Frequently asked questions
about applying to Lewis & Clark

• Does this FAQ answer questions for all undergraduate applicants to L&C – first-year, transfers, and international students too?
  
  
• Where can I get a paper application?
  
  
• Why do you waive the application fee for online applications?
  
  
• Can you tell me in advance if I’ll receive a merit scholarship or financial aid? I’d like to know if I can afford L&C before I apply.
  
  
• Do you have an early application plan?
  
  
• Is there an advantage to applying Early Action?
  
  
• If I apply Early Action and am not admitted, should I re-apply for Regular Decision?
  
  
• Do you need to receive my application materials by the deadline, or is it a postmark deadline? Is the deadline for all materials or just the application form?
  
  
• Can I apply after the February 1 Regular Decision deadline?
  
  
• My teacher and/or counselor is out of the office and can’t submit his/her letter until after the deadline. What should I do?
  
  
• If I apply online, how do I submit supporting documents like transcripts, teacher recommendations, etc?
  
  
• My counselor doesn’t know me very well. Can someone else complete the school report form?
  
  
• I would prefer to have a teacher from ninth grade and/or from an elective course submit my teacher recommendation. Is that OK?
  
  
• Do my teachers have to use your recommendation form, or can they just submit a letter?
  
  
• Do you require an official score report from the SAT or ACT testing agency, or can my school submit my scores?
  
  
• How do you handle the new SAT writing test? Should I submit the ACT writing test?
  
  
• May I submit supplemental materials (essays, recommendations, artwork, etc)?
  
  
• What do you look for in an essay?
  
  
• How long should my essay be?
  
  
• How do you weight the different pieces of my application in the decision-making process? How important is X (test scores, curriculum, essay, etc)?
  
  
• Can I get my admissions decision over the phone or online before I receive my letter in the mail?
  
  

• Does this FAQ answer questions for all undergraduate applicants to L&C – first-year, transfers, and international students too?
  The following FAQ mainly applies to first-year students applying as U.S. citizens. While much of the information may apply to all applicants, transfer students should first read our transfer student FAQ and international students should begin at our international admission page.
  
  
  
• Where can I get a paper application?
  If you choose to apply on paper, you must use the Common Application. This form is available from your high school counselor and can be downloaded from the Common Application web site. Don’t forget to read our Common Application instructions and submit our supplement.
  
  
  
• Why do you waive the application fee for online applications?
  We view application fees as "processing fees" that help cover the staff time necessary to prepare application files. A significant part of this processing is the time used to enter your information into our computer system. The on-line applications allow us to save considerable time by downloading the information directly. In passing on this savings to you we also see other benefits. We don't have to interpret anyone's handwriting, you don’t have to locate a typewriter (what’s that?!) and it also means you've found our web site, which is an important source of information about the College.
  
  
  
• Can you tell me in advance if I’ll receive a merit scholarship or financial aid? I’d like to know if I can afford L&C before I apply.
  The short answer is no. Our financial aid awards (need-based aid, academic merit-based scholarships, and talent scholarships) are made to admitted students only. The federal formula for determining your eligibility for need-based financial assistance is complicated and considers many factors such as family size and assets in addition to income. Academic merit-based scholarships also depend on many factors beyond simple grade point averages and test scores, including curriculum rigor, writing skills, teacher recommendations, and other academic factors. Music and forensics talent awards have their own application processes too. All this means that it takes time for us to carefully assemble financial aid packages, and we aren’t able to do it for students who haven’t yet been admitted to the College.
  
  You are wise to consider college cost and finances early in your college search, but remember that it is difficult to predict the actual cost of attending any college without completing the entire financial aid application process. While it can be frustrating to wait for a financial aid award, the timing of the process ensures that many factors – from the strength of the overall applicant pool, to the upcoming year’s tuition, to federal financial aid guidelines – can be considered in order to make accurate and timely awards. Be patient, make sure your FAFSA and application for admission are submitted on time, and you should have financial aid notification in hand well before our May 1 reply date. 76% of Lewis & Clark students receive some form of financial aid, so financial aid is a significant factor in most of our students’ decisions to attend the College. We encourage you to file the FAFSA to see what your eligibility might be. For more details about all forms of financial aid at L&C, go to our financial aid web site.
  
  
  
• Do you have an early application plan?
  We offer Early Action, a nonbinding early application plan. Our Early Action application deadline is November 1st, and our reply date is January 15th. This means that a student may apply to Lewis & Clark, without restriction, by November 1, and receive a decision from us by January 15. Admitted students must reply to us with their decisions about whether or not to enroll at Lewis & Clark by May 1st. This plan does not restrict applications to other colleges, and does not require the applicant to enroll at L&C if admitted. If you are wondering about the differences among early application plans (Early Decision, Early Action, Early Action Single Choice), we recommend that you read the guidelines provided by the National Association of College Admissions Counseling.
  
