Whitman College‘s 117-acre campus doubles as an outdoor art museum and arboretum, a landscape that helps create the “peaceful balance” students say they’ve found at the small liberal arts school.
A few minutes is all it takes to get from one end of campus to the other, and with only about 1,500 undergrads and a 9-1 student-faculty ratio, students develop close ties with professors.
Academics are rigorous, students say. First-years must take a yearlong seminar that explores texts by Shakespeare, Darwin and Plato, among other greats.
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Thirty professors across all disciplines teach sections of the class in the same time slot, which creates a shared but varied experience. While one student is studying with a chemistry professor, say, her roommate will be reading the same texts with a psych professor.
“It fosters a community,” says Dana Burgess, a classics professor. Every senior wraps up with a thesis and a presentation to faculty and peers.
Environmental Studies is a popular major among the 46 that Whitman offers. Most students pair it with another hard science or social science .
T hose looking for a hands-on experience can opt for the Semester in the West program, during which selected students camp out for 90 days to immerse themselves in the rural life and public land management issues impacting a dozen western states. Students hear from conservationists, energy experts, ranchers, ecologists and community activists to gain perspective.
Further off campus, 40 percent of students take advantage of 88 study abroad programs in 40 countries. Access to a planetarium and an observatory on campus, and typically clear night skies, make astronomy another popular choice.
Madison Wray, a junior from Portland, Oregon, says being environmentally conscious is “ingrained into the mindset” of the Whitman community and so is community service; 70 percent of the student body participates in service annually. A fellows program funds part-time jobs for 12 students at nearby nonprofit organizations.
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Fully 80 percent of students take part in an intramural sport — one of the highest percentages in the nation — and 20 percent play for one of Whitman’s 14 Division III varsity athletic teams. Club sports include climbing, cycling, alpine skiing, rugby and Ultimate Frisbee.
Forty percent of students participate in Greek life, and the more than 70 other clubs include the Glean Team, which collects crops left behind after local farm harvests to donate to food banks, and the Story Time Project, which arranges for students to travel to schools and daycare centers to read to children.
Sean Terada, a recent grad from Honolulu, liked the college’s laid-back vibe, and the sense he got that he would be able to do it all — compete on the swim team, join clubs and pursue a major in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology in preparation for medical school.
The faculty is “really invested in making sure you succeed,” says Chloe Weinstock, a recent grad in marine biology from Davis, California.
Students acknowledge that they are off the beaten path — three hours from Spokane, four from Portland — but say they enjoy the local charm. People “come here very intentionally,” says Wray.
Walla Walla, located at the foot of the Blue Mountains, is known for miles of wheat fields, sweet onions and wine tourism, and quaint coffee shops, art galleries and restaurants are just a block off campus.
An award-winning outdoor program facilitates trips to nearby rafting, kayaking, biking and hiking locations and provides leadership training. Students joke that Whitman is the best campus to get injured on, because so many complete first – responder training. A highlight of the program is a 7,000-square-foot climbing wall in the athletic center, site of the annual Sweet Onion Crank intercollegiate climbing competition.
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This story is excerpted from the U.S. News “Best Colleges 2018” guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data.
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