Jenna LeComte -- Sophomore -- Gaston HS (OR)

I searched all over the south and the southwest when I was looking for schools because I was sick of being rained on for 9 months straight. I visited a ton of schools, and as soon as I got to Redlands, I took one look and said, "This is what I want." So I came here. A lot of people talk down about the size of Redlands, how there's "nothing to do" but really it all depends on you. I never have enough time to do everything I want to. I have a full schedule of classes, a really great job as a research assistant in the business department, a double major, a lot of really awesome friends, and when I have ANY time left over from all of that--well, I sleep. Plus, when you know where to look, there's stuff to do. Some people complain that we don't have huge parties, but there's enough small parties where you can actually find people you know and talk to new people and make new friends. Make friends with the frat brothers and you can go to the frat houses just to hang out, not just when there's parties. You can go to U Hall dances if that's your thing. You can join clubs, sports, etc. I love Redlands, and I love the town, too, not just the University. It's a really pretty little quaint town with all kinds of neat things that I'm still discovering. Just this summer I found a really awesome bagel shop. Especially coming from Oregon, it's wonderful to be in the sun, too. On my birthday (in April) when my Oregon friends called to say happy birthday, I said, "Thanks, I'm spending the day at the pool", something that NEVER would happen in Oregon in April. I live off campus now, but I would encourage everyone to enjoy their dorm. I lived in the CRAZY dorm, and I'm relieved to be out (couple of horror stories there) but now when I look around at all my friends, they're all from that dorm. We all bonded and we hang out all the time. I grew up knowing about small private colleges, because my mom teaches at one and I transfered from one when I came here, so I always knew I wanted a small school and not some big state school. It's wonderful, having professors that really care and really know you. One of my first professors here was awesome so I took another class with her, and then she became my advisor, and then I ended up doing research with her. Those are the kind of bonds you can expect to have. Email me if you want to know anything else about the school.
P.S.--Everyone here is pretty big about myspace.com and facebook.com, so go on there and search U of R students. I'm on there, too.