Willamette University Top Questions

There is an exercise science major that works very well for premed students and there are a myriad of performing opportunities including open mic nights.

How expensive tuition and books would really be. Also, I wish I would have been more aware of all of the majors available.

You get last dibs on the classes you want to take for spring semester. Now I know that this should have been expected, and I sort of did expect it, but it really is frustrating when your first, second, third, and fourth choices get taken, so you have to find a random class and turn your schedule around 8 ways to Sunday.

I wish I had know just what it means to go to such a small school. If you do something good, everyone knows. And if you do something bad--everyone knows. Its's a little claustrophobic at times.

I wish that I had known more about how their system works. As this is a liberal arts school there are a bunch of general ed requirements that are required for graduation, I wish I had known more about those so that my first semester would have been set up better.

Willamette is a very friendly, engageing school and fairly academically motivated. If I could go back, I would a apply to schools that were fairly friendly and very academically motivated. Willamette is a great school for anyone who would like to be socially and academically balanced. However, intensely academic students might want to look elsewhere.

I wish I had known about the train that ran parallel to the campus at all hours of the night. I also wish I would have known that after move-in weekend the food quality on campus takes a steady decline until parent's weekend when they amp it back up again. I really love the freedom and the fact that I do not have the burden of parents dictating or controlling my decisions in terms of my major. I didn't know beforehand that I was finally in complete control of my future.

Before I came to this school, I wish I had known about the many transportation options available to students at the school. The train station is literally across the street from campus and the bus station is just a short walk down the road. I was very worried about how I was going to get around in college, being a freshman without a car, but I have found that it is and extremely simple task. And with Portland just a short train/bus ride away, there is always stuff to do.

My high school academic experience can be summed up in one word: easy. I knew that college was going to be different than high school, but I was not expecting it to be that overwhelming. I had to get used to the extremely different workload while trying to manage it with the new found freedom I was experiencing. I wish I knew how much harder it would be to maintain your grades in college. It took me a while to get the hang of college academics, but I finally figured out the best way to balance studying and playing.

I wish I had known that most professors at Willamette expect full and dedication towards the course. I wish I had known that because the classes are so small, you can't "hide" from your professors and therefore each student needs to come prepared and ready to be challenged.

The ins and outs of the fin-aid department.

It's a wonderful school, but Salem is definately not a college town. Be prepared to spend weekends on campus, and get used to knowing everyone that you see on campus. We're small and tight-knit, and while I love that, it also means that bad-dating decisions and embarrassing encounters will come back to haunt you. It really is an awesome little school, though.