The Evergreen State College

The Evergreen state college is a college you should definitely visit and research before attending.
The pros– I loved the school environment, the grading system, or there lack of, and the flipped classroom style. Definitely was able to learn a lot through different perspectives and walks of life.
The cons– at first I didn’t mind the people coming to class barefoot or the hippy circles in the quad. As the year progressed I feared that this place of education had been nothing but a home away from home to many «trustafarians» who had enough money to live away from home and live the college lifestyle. There were also plenty of micro aggressions being channeled my way, being a non white minority. Evergreen brags about their diversity and openness yet I was outraged with their themed ethnic food nights at the «greenery». Upon walking in to the greenery for «mexican» themed night, I was unpleasantly greeted with the stereotypical prejudice music of «la cucaracha» with sub par mexican food. Aside from that there’s the constant aroma of weed and dirty armpits in the air. The experience varies of course, but for someone who is serious about their education and who wants to transfer I would think twice about attending.

I love Evergreen! Attended for 5 ½ years. Had a rough start there because I was dealing with depression issues and I chose one of the ridiculously difficult courses unfortunately my first year. The majority of classes at Evergreen are very difficult in terms of workload compared to the national average. I always had a ton of reading, writing, and projects due. But most of the material isn’t too challenging and there were quite a few times I was awarded more credits than I felt I deserved in a class. How many credits you earn in a class are almost equivalent to getting a grade. I took a mixture of science, art, and cultural studies classes. Some of my art classes were easy peasy and some were very difficult especially the ones that were a mix of science and art. Almost all my science and cultural studies classes were very difficult only a few were easy. But how well a teacher did with managing the class and how well I meshed with a professors style of teaching and how I was doing mentally usually had more to do with how well I did in a class than the amount of work. If it was a well taught class it was always so much easier to do the work even during my more difficult classes because you never dreaded dealing with your professor. I highly recommend researching classes very well before picking. I recommend going to the academic fairs to discuss with the professors the classes you are interested in and what they will be like. Or at the very least e-​mail the professors with your questions.
The majority of students are «hippies» but we also have a lot of military people & military spouses, older people going back to school, international students, and people with children — some of these people also fall under the «hippie» category but not all of them. I liked most of my fellow students but there was almost always someone I found annoying in the class. Often there will be at least one person in your science class who is like «But what if nothing we see or experience is real!?» Almost everyone else then rolls there eyes and I’m always thinking «Yes of course that’s a possibility with anything and everything but we are trying to have a real discussion about this scientific principle and you bring this up almost everytime.» But I usually enjoyed talking to those people even if they could get a bit tiring at times because they usually had interesting perspectives. Also some people are overly dramatic or act like there is something wrong with you for not being a vegan raw food gluten free person. But as I said most people at Evergreen are great and usually there are only a few annoying people here and there.
I only once had a student try to backstab me in a class in a group project. She blamed our lackluster project on me when they kept having group meetings without alerting me that the time and place changed. Also they changed what part of the project I was doing less than a week before we presented. She obviously «forgot» that I saved their bacon because none of them realized we were supposed to hand in our work at the end of the quarter and actually the way we presented the project before turning it in was part of our grade and I put all the work together nicely. Yeah I wasn’t as polished as them when I did the presentation but they were a bunch of cliquish girls who never kept me in the loop and either all knew each other or were friends with each others friends. I should have left the group with the one guy who couldn’t deal with them. I discussed it with the professor who told me about the accusation and luckily it was all fine.
That was definitely my worst experience in a group project. One other bad one our teacher said she wanted the class to figure out how to do everything ourselves and we’d do that and then she’d tell us that we did everything wrong and that we needed to start over and do it the way she wanted it done. Almost everyone hated that class and how it was managed. If you want to know which professors like that one I’d never take from again please message me.
Here is a list of some of my favorite professors: Frances Rains, Rebecca Chamberlain, Gerardo Chin-​Leo, Sean Williams, Lara Evans, Suzanne Simons, Daryl Morgan, Don Middendorf, Mario Gadea, Kevin Francis, Chris Coughenour, Hirsh Diamant, Dharsi Bopegedera, Beth Schoenberg, Marla Elliott, and Jamie Lynn Colley. I like Marja Eloheimo, she’s a good teacher in most ways but be warned she’ll often assign extra work that isn’t on the syllabus sometimes at the last moment or without making it fully clear what she wants. There are some other teachers I loved but I didn’t see them on the faculty list so they may not teach there anymore — like Mike Moran I know he retired.
The Flaming Eggplant is delicious even if it is expensive. Well it was when I was there.
The Evergreen Farm Stand is the best! Super fresh produce! Usually a great selection most years. Also in the winter you can buy eggs by going to the farm even though the stand isn’t open

