University of Portland

My experience at the school was fine. Nothing review-worthy. However, after becoming an alumni, I would never recommend anyone go here. The first time I needed a transcript was shortly after graduating over 10 years ago. Something went wrong (I don't remember what) and I had to physically go in to the registrars office to get it fixed. Now today, I've spent over 3 hours on the phone, a zoom call, and email, and ultimately was told I have to pay for an official transcript, even though I only need an unofficial one. You see, apparently my 11 year old account is "so old", it doesn't exist in their new security system, and no one in IT knew how to get me access to my account to request an unofficial transcript. So I called the registrars office. They are literally the office in charge of my information. Surely they can send it to me. No. They "legally" can only send an official transcript. And no, they won't waive the fee. I'm not really upset about $8.50. But let this be a warning to all who consider going here: you'll be at this school for a few short years. You'll be potentially applying for jobs that will need transcripts for the next 30 years. They will update their system many times throughout, your information will not transfer over smoothly, and they will not step a toe out of line to help you. (BTW, it took 2 minutes to get my transcript from my other university).

The school is quite far from Portland downtown; however, the environment is really great. It is quite and huge that i believe students can study and enjoy the study time peacefully.

Beautiful complex, facilities are very nice, seating is half n half padded chairs and half aluminum bleachers. Disabled friendly.

Getting anything done with the administration of this school is like pulling teeth, putting them back in, letting them heal, and then pulling them back out again. All of their platforms are not very user friendly.

Our oldest son is getting ready to attend UP in the fall. Every interaction we have with folks there is wonderful. The campus is beautiful. The people are gracious and encouraging. The way every faculty member speaks about the intersection of academic pursuits and real world living makes me hopeful for my son's future vocation.

Grounds are always well maintained and beautiful! I love this place. It feels like home.

Stayed here for the Summer Conference and had a blast. Got to be closer to God and the people I love in a fun way. The campus is big and beautiful! I even saw a basketball player there who is 7 ft tall in the cafeteria! I can't wait to come back again.

This place is usually fantastic but I recently came here for a graduation and I was not happy with how they organized the event. It took forever to get into the building and took even longer to get out of the building. They should designate a meeting area for graduates and families that is away from the building and not directly in front. It was pure chaos. You can do better.

It was an amazing experience for my first time attending The Schoenfeldt Distinguished Writers Series at University of Portland! I was happy to learn that the series is free and open to the public! What made it even better was free parking during the evening, which makes it even more accessible and inclusive to the public. I hope they continue to have funding to support programs like this for their students and the public. My gratitude and appreciation for such programs were greatly enhanced with the opportunity to see and learn from my living hero, Việt Thanh Nguyễn!

This is a private university in north Portland. Very nice campus, near the Willamette River. The school has a good variety of major and sports. Walking around campus is nice.

Never knew much about this school until my nephew decided he wanted to come here! Where? Haha, but what a new respect I have for the School, it's faculty and beautiful grounds and buildings. This past weekend was Family Weekend. I decided to fly there and participate with all the many activities they had planned. A campus tour, meeting with the various department heads, lunch and mass with the president, karaoke night, a basketball game and 4 baseball games, It was a full weekend. I am now so vested in what a great school this is that I'm recommending this smaller college to many of my other friends kids. There are also many Hawaii kids going here. In fact this week there is a Hawaian Luau planned, wish I could have stayed for that. Good to know that there is a great college here in Portland. Can't wait to go and visit again!!

Beautiful campus and we enjoyed our tour. We didn't have have a set tour this day. We walked around on a school day so that our son could get a feel of the campus while classes were in session. He was sceptical at first because it is further from home than he wants to be for college. UP is now one of the top picks for private school choices. It's set in a quiet suburban neighborhood but not too far from I-5.

Do not apply unless you're 100% sure you'll enroll. Since being accepted I've been borderline harassed with phone calls and emails asking for me to enroll. I get they want to free up the waitlist but to people who are still making a decision it's very frustrating.

