 riders, but it is a really neat way to see the campus and tour downtown Boise! You can find out how to sign up for all of this on their website here.

NORTHWESTERN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
Northwestern Polytechnic University is located just north of San Jose, California and just east of San Francisco, California. NPU, its faculty, and its students are committed to scholastic success within the School of Engineering and the School of Business. Their curriculum emphasizes software development and understanding because of the campus' location in Silicon Valley and the expectations on students upon graduation. If creating software and understanding its impact on the business and technology world interests you, a stop at NPU can prove to be very beneficial!

NPU does not include information on how to visit the university, but it will be beneficial to contact the Admissions Office to establish a connection with them and potentially set up a meeting and a campus tour. All of their information is on the website here and can help you decide your next step before visiting on the NorthWest Road Trip!

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS
A huge school with huge programs in a larger-than-life city ... what more could you need from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas! Its 332-acre campus is home to many different academic programs and award winning athletics teams. The mascot a few years ago was even featured on the Hulu show Behind the Mask. Some of their unique academic programs include: Dance Production and Management, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Athletic Training, and Urban Studies. Not only are there plenty of opportunities for entertainment off campus, but the on campus activities and athletic events will make it easy to want to stay on campus and get involved!

Whether you are on this road trip or if you are travelling to Las Vegas with your family, you will want to stop and check out UNLV and all that it has to offer prospective students! You can register for a campus tour on their website here and you can even meet with a "Rebel Recruiter" (their term for Admissions Counselors) to talk about the application process!

The Northwestern corner of the United States has a ton of cultural opportunities both on their college campuses and within their popular cities. Take advantage of that on your college road trip and be sure to see not only the college campuses, but also the cities they live in!!

enjoy the chase,

skylar