This schools Administration doesnt care about you, it only wants your money. And they gave me nightmares about commiting suicide, and made me feel helplessl. they wont listen. They want money from me that I do not owe and are intent on screwing my degree opportunity up because they are lazy and ignorant.

I didn’t go to college here, but everybody I know who did had an amazing experience. You need to be fairly self-​directed, but if you are you can do remarkable work here, and get great hands on experience that will actually help you get a job (stuff that at other colleges is reserved for graduate students). It is a beautiful campus, and worth just walking around as a community member.

The campus is fantastic! My friends showed me around and I’m in love. There’s forest everywhere you look and it’s so calming. I definitely recommend hiking around the woods, it’s really calming and peaceful :)

TESC is chill. You smoke weed, have the full on liberal arts hippie cool people hipster punks one night stands cool coffee shops and totally changed self perspective that a going to college is supposed to have. I went to evergreen and took on four full years in a row only to graduate and discover that i hate capitalism the system and want to make jewlery and become a yoga teacher. evergreen will fuck up your idea of the world and although what you get out of it is COMPLETELY worth knowing, experiencing, and becoming… it’s not worth $ 45,000 in debt to become an anarchist/​hipster/​anti-​government educated human being. i mean, the stuff they teach you, and the quality of the education isn’t really worth th price. that said, the human being you become afterwards is DEF. a much more developed, interesting, socially acclimated and aware individual. I’d say if its up to you, and you have a ton of $$$dollaz, then go for it. But if you are going to be in debt, and out of school with a $ 9.00 an/​hour job (cause lets face it, degrees don’t mean shit anymore) then i would suggest saving up a small percentage of that debt you would have acquired and move/​travel around the world for a couple years, then decide if you still need to be educated. The only thing colleges do is force you to read something you could easily download on piratebay and charge you about $ 100.00 bucks a copy.
Good Luck to everyone reading this! All in all, either choice is a good option. Just really think about the student loan debt thing. After all, it is the NEW mortage!!!
xo,
Anon

I write this review as someone who has been going here for over a year, and I am about to finish my Bachelors in Science before doing another year to get a dual degree (Bachelors in Arts and Sciences). I have really enjoyed my education so far, but it is not without it’s flaws. It is a great school, and in my opinion it’s a much better and cost effective option than going to St. Martins, which charges you an arm and a leg for an education that’s more about being stressed out than actually learning anything (in my opinion). If you are thinking about coming to Evergreen, ask yourself: What do you want out of your education? Do you want a competitive learning environment where you are put to the test every day? Or do you want an environment where you have to work and collaborate with others to overcome a singular goal? The latter description is basically what Evergreen is all about, and it’s why you will either love it or hate it here.
First off, I’m gonna talk about some of the bad. Yes, a lot of stereotypical anarchist/​socialist/​communist pot smoking hipsters go here, and depending on who you are, that can either be really annoying or really cool. I live off campus so I’m not forced to deal with this 24/​7, but sometimes the pretentious hipster vibes are enough to make you wish you went to UW or St. Martins. There are smelly people on campus who sometimes decide that wearing shoes or deodorant are not completely natural and your nostrils are then assaulted with the consequences of their hygiene choices. Sometimes, programs don’t have enough structure and some of the programs are either laughably easy or notoriously difficult and soul crushing. The hippie/​hipster culture can either be charming or grate on you so badly you’ll want to leave and never come back. To some people, it’s a laid back environment; to others, it is unprofessional. It depends on your personality and what you want your college environment to be like. For me, being ex-​military, I needed something laid back to counter the extreme stress I endured in the Army. Your needs might be completely different than mine, but keep this in mind if you are thinking about coming here.
This college is focused on learning, and learning only. There is almost no competition to speak of. Some programs do have midterms and finals (mainly science and math related courses), but most do not. You will be expected to show up to class, read the material, and then actually have to talk about it. If you don’t do the work or don’t do the reading, you will come across like a huge ignoramus and your instructor will not like you, resulting in a bad evaluation. Yes, there are no traditional grades, but you will be graded with a written report every quarter.
Evergreen is a place where you have to forge your own path and decide what you want to learn, and then become super motivated in that direction. If you struggle with motivation, or need to have a more regimented learning environment, then Evergreen might not be for you. This is a school for self-​starters and ambitious people, not a school for people who just want to get a degree and then move on with their lives. You have to really love learning to succeed here. You should also know exactly what you want to do, otherwise you will feel like you wasted your time here by the time you graduate. IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. Evergreen is a great school; I try to dispel the myths among people I know whenever I can about how Evergreen is total garbage and not a real education. Some of the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life has been at Evergreen, and I’ve learned more about what I’m studying right now than I ever intended to know in the first place. It all depends on how you view education. Do you wanna just jump the hoops, cram for tests and get the shiny piece of paper? Go somewhere else. Do you want to really dig deep into a hands-​on, collaborative learning environment and get real feedback from your instructors? Go to Evergreen. I know I sound biased, I can’t help it because I’ve really liked it so far. Don’t let anyone else sway you from coming here because you hear weird stories about anarchists and hippies and how everyone sits around and smokes pot. I love it, but I would only recommend it to people who are looking for something different than the traditional college experience.