Gayle and I came back to Portland last weekend for the graduation of her niece from the University of Portland. It also turned out to be a most enjoyable family gathering that included the graduate's parents, brothers, and many other relatives and friends. This was also my first appearance at a larger family gathering since Gayle and I had become engaged. I was first impressed with the physical beauty of the University of Portland Campus, especially all of the trees that were in bloom. The people were also nice and you could tell that the faculty and staff here had created and continue to nurture a special academic and spiritual community here. We first attended the School of Nursing "Pinning" Ceremony. Gayle's niece was publicly recognized for her achievements and her parents had many reasons to be proud of a job well done. I also attended the Baccalaureate Mass and although I'm not Catholic (or Christian), I thought that the music and the pageantry of the service was uplifting and was perhaps one of the best religious events I had attended in a long time. In addition, the somewhat dryly delivered drash (homily) was an appropriate and meaningful message to the new graduates, especially in this economy. But who was the guy up front with the pink kippah? He turned out to be the Bishop of Spokane. Amongst all this joy and celebration, these ceremonies can also be bittersweet in terms of the new starts awaiting the graduates. I also have my own thoughts and prayers regarding other friends and family and their possible future graduations....

My nephew wanted to visit colleges in Portland since we were in the area. I called a few days ahead to schedule a visit and they were very accommodating. The campus itself is quite beautiful and located in a safe neighborhood. Our tour guide really sold us on this university. I really liked that they have a small teacher to student ratio, many majors to choose from and awesome student facilities! Truly a worth while visit for those looking for a college to attend!

This is not at all a comprehensive review. I went to college elsewhere and have not taken any classes at U of P. However, I have a lot of friends who attended U of P, and I know of several generations of one family who graduated from the school and did graduate work there as well, and I've had reports of an excellent educational experience and ability to get great jobs because of U of P. I think U of P is one of the prettiest campuses in the Portland area, really classic for what one imagines a campus to look like, and for my money (and probably a ton of tuition money from the students), the campus rates right up there with Lewis & Clark and Reed College. And seriously how do you resist a carrillon ringing at noon - there's a real campus must! The buildings are beautifully maintained as are the grounds, and there's a lot to look at and enjoy in terms of outdoor artwork. I had the pleasure of attending a function at U of P yesterday and enjoyed meeting some of the professors and students. Of course, it was relaxed and fun because it was a social situation, but I think the function and staff and students represented the University well. I walked away with a great impression that we're lucky to have an institution of such quality in Portland.

What a beautiful campus! My daughter, who is a high school senior, is seriously looking at this college! People on campus were very nice and helpful!

Beautiful college campus. My wife goes here as a grad student and I had the privilege to experience this place. Architecture and buildings are filled with cozy classrooms. Landscape is kept clean and neat. The mascot is the Pilots. The Clark library is a good size where a lot of students study. Sometimes it can get a little loud or you can hear chit chat on the side. Students are able to reserve a private room for group studies. The basement floor is the quiet floor, so if you need that absolute silence then this is the place to go. There is a church and bell tower in the heart of the campus. A couple of residence hall dorms for students and classroom halls spread throughout. They just recently built a new recreation center gym on the edge of campus. Dining facility had pretty good option for this school size. Parking can be a pain at the main parking lot. It is a small lot and there is also limited parking around so depending on the day, you better get there early. Lot is free after 4pm. From what I hear, classroom is based on alot of discussion and a good student to teacher ratio. Academics is standard as most universities are. They also have a couple of sports teams for students to cheer on. Wether you are a student or visitor, it is a nice campus to take a stroll and look around.

I enjoy walking the campus between labs. The trees and street life are always a sight to see.

