A bit easier said than done, particularly in the case of the UW. First, the campus is very big, and second, it's surrounded by water on one side (Portage Bay and Union Bay) and a big shopping center (University Village) on another, so aside from on-campus housing, "walkable" off-campus housing and commercial areas are clustered in dense neighborhoods on the west and north sides of the campus. Many students (I'd only be guessing at the number - maybe more than half?) commute from all over the region - from other parts of Seattle, or from the east side of Lake Washington or even farther.

In the case of Seattle University, this is an "in-city" school with a much smaller student population (roughly a third of USC's undergraduates) and a campus that exists as something of an island, surrounded by a giant concentration of medical facilities - hospitals, clinics, medical offices - on one side and low income (but gentrifying rapidly) neighborhoods on two others. I don't know what the "commuter" share of students is, but I'd guess it's a considerable majority. In some ways it's a bit reminiscent of USC's surroundings, but at a much smaller scale.

One thing I'd suggest prior to coming is to do some "touring" via Google's "street view" mapping option. If you're unfamiliar with this, it's a way to "walk" along streets with a 360-degree view (use a mouse to move the camera direction.) For example, here's the view from more or less the northwest corner of the Seattle U campus - https://goo.gl/maps/RCETBehScz7CgMwJ8 . And here's one from "Greek Row" (17th Avenue NE) where of the UW fraternity and sorority houses are located - https://goo.gl/maps/YeHcADHaf1LEHr97A . If nothing else, this might help you in surveying the neighborhoods prior to visiting.

I agree about them being completely different types of colleges. I'm more familiar with Seattle U since it's in my neighborhood and I drive thru it often. Gardyloo described it well. It's spread out within the neighborhood as they have added new buildings, playfields, etc. It is not one contiguous campus. There's some cute college student kind of restaurants on12th Ave. if you happen to be in the area around lunchtime.

Stanton, we're looking at doing the same trip with our daughter, but we're holding out for early fall in the hopes that there will be student led tours. Fingers crossed!

I went to UW for my LL.M., but my experience with the campus was pretty much limited to the law school and doctors appointments at the UW Hospital as I was pregnant with our daughter at the time, and that's where she was born. :) When we visit now, we pretty much stick to downtown. I'm looking forward to looking at both Seattle U and doing more walking through the UW campus.

Time flies.

Directly around the US campus is "The Ave" the traditional student businesses street. Further out is mostly residential. An excellent and popular Trader Joe's at 45th & Roosevelt just a few blocks off campus. But around there are some great neighborhoods like Wallingford and Fremont one directions, then Roosevelt District, Maple Leaf, Ravenna, on up towards Northgate to the north. It's a very nice area somewhat upscale.

The neighborhood near Seattle U (in the "Central District") is also residential but a little lesser income level and more still 'on the rise' so a mix of old and new. Also sadly a controversial new Youth "Jail" under construction nearby. It's benefit is the proximity to Capitol Hill (I think someone already mentioned) which is a vibrant, artistic, diverse neighborhood (it's where I live so I am unduly charmed by it perhaps). And would be very easy to walk into downtown (down hill) and take Metro bus back home.

We are looking at a variety of schools. Seattle U is not really a commuter school. Much more of a contained community. We know someone who is currently a freshman there. I want my kids to live on campus and be part of that community but I know that not all schools guarantee housing for 4 years or some have dorms that aren't that nice. I went to a small liberal arts college (1,200 students) in the middle of an arboretum so my undergrad experience was different than what my kids want. It's fun exploring options to see what he feels like will be a good fit. I worked in college admissions 30 some odd years ago but things have changed quite a bit since then. U of Washington will be more of a stretch to get into. We will see how it all falls out....

Thanks for all the info on the various neighborhoods, etc. Quality of life is important for school. I had a much nicer experience in undergrad than grad school. Although I learned a lot living in LA for 2 years and I got used to daily earthquakes :-)

What you describe wanting for your son sounds a lot more like Seattle U than the UW.

StantonHyde, I so totally relate to your comment about your undergrad experience being different from what you kids want. Growing up in the Midwest my parents really wanted me to go to a small College on the East coast while all I wanted was to go to a large diverse school on the west coast (probably just to be contrary I guess!). So UW ended up being perfect for me even though I had never been to the NW and didn't know a soul. I hope you and your family have a great visit to Seattle and both schools and your son finds the place that feels right to him, especially in these extra challenging school years of covid!

Thanks jpie!! It will be fun to see different options and what speaks to him. That's the cool thing about colleges. There is a good fit for everyone. You just have to find it!

I so totally agree! I had lunch a month or so back with a mom friend who is sending her last kid off this year to college, and I got a perspective on how crazy applying and starting freshman year is this year for kids. He is an almost "semi-pro" soccer player to boot and also an excellent student, so aside from the usual things to consider, he was thinking the fact that record number of kids are applying to Ivy leagues this year given the fact of being able to do so without submitting SATs, and the fact that many kids in sports are having their seniors repeat their year so freshman may not get much playing time this year. But we agree that with an open mind and enough applications most everyone can find a good fit where they are happy. He ended up decided to go to Manchester England where he is going to get to play on the field team for M United soccer!