School:
Like forestgreen said, we're really getting somewhere. PSU has been adding programs and growing, both in quality and quantity, like no other school I've ever seen.
The are many good programs, some outstanding. PSU has a history of finding and securing niches. For the public schools in Oregon, academic fields are divided quite evenly among the big three:
Liberal arts & sciences, law - UO
Forestry, applied sciences, everything that happens outside - OSU
Everything that happens within a city (such as social work, urban studies, some tech & eningeering stuff) - PSU, The business school is excellent, too.
If you like a diverse urban school with tons of international students, come to PSU. You won't get the pretty candyland campus many rural schools have, but the city of Portland (our campus
) makes up for that in my opinion. PSU also has a very good job placement rate (=you actually get a job after graduation). And since you are coming from highschool probably as a freshman: PSU's University Studies program is considered one of the best freshman/sophomore programs in the nation. Never done it myself, but the kids all look quite happy.
I came to PSU as an international exchange student in 2005, and after a couple months, I changed my status to degree-seeking and graduated with a M.A. in TESOL (did I mention PSU's excellent Applied Linguistics Dept.?
) No regrets - one of the best things I've ever done.
City:
Awesome. Better than any other place in the US I've been. Maybe with the exception of some big cities like NYC and Chicago, but you can't really compare those to Portland.
Portland's amazing in that it has arts, culture, food, beer, nightlife etc. without trying to proove anything to anyone. Most Portlanders don't give a damn about whether Portland is considered an important place - it's enough that the city is good for them.
It speaks for Portland that some 65% or so of all PSU graduates stay in the Portland area because it's so livable. Not good for the job market - but then we are one of the most educated towns in the US, reflected by low crime rates, good environmental systems etc.
The most lovable thing about Portland (other than beer and a general relaxed way of looking at life) is that people really do care about the community they live in. They buy houses, plant stuff in their gardens, are politically involved etc. That's extremely important to me, and is one of the reasons I'll be staying for a while.
Football:
I couldn't say it better than forestgreen. Ready to explode, but needs to win. Hopefully, next season we'll be ready for more. 2006 we had a strong season but few noticed. 2007 there was a huge interest in PSU football but lost way too much (we had some pretty exciting losses, though. As one Oregonian guy said" "You could go Bungee Jumping or watch a PSU game.")
The good thing is that all the losses seem not to have too much of a negative impact on public attention. This fall, we'll be back for more.
Oh, and PGE Park is just a beautiful, beautiful little stadium. I wouldn't trade it for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.Last edited by on 2008-01-14, 00:05; edited 1 time in total