My dear beloved Alma mater, you don't know how much you mean to me. You make my heart swell up and begin to throb. You get my trousers twisted. But wait, I know you're wondering, what is a Greek Orthodox public school-er doing going to a private Catholic school on the bluff? Well I'll get to that. I made the decision to attend UP on a late August afternoon after returning from a magical visit to Portland. Ahhh, summers in the Pacific Northwest, it doesn't get much better than that. Especially in Portland, when you're in the heart of downtown and it smells like you're in the middle of a forest? Really? YES. Paybacks a bitch and that's what you get for putting up with 9 months of straight rain and gloom. Let me get back to the school. I couldn't have asked for a better place. I had the opportunity to go to other schools...Yale, U Pen, Harvard, Cornell... but for some reason I chose the small yet distinguished University of Portland. I met the most amazing people, the most profoundly tolerant people you could ever imagine from the most interesting backgrounds. One of my best friends, who from the minute I heard his voice (in our first bio class -I knew we'd have to be friends), was raised on a co-op in New Mexico, became a Ford scholar, went to UP, went on to work in a P.O.W. camp (got tortured by the Israelis) in the West Bank, then worked at one of Mother Teresa's hospitals in Somalia (had HIV + blood squirted in his eyes on accident there), is now a 4th year med student at Harvard and will go on to make everyone's lives he touches better. He will never own a car (only a bike) and will own 4 pieces of clothing his entire life.... this is just one example of a student. I have a cha-billion others if you have time. The professors: extremely intelligent, yet approachable and incredibly holistic. In fact, I just heard my finance professor being interviewed on NPR last week! I started twitching like a had a turrets attack with excitement! The professors remember all their students like we are their baby chicks on Easter. All of them. And what else? Well I played volleyball here - a full four years of division 1 athletics. That's how I ended up here. It makes me shiver (again). Blood, sweat, and tears. From waking up at 5AM for hell raising practices to surgeries (no one makes it 4 years in D1 without surgery) to the highest of the highs making school history with wins and statistics that are in the books as I write this. The 12 or so girls I played with during my 4 years will forever be a part of me. Out of this group I have made the best of friends. Literally, their names are on my right kidney, if they should ever need it. UP is the smallest D1 school in the NCAA. My senior year, we (ok, it was the woman's soccer team, not the volleyball team) won our first NCAA championship. All 2000 of us students went bizzzerck! I couldn't have asked for a better place. Go Pilots!

Important note: This is from a transfer student perspective, and mostly based on very subjective feelings. Sometimes I felt that...during new transfer student registration... the administration could care less about what classes you wanted to arrange. It's sad because you're paying all this money, and then they act like they can't put you into the classes that you want.. when other classes have 3-5 people over the limit. I don't know... so far I feel like a number rather than a person, unlike the philosophy "you will feel like a person instead of a number" that smaller universities tend to carry. My transfer student acquaintances told me that the administration signed them up for all these classes that were all over the place and at annoying times like 8 AM (which is difficult for someone who is not a morning person). The university definitely has a different vibe than the surrounding Portland. There is a large population of preppy white people, while the hipsters, alternative types, mountain-men, and hippies are more rare of a kind. I feel like diversity is lacking when it comes to ethnicity and lifestyle. But, students are from all over the U.S., and there's a small (but slightly significant) population of students from outside of the U.S. Most students (98%) are from straight out of high school. I'm not used to this, and I'm trying to adapt, even though I am just as young as many of these people. I miss having a wide variety of people of all ages and all walks of life. UP has more of a "high school vibe", but many people like this over a commuter school with more diversity and maturity. Transferring in is different because you're used to people who are not cliquish--the "junior" and "seniors" already have their cliques formed over the years, and then whats left are some cool freshmen, and then many immature freshmen. At a community college, you're used to all types of ages and people and moms and commuters and part-time job holders, who all enjoy engaging with each other on an adult-level, and most people are more familiar with their own identities, so they can relate to one another more easily and hold conversations more fluidly, I guess you can say. I feel that it's more difficult for a transfer student to fit in because they don't have a group that they can identify with yet, and it's more difficult to break into the ice. Classes range from easier to more difficult, not much different from any university. You will find easy classes and difficult classes at any university. So far, I'm not swayed by any "prestigious academia", but I wasn't expecting that here anyways. I will update this review as (hopefully) my experience becomes brighter. Sometimes, I question if Portland State University would've offered me more of the "comfortable fit" I was looking for as a transfer student. I felt more "at college" at my community college than this 4-year university so far... I almost feel as if I am back in high school. *shudder*