I LOVE Evergreen!

The school and the faculty are amazing! At Evergreen, a student will receive a well-​rounded and progressive education with staff members who care for the advancement of each of their students. The course work that a student faces is challenging while applicable to the ever-​changing world. Evergreen offers some fantastic programs and internships that will change anyone’s perspective of gender, race, sexuality, economics, social justice, world studies… my point is made: Evergreen is a transformative school.
The Evergreen State College is a great college, however, one of the larger struggles I encountered while attending was the student body. I felt that the students that I shared classes with were more focused on fighting an imaginary «MAN» than applying practical solutions towards actual problems. Ideals are rampant at Evergreen, and because there is such little discourse made when people care so passionately about an issue, a lot of wonderful ideas and concepts are lost in the rage or frustrations of young 18 years-​old. If you’re a late-​blooming college student like me (I started at 24), prepare your self for a large population of angst-​filled, rude and spoiled children who will try at any length to «best» you in Seminar.
Over all, I loved my time at Evergreen; The education is superb; most of the people I met shared great ideas and hopeful ambitions about their lives, and I will miss that very much. However, after graduating, leaving The college and eventually leaving Olympia were some of the best feelings of closure I have ever felt.
4÷5− TESC is a great college with a lot of growing to do.

I started out at Western Washington University. I got home sick! After moving back home! I found out evergreen is my last road to success! Love it here so far!

I came to TESC as a transfer student and honestly, I couldn’t have found a better institution.
I’m currently enrolled here, and every day I find myself loving the educational model more and more.
If you know what you want to do for a living, Evergreen is amazing. It enables you to hone in on your area of study with a focus that really isn’t available until you’re an upperclassman in other institutions. I fully expect when I go to my first interview post college and the hiring manager on the other end of the table asks me for my experience, to hear his audible gasp as I tell him the portfolio work I was able to do in my undergrad.
That being said, if you don’t know what you want to do with your life, Evergreen is still amazing. It’s perhaps the best school for students who want to sample a little of everything to really find out where their true passion lies. All of the programs– we call them programs here– are interdisciplinary, so they examine multiple elements of a topic through the same lens.
Here’s what this does: It gives you context. Period. You’re not just taking a British lit class, you’re taking a British lit workshop combined with a cultural examination of British imperialism over the ages, slapped between the history of the industrial revolution and a look at Victorian art.
Having been to a 4 year traditional school prior, I can’t ever imagine going back. What I’ve gained are the tools for examining how each of the little pieces fit into a larger whole, and quite frankly I think that’s vastly more valuable than taking a class to satisfy a requirement for the undergrad department of x.
I fully plan on attending grad school too, and Evergreen has a grad school acceptance rate of over 80% for their exiting seniors. It’s strange writing a Unilocal review for your school, I mean clearly I’m shelling out some clams to attend this play, I’d better be a fan, right?
But I’m grateful for what the school has brought me. And that’s a freedom to think bravely– and do it for myself. I’ll be one of those alums who supports their college post graduation. I really think Evergreen is worth consideration for every student who wants an Education that serves their needs and their wants equally.

