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First Generation Attendees

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Fifty-one percent of Western Oregon University’s student body is the first in their family to attend college. This could be for a number of reasons—the WOU Tuition Promise, the availability of financial aid, or maybe something as simple as the convenience of its location in rural Monmouth and Independence. But the one thing that has turned many prospective students’ visits to Western Oregon University into their eventual decision to stay there is the incredibly warm and welcoming environment.
For students of families who have not attended college, often an university venue can be somewhat unsettling; it is new and unfamiliar. Western Oregon University’s small size is the foundation upon which much of the university’s user-friendliness is built. A smaller university means a smaller campus, smaller class sizes, and a smaller (if any) waiting time when working with university administration to settle the nuts and bolts of any student’s education.
WOU sports a close and simple campus that is easily navigable to even first-time visitors. Laid out on one main arterial—Monmouth Avenue—all of the university’s main academic buildings, including classrooms and faculty offices, are located in the same central hub. This means no complex navigation of unmarked side-streets, and no labyrinth of row-behind-row buildings. Every crucial university office—the library, administration building, and academic advising and programs—can be found on the main avenue with the classrooms and faculty offices. Dormitories and cafeterias are grouped at one end of campus so that all students sharing university housing—especially those new on campus—can be spared the trouble of finding their friends and peers. And when the time comes to move off campus, Western Oregon University is nestled near the small towns of Monmouth and Independence. Apartments, laundromats, and restaurants are all within walking or biking distance of the university—and local navigation is a breeze. These two tight-knit communities embrace their collegiate neighbor, providing ample student housing and commerce that caters to a university crowd.
Possibly the biggest factor in adjusting to college for the first time is the availability of professors to help with academic advising, degree plans, class work, or just plain college life. Western Oregon’s unique size comes with the added blessing of a gracious student-to-faculty ratio—18:1. This means that each student’s professors are always on hand to grab a cup of coffee and discuss something as simple as homework or as far-reaching as a career or life goal. The adjustment from high school to college can be a harsh one, but Western’s faculty eases that change by erasing the stereotype of professors that just don’t care; they offer the one-on-one attention that, more often than not, is the difference between success and failure.
Finally, one of Western Oregon University’s most popular features is its informal walk-in policy when dealing with administrative concerns. Nursing a student body of 4,500 undergraduates (compared to other major universities in Oregon dealing with around 25,000), gives the plentiful staff at Western Oregon the chance to be open and prepared at any time. Western has often been praised for its standard of simplicity in administration, fostering an open and caring environment in which parents and students are not subjected to long lines or unnecessary procedures. Western’s small size allows them to find an administrative professional to work with any person at any time—for any amount of time, until the job is done. Plus, WOU offers rolling admissions with no hard admission deadlines, so that students who are unfamiliar with the application process can connect with an admissions officer, complete the necessary processes, and begin their education as soon as possible.
Western Oregon University is proud to be the gateway to many students’ dreams, dreams that many families had never thought possible, but that Western has made a reality. Those families that have worked and striven to give their children a bright future have earned the right to a caring, open, and user-friendly environment that will give them even more than they expected—which is exactly what they deserve.


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