I thought the University of Portland was my dream school, turns out not. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly. Pros Beautiful campus and mostly new buildings Great teachers (friendly and well educated) Good reputation nationally Great ROTC program for those interested Very small, safe, community Cons Expensive (aren't all schools though?) No real social life on or off campus Stiflingly conservative (ask about dorm life) Small size = high school-like cliques No shuttle or way to get downtown Very unfriendly toward LGBTQ community "Liberal Arts" includes 3 mandatory (and repetitive if you've been in Catholic school before) theology classes

Just came by to take a look at the campus along with some of my friends who are alumni at UP, but from what I saw of the campus this place is beautiful! Set in the northern section of Portland, the campus looks like it went through a bunch of new additions and renovations and really caters to its student population! I only hope I'll find myself around this area again!

Yes, I am a Pilot. Although I am biased, I believe the education I received here was second to none. Coming from Hawai'i, there were a bunch of us from the islands that gravitated towards the preservation of all things Hawai'i and joined the Hawaiian Club. However, I gradually strayed away and branched out to meet people from other areas of the country and learn about their experiences that were so different than my island mentality. I did not enjoy the growing pains and immaturity of high school, so I hated my time previous to coming to UofP. Here I blossomed from the nerdy, reclusive and ambiguous boy to becoming a better man. I made friends easy and made girlfriends even easier (I digress). Besides excelling academically, I made huge gains socially by becoming involved with the campus newspaper, The Beacon; hosting a radio show with friends at KDUP; and joining the campus chapter of Amnesty International, eventually becoming its president my junior year. My friends and I were also an active part of intramural sports (i.e. water polo and volleyball) at Howard Hall. I miss the intellectual excitement a college campus usually exudes and discovering concepts I never knew existed. The plethora of knowledge ripe for the picking I guess. So many fine moments of growth too lengthy to mention here. Trips to downtown Portland perusing the likes of restaurants and cafes that never existed in Hawai'i (and still don't). Exploring the seedy streets of Burnside and exploring artsy-fartsy movies at KOIN Cinema. My years in PDX made sweeter by the experiences had here. A rather beautiful campus that I recall filled with green space that allowed the mind and body to roam. Since I've graduated, UofP has expanded at lightening speed with exciting new buildings, dorms and land purchases that continue to secure the university as a top-notch destination, further enhancing the value of my degree. Sophomore year I was accepted into their prestigious Salzburg Program, a study abroad program that landed me in Salzburg, Austria for an entire year. What a life changing opportunity that exposed me to the politics of living in close quarters among forty college students who ranged from cerebral scholars to pot headed hippies (I settled somewhere in between and maybe a bit more towards the later). This single study abroad experience had huge impact on my life and infected me with the lust for international travel that has since taken me as far as St. Petersburg, Russia to Mae Hong Song, Thailand and many places in between. A ripple effect that continues to reward me with the promise of future travel. An amazing experience that may have played out differently if I attended elsewhere. However, I am glad of the choice I made and the lasting friendships I still have today. Grateful memories and forever proud to be a Pilot. #Yelp 365: 096/365

Ah college life. I had the opportunity to return to the University of Portland this last weekend and reminisce with some current and former students. If you are in high school and can't figure out for the life of you where to go to college, I highly recommend UP. Grad of 2009 talking here. The University has about 3500 undergrad students where most all Freshmen and Sophomores live on campus. The University does a great job of building a sense of community within the dorms as well as on campus. Even a majority of upperclassmen live off-campus but stay between the University and Lombard street. Academically, I really enjoyed (most) of my classes. I was a Global Business major from day 1 and never changed. The facilities and technology are up-to-date and the professors are great. Shout out to Gary Mitchell. Highly recommend his classes. They just built a brand new library and currently finishing a new athletic facility for students. The dorm meal plan is actually really good too, so don't complain! It's a great place to come into your own and highly recommend looking into it.

If you are a person of color--honestly, don't attend because this university is incredibly invalidating and subversively racist to their students of color. As one, I do not value the experience I had there as I found myself constantly having to justify who I was and where I came feel to staff and administration. It's incredibly expensive. Almost all Spanish classes focus only on Spain and never Latin America. There was one, single black professor there who worked only part-time while I attended 2012-2016. It was explained to me that my diagnosed mental illness would "not be tolerated" there either, as they did not want to offer me resources. I graduated but it's not my favorite piece of paper. Especially since they delayed the awarding of my degree without reason. Anyway--apply with caution unless you're white, because they will love you.