  
  
• Is there an advantage to applying Early Action?
  The main advantage to applying under our non-binding Early Action plan is timing. Since you get your materials to us earlier (November 1) we are able to get a decision letter to you earlier (by January 15). The admissions committee will look for all the same criteria that we look for in the Regular Decision timeframe (see What are we looking for), so a student is not necessarily more likely to be admitted if they apply Early Action.
  
  Keep in mind that there is one important difference between Early and Regular. Under the Early Action option, we require grades through the end of junior year, along with an accurate list of senior year courses. Some Early Action applicants provide first quarter or trimester reports as well. Under Regular Decision we require that you submit the first set of grades from senior year. If it is important to you that the admissions committee review your full first semester of 12th grade (especially if you are doing your strongest work in your most challenging course load, and your record is weaker during earlier years), you may wish to apply Regular Decision.
  
  
  
• If I apply Early Action and am not admitted, should I re-apply for Regular Decision?
  If the admissions committee feels that an Early Action applicant should be reconsidered among the Regular Decision pool, the application will be notified that his or her application has been deferred to Regular Decision. If you are denied admission at the Early Action stage your application will not be reconsidered under the Regular Decision timeframe. In this case, we recommend pursuing post-high school education at another institution to strengthen your academic record. If you really want to attend Lewis & Clark, you may re-apply as a transfer student after at least one year at another college.
  
  
  
• Do you need to receive my application materials by the deadline, or is it a postmark deadline? Is the deadline for all materials or just the application form?
  Our application deadlines are postmark deadlines. Ideally, all materials submitted (including the application, transcript, test scores, recommendations, etc.) should be postmarked by November 1 or February 1, respectively. Please notify your teachers and counselors of the appropriate postmark deadline.
  
  
  
• Can I apply after the February 1 Regular Decision deadline?
  You should strive to submit materials by the application deadline. Late applications may be accepted after the February 1 deadline. If you are interested in applying after the deadline you should contact the admissions office and speak with an admissions counselor about your options. Admissions decisions for students whose applications are received after February 1 may not be available until after April 1. Housing and financial aid may also be limited.
  
  
  
• My teacher and/or counselor is out of the office and can’t submit his/her letter until after the deadline. What should I do?
  To ensure that your materials will be postmarked by the application deadline, be sure to give counselors and teachers plenty of advance notice when asking for recommendations. If your counselor or teacher is unable to submit the required credentials by the deadline, contact the admissions office and let us know when your letters of recommendation will be available. Be sure to follow up with your teacher and/or counselor to make sure the materials were sent. Late materials can be faxed to the admissions office at 503-768-7055. Once you’ve submitted your portions of the application, you may also check our web site to see which materials have been received.
  
  
  
• If I apply online, how do I submit supporting documents like transcripts, teacher recommendations, etc?
  While applying online has made your part of the application process electronic, we still receive all supporting materials for your application on paper and by mail. The Common Application includes those forms, available online and on paper. You can also get the forms on our web site, where they may be downloaded, printed, filled out and mailed to us. Go to our application checklist page to download the forms.
  
  
  
• My counselor doesn’t know me very well. Can someone else complete the school report form?
  It is in your best interest for you to get to know your guidance counselor. Beyond completing the required forms, you may find that your counselor can also provide excellent guidance throughout your entire college search process. If it’s just not possible for you to get to know your counselor, and we certainly understand that situation may arise if you attend a large school, you should, at minimum, have your counselor fill in the blanks of the school report form. That form provides vital information we need in order to complete your record at the College. If a personal recommendation isn’t possible, you may have another high school administrator provide a letter addressing your preparedness for college, your high school performance in relation to the rest of your class, and so forth, in addition to the school report form completed by your counselor.
  
  
  
• I would prefer to have a teacher from ninth grade and/or from an elective course submit my teacher recommendation. Is that OK?
  You may have such a recommendation submitted in addition to the required recommendation from a teacher who has taught you in an academic course during 11th or 12th grade.
  
  
  
• Do my teachers have to use your recommendation form, or can they just submit a letter?
  It is not necessary for your teacher to use our form. However, if your teacher will not be using our form, he/she needs to submit the recommendation on school letterhead, clearly print your full name on the top of the letter, and indicate the course(s) s/he has taught you.
  
  
  
• Do you require an official score report from the SAT or ACT testing agency, or can my school submit my scores?
  SAT or ACT scores reflected on your official high school transcript will serve as official score reports for admissions purposes. Also, if you apply to Lewis & Clark using our online application and have your high school counselor submit our Counselor’s Report form, there is space on that form for your counselor to write in your SATI and ACT scores -- those scores will be considered official as well.
  