Evergreen State College is a propaganda factory that more closely resembles a religious cult than a institution of higher learning. Yes I graduated, but I have been sitting on the paper work for about six months because in order to make it look like I did anything but doubt (and then later prove my suspicions) everything that I heard, I am going to have to lie my ass off. I do not know what upsets me more, realizing that a school that i had very high hopes for was no better than fox news, or that i owe $ 25,000 for the privilege of being subjected to C grade propaganda and completely losing my faith in humanity.

I have a diploma, I’m neutral on everything else.

I work here, live here, and love it. What else can I say? I have used just about every facility on campus from the residence halls, to the CRC (Campus Rec), to Dining Services, to the library, to event and meeting spaces. The CRC obviously could use some updating in the workout rooms, but there’s a rock climbing wall and raquet ball courts, basketball courts, and even a pool, all free for students.
Dining options include The Greenery (all you can eat), The Market (coffee/​pastries, pizza, or burritos), and the Sem II Café (more coffee/​pastries, plus some to go options). All of these are in The CAB (Community Activities Building) which is kind of strange but ultimately makes sense– that’s the newest building and also sits in the center of campus. I like the food in The Greenery, The Market and Sem II Café both serve Batdorf and Bronson coffee, and if I change my mind on buying a meal on upper campus there’s always the corner store in the HCC (Housing Community Center) where I can pick up pre-​made stuff, snacks, and basic grocery store items.
Housing facilities are updated on a regular basis, students do most if not all maintenance, and there are a variety of floor plans to choose from. I have taken a few programs here as well, and really enjoy the collaborative teaching and learning opportunities; so much so that I am starting one of the graduate programs in the fall!

Evergreen is a very unique, public liberal arts college. I’m sure you’ve already perused the site, but here’s some basic wiki info on it:
Evergreen is one of the only public colleges that has a similar caliber of liberal education as «the Little Ivies» such as: Vassar, Trinity, Bates, Amherst, etc. Evergreen regularly receives high rankings for best first year experiences, and was cited in Loren Pope’s «Colleges That Change Lives» that I encourage you to read. See:
for more info.
The college underwent recent renovation in the last few years installing «green tech» buildings and improved IT infrastructure. It’s a great $ deal for in-​state students relative to other colleges of this type. Although it is a dedicated liberal arts, (social science, art, design, performance, eco-​studies, writing) school, but there is a very small, but specialized hard sciences (biochem/​physics/​math) group there as well.
I think it’s a great choice for an adult learner that is self-​motivated and has some idea what they want to do. I didn’t know this at the time that I went there, but graduate schools have a high admit rate for students from Evergreen for their ability in systems thinking, design, self-​motivation, social responsibility and writing skills (among other things).
Pros:
Cultural commitment to: creativity, sustainability, critical thinking, individuality
Excellent athletic facilities
Located on 1033 acres marine west coast rainforest
Independent campus radio station
Great for grad-​school bound students
Cons:
As other reviewers have noted the weather in Olympia can be brutal for people unaccustomed to PNW winters. Some coping skills will be needed. There is a traditional Swedish saying that «There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.»