Recently (June 7,2013) I attended a ceremony highliting the High School Graduates from Milwaukie High School. Surprisingly we were able to get into the college parking with relative ease. The auditorim where we sat were hard bleachers. The ceremony was great and leaving was not really congested as we drove through the housing area and then got on the main road to leave the area. I just knew this would be a pain getting in and out of but it really went very smooth. I wanted to say Thank You to all those who volunteered and made this a pleasant experience.

The school lacks diversity. My child just finished year two and regularly tells me how the school is very monochromatic. The school does not communicate well. My child's required math course that he was going to take in the summer 2020 was cancelled a couple weeks before it was to start. He received an email just before his final exams that the online course would be cancelled because not enough had signed up. If it's online and the school boasts about having no more than 20 students per class, then why would it matter if there is a couple students versus 20? He had no time to register for the same course at another university, because he had to first apply to the uni and register one he was accepted. During this unprecendented pandemic, the Christian values of UP were based in dollars. The didn't want to pay a professor to teach this class. Oh, and then once the courses went online, we were bombarded with requests for donations.

Okay, I went there, so I might be a little biased, but it was probably the best four years of my life... thus far. The campus is beautiful and the students are friendly. The class sizes are small to moderate - definitely small when you get into upper division classes. The professors are very approachable and most, if not all of my professors, held PhD's. I also attribute them for getting me into law school because the professors remember you, even after taking four years off before applying to law school. I also believe that they gave me a great foundation regarding the intense analytical writing and research skills you need to do well in law school. The curriculum is more rigorous than most schools, and they expect a lot from their students. I know this because I studied overseas during college, and took classes at Portland State after graduating college, and neither school I attended compared to the expectations that the University of Portland placed on us. And the class I took at PSU was not even supposed to be easy. It was premed biology! They require more core classes than most other schools because they have a 4 semester theology requirement due to the fact that the University of Portland is Catholic. At first I was weary because I was not Catholic nor religious, but nobody ever shoved religion down my throat. The theological courses are more focused on the study of the theological and philosophical theories, rather than having a religious agenda. The way I put it, is that there is a religious presence for those who want it, but that religious presence most likely won't affect anyone who doesn't want it. It was honestly a very educating experience and I am so glad that I have extensive theological knowledge. It has definitely benefited me in regards to defending political issues and legal arguments, when any sort of religious issue is put on the table. Class debate is highly encouraged and only about half the student body is Catholic so you won't get completely pounced on. But just know that St. Thomas Aquinas is great and don't try to say otherwise. Ha ha! The student body is not very diverse, and it is mostly middle to upper class kids that dress preppy. Although the overall attitude is conservative, there is definitely a liberal edge, being in Portland and all. Think granola trust-fund kids. The off-campus extracurricular events, aka parties, were pretty fun as I remember even though they have no sororities or fraternities. UP is Notre Dame's sister school and whatever they do, UP does, so when ND eliminated frats, so did UP. But I liked it better that they didn't have them anyway. They don't have a football team, which is kind of a downer. The big sport on campus is women's soccer, and that is mostly because they are consistently really good. They have been NCAA national champions several times and sent several people to the World Cup and the Olympics. It's one of the smallest D-1 schools in the nation, but the soccer program (both men's and women's) is one of the best, and that's exciting. I have many life-long friends from there and their alumni office has been really generous. I live in So Cal now but they pay for UP alumni events all around the country. In fact, I recently attended a UP sponsored event and reconnected with some old friends - all on my alma mater's tab. Not bad! I highly recommend the University of Portland if you want a top-notch, classic, liberal arts education.

