I wonder if most of the reviews on this site are written by the L&C marketing team, as the marketing team did tend to oversell the school when we were making our college selection. The care and support that the school talks about, as well as one reviewer here described, is simply not there. We were told that Freshmen would be ushered into campus life by upperclassmen. That never happened. Academic counselors don't appear to consider the individual circumstances of students .For instance, L&C does NOT have a first year chemistry class (101), but requires Freshmen that are interested in a science major to take Chem 155 in their first semester . How could a counselor advise first year college students that never had chemistry in high school to take this class? Wouldn't it have been better to advise them to take 101 at home over the summer before fall semester? Or even better, why doesn't L&C offer a chem 101 class? Several students were teaching themselves the fundamentals of chemistry from the Internet, just to understand the terms being used in class. Many freshmen in this position had panic attacks and others just gave up, leaving a hole in their schedules.
Campus events are not properly advertised. The college says that they have a Web portal where students can get all the info they need. Unfortunately, it isn't kept up regularly and there doesn't appear to be other means of getting information---like maybe notices in the dorms or from the RA. If Freshmen want to learn about Portland, they do it on their own. You'd think that the college would promote cultural events in town a little more.
There are some really good teachers at L&C, as well as some not-so-good. Some are approachable and helpful, while others don't take time to listen and seem to have the same pat answers for everyone. Some of the programs seem to be designed so that it would be difficult for students to transfer out, requiring courses that other leading college don't require. Even still, at least six Freshmen I know are transferring out after the first year.
It is ridiculously difficult for students or parents to reach the administrative staff---calls from parents go to voice mails and seldom if ever get returned, and emails seem to go into cyberspace for an indeterminate period of time.
From my experience, the majority of the student body appear to be stoners, and if you don't smoke or drink you're either left out, or you learn to smoke and drink just to NOT feel like an outcast. There isn't much school spirit or leadership. If you are even slightly reserved and not the gregarious type, Lewis and Clark can offer a cold, lonely and dreary experience. Looking forward to a new start someplace else.