  
  
• How do you handle the new SAT writing test? Should I submit the ACT writing test?
  Our faculty committee on admissions decided NOT to require a timed writing sample (either SAT or ACT) for 2008 applicants. We will get these scores automatically on all SATs and some ACTs. We will record the scores for future research purposes but not use them in admissions evaluation at this time. If we find a high correlation between writing scores and performance of students who enroll at L&C, we may re-consider the policy for future years. We feel as though we get a thorough picture of applicants with our current system. Many students already choose to provide a graded writing sample and, since 1990 we have offered the test optional, Portfolio Path.
  
  
  
• May I submit supplemental materials (essays, recommendations, artwork, etc)?
  We are more than happy to consider additional materials along with the required parts of the application for admission. Pieces that are academic in nature (i.e. graded writing samples, science research summaries) tend to be more helpful for us than those that are non-academic, but feel free to submit anything that you think will give us a better-rounded picture of you and your abilities. Don’t go overboard – an extra recommendation plus a graded paper you’re really proud of would be great. If you feel the need to submit something more substantial than that, you should look into applying via our Portfolio Path to admission. We do not require special portfolios or applications for admission to particular majors, so items such as artwork slides, performance recordings, and creative writing portfolios will be considered only as background for the overall admissions decision. Please do not send original artwork, and strive to reduce the dimensions of your submission to 8 ½” by 11.”
  
  
  
• What do you look for in an essay?
  The essay is your opportunity to accomplish two things: demonstrate your college-level writing ability and help the admissions committee to get to know you on a more personal level. Students at Lewis & Clark do a lot of writing, whether they end up majoring in physics, philosophy, foreign languages, or anything else, so the essay is an important element in your application for admission. We offer you several general prompts which could elicit a wide variety of responses precisely because there is not one “correct” or “expected” response. The best advice we can offer is to choose a topic that you are passionate about and that reveals a side of yourself which we might not be able to glimpse elsewhere in your application. Don’t choose a topic just because you think you “should” write about that in a college essay. Write something that expresses your own original voice.
  
  Take advantage of this opportunity to show us your best writing. We expect to read an essay that addresses one of the prompts, is not excessively long or short, is error-free in terms of grammar, punctuation and spelling, and has a thesis that is well-developed and well-supported. It might be helpful to ask your English teacher, counselor or parent to proof-read your final draft to make sure you haven’t made any obvious errors before you submit it.
  
  Here are a few rather obvious cautions. If your proof-reader doesn’t “get” your essay because it is too far out or too “creative,” probably we won’t understand it either. On the other hand, if you are yawning as you write it, we will probably be yawning as we read it, too. Don’t try to cover too much ground in your essay, and, by all means, don’t write a laundry list of your accomplishments (there’s another place in the application where you can do that). It’s probably not a good idea to start writing your essay at midnight the night before it is due (some of us know this from experience) because it is likely to be obvious to us that you did so, and then you’ve just blown an opportunity to strengthen your application for admission. Finally, don’t forget the first thing that your teachers always tell you: Read and follow the instructions!
  
  
  
• How long should my essay be?
  The Common Application instructions require your essay to be 250-500 words. The Common Application is used by many colleges and universities that have their own preferences when it comes to essay length. Because of this, the Common Application has standardized the length of the essay to meet the needs of all participating institutions. If you would like to submit an essay that exceeds 500 words (we suggest you keep it to less than 1,000 words), we recommend that you send it separately, and indicate on your Common Application that we should expect it separately.
  
  
  
• How do you weight the different pieces of my application in the decision-making process? How important is X (test scores, curriculum, essay, etc)?
  The admissions committee is interested in giving all applicants a complete look before making an admissions decision. This is why we ask for a number of credentials to complete your application. The main concern of the committee is to make sure that the applicant is able to meet the College’s academic challenge and the expectations of our faculty. While all credentials will carefully be reviewed, an applicant's transcript is most revealing in terms of providing the committee evidence of a student's academic potential to thrive at Lewis & Clark. The committee examines course selection, rigor, grade trends, and other academic factors included in the transcript. Teacher and counselor recommendations, SAT and/or ACT scores, the essay, and the actual application reveal other dimensions of an applicant and are also important in the application process. Non-academic activities are considered as well, since we need students who will play a role in our small, residential community, but these factors are only considered if a student is academically admissible. In the end, the committee hopes to admit students that are prepared for the challenge that an education at Lewis & Clark will offer while also contributing positively to the College community.
  
  
  
• Can I get my admissions decision over the phone or online before I receive my letter in the mail?
  All admissions decisions will be sent via mail. Early Action decision letters will be mailed by January 15. Regular Decision letters will be mailed no later than April 1. In order to protect our applicants’ privacy, we do not share admissions decisions over the phone. Please do not contact our office and ask for a decision, unless it is more than ten days past the notification date and you have not received your decision letter.