UP's got decent academics, involved professors, and a kick-ass campus to boot. Though I've only gone here for grad school, I'd assume the undergraduate education is even more comprehensive. As a non-religious person, I am a little put off by the giant crosses hanging conspicuously in some offices and every classroom, but students aren't preachy. The mood is definitely more conservative than say Lewis and Clark or Reed, but this is no Liberty University. Sports aren't huge (except for women's soccer) but that's what you'd expect from a small liberal arts uni. The class sizes are small to moderate and the price is decent for a private university (while the MBA program cost is about equal with PSU). I'd recommend it to anyone who is considering other colleges and universities.

It's really not that good of a school. Sort to small and narrow in many ways that keep it from taking it to the next level. I did go here, the faculty seem sort of out of it and disconnected (unhealthy) on some level. Integrated religion courses that really aren't cogent and from an era past. They are expensive for what you get - it just doesn't have the options and depth that public (and some private) schools have. Gorgeous campus, but that's about it. It would be a mistake to spend four years here (in part because it is so expensive).

Okay, so I'm a little biased as a former student, but, this is an amazing university. You fall in love with the campus itself with the blooming cherry trees that you see when you drive onto the campus in the Spring and the views of the river from the Bluff as well. The nursing and business schools are great and are just the tip of the iceberg, and there's nothing like a women's soccer game at UP. Plus, there is the city of Portland with McMenamins nearby, taquerias, Cannon Beach, etc. It's all good.

This institution has gone down hill dramatically since I joined as a freshman in 2008. All of the values of teaching, faith and service it seems have fallen by the wayside. Everything is about revenue for them. I am a returning fifth year AFROTC cadet and I personally feel unaccepted and just another pay check for them. Bon Apetite is the catering company that cooks our horrible food. They charge a horrendous start up fee to use "points" that equate to less than 65 cents of a dollar (its like going to a foreign country). They also charge you packout fees of $25 if you want to have raw ingredients to cook at home. They are also now charging students for to-go boxes (a very important item for students that have class schedules that overlap regular eating patterns - cadets, athletes, nutrition conscious, etc.). The food is promoted as farm fresh, sustainable and healthy. Honestly it tastes like crap, often is undercooked and uses premade components (egg beaters, sysco food products, etc.) and mostly consists of carbohydrates and lacks healthy fats and protein (you'd save a lot more money buying a loaf of bread at safeway). Resident's Life has found ways to make living meager as well. For example, students who have been at the university for a long time cannot keep their rooms for the next year. They also don't maintain the facilities when asked. Currently my laundry closet is in danger of an explosive fire due to a clogged lint ventilation system. Student Accounts knows that ROTC scholarships take awhile to process in that all other schools start later than we do. They still insist on charging us $75 dollar late fees daily until we pay up. Academically this school does fairly well. All of the professors are very accessible outside of lecture and more than happy to help you out. However most times I feel that a lot of what we do has very little carry over into an actual profession/job. Moreover, a lot of the skills/information we do need simply isn't taught. Although that can be said about all colleges in the United States. All in all, I don't feel like a well respected and valued member of the University of Portland Community. Instead I feel cheated, used and ignored.

The dorms are garbage. They feel like prison cells, not to mention the doors have a weird procedure to lock them. And the halls feel claustrophobic. 0/10

I did love going here some decades ago, it was a delight. President Fr Otto was a sincere, sweet, approachable fellow, and the staff and students (at that time) were very sincere, approachable, welcoming. I never once felt judged or discriminated against because I wasn't catholic. The painting teacher, Dente, really built community, very gregarious, and provided, unknowingly, art therapy for many stressed students. I thought the quality of the classes was very good, very detailed, professors took the time to make you push yourself, and they CHECKED on you. The required classes on Philosophy & (your choice of world-religions) were actually quite interesting, and have been useful all these years later. SAVE MONEY: Keep costs down by transferring here & working while going to school. Push for frequent advice from your advisor, see how many of your credits you can perform at the community college before finishing the BS/BA. CON: At any college - Be smart, research BEFORE the massive debt by finding out how employable a degree is, and how much that field will make. Some of my peers decades later have NEVER made much money, and had massive debt. Also, I see many of the sports-stars let slide into bogus very-hard-to-employ degrees--this is possibly exploitative, steals their time/money, university resources, and does not end well. Where is the data on their career performance after graduating?