Let me tell you a little story about my first quarter at Evergreen.
The first day of any college class consists of interminably reading, and at Evergreen, discussing, the entire syllabus. In this case, the professors actually said, out loud, that pets were not allowed in the classroom. They then went on to ELABORATE UPON THIS RULE, apologizing and explaining that in Olympia, a city with the most days of rain of any of the lower 48 states, dogs become smelly. Yeah. Seriously.
During an art critique in this class, a student had a grand mal seizure. He fell out of his chair and started convulsing on the ground. After an agonizing, slow-​motion three minutes that felt like an eternity during which the entire class including me sat there staring at him like idiots, the teachers asked us all to step outside and called the paramedics.
After the unfortunate guy was helped back to his dorm room by some EMTs, and cigarettes were nervously smoked by the rest of us, we reconvened. The professor asked us all for our attention and then said, «N would like to smudge some sage to clear the bad energy from the room.»
Let me pause here in case you’re not familiar with this term. Smudging is a Native American — Ojibway and Cree, says Wikipedia — ritual practice in which a bundle of dried sage is burned to purify spaces and give praise to the Creator. Stupid white hippies and New Age half-​wits have co-​opted this practice, removed it from all cultural and spiritual context and just burn sage, wherever, whenever, y’know, to get rid of bad vibes and whatnot.
But the best part is yet to follow! «We would like to sincerely encourage anyone who has a scent sensitivity to come forward,» continued the professor. «Now, I know that sometimes in group settings, it can be difficult to voice your needs. But if anyone has a scent sensitivity, please do say so. Don’t be shy, we really want this to be a safe environment for everyone.» (Unless you’re a Native student who might be annoyed that whitey’s helped himself to your customs like your religion is a fucking buffet).
THANK GOD, or the Creator in this case, there was one other sane girl in the class with whom I immediately made eye contact while we both tried to contain hysterical laughter.
SO THEN THE STUDENT SMUDGED THE ART CRITIQUE ROOM. This was a guy who never, and I mean never, wore shoes. To class. At college. In Olympia, Washington. During fall quarter. When it rained every. god. damned. day.
There’s good and bad at any school. The bad: the «food» available on campus. The body odor. Rich kids pretending they grew up super poor and underprivileged. Torturous, never-​ending seminars (aka discussions). Drum circle every cocking day in front of the library. Library & computer lab have terrible hours. Budget cuts and privatization, welcome to America. Almost impossible to take a world language unless you want to take 20 credits (seriously). The «city» of Olympia. People nervously avoiding eye contact or heaven forbid a greeting.
The good: easy access to any and all facilities. Independent learning contracts. Bike shop. Organic farm. Gorgeous woods like something out of a Jim Henson fantasy movie. Narrative evaluations instead of grades. Graduation speakers like Angela Davis and Mumia Abu Jamal. Actually forming relationships with your professors. A lot of hilarious stories like the above. Cheap tuition. Really, really easy admission. Campus police have a free peanut butter and jelly sandwich station (fuck da police, but still, those free sammys got me through many a broke-​ass schoolday).
It’s not for everyone so do your research. There’s a lot of bad but the great parts about it are truly great for the right student. And, the campus cops ride Segway scooters now. Hows that for entertainment value?

TESC is an amazing school IF you know what you want to get out of your education, especially if what you want is outside the standard academic model. However, if you are not self disciplined and focused Evergreen’s lack of traditional structure will be a challenge to apply your education to a real world livelihood after graduation.
e.g. you could write an individual contract to study a Tom Brown natural history (Apache scout/​tracker) correspondence course combined with chemistry, etc. and if disciplined you would run applied circles around conventionally trained lab tech and be more well rounded as a human being.
On the same token you could sit on your couch and play video games, bs through your papers and graduate qualified for a minimum wage job at the local pizzaria (seen it). But the same is possible at a traditional school by just ‘passing tests’.
True outcome based education.

Love my undergraduate work here… cannot think of a better place for people who want to learn to think critically and not just repeat back information.
The campus is gorgeous!
There are all sorts of people here, hippies, military, radicals, completely normal people too ;)
I have found despite what a lot of people think there are a lot of different types of people that go to this school and it would be impossible to not find someone you get along with :)

I learned a lot about myself and the world around me at Evergreen, but in the years following graduation (I graduated in 2007) I have found my work at Evergreen to be fairly useless.
If you intend to move on to Grad School, especially in any field that requires very specific pre-​reqs, I would think long and hard about choosing an Evergreen education.
I love that Evergreen is progressive and non-​traditional, but the rest of the world is not.
Here I am, 2 years later, taking classes at Community College so I can apply to graduate programs. I have no GPA, I have no Credits that are called anything other schools recognize.
Evergreen can be a great experience, but you best be willing to work in food service with your four-​year degree.

Disclaimer: I went here to go hiking once… not for the education.
Hike was great… though there were some smelly kids and adults enjoying the hike as well. I guess that adds character, but when people can manage to smell in the middle of nature that’s something to be concerned about. There were also some fairy girls in long flowy skirts dancing around barefoot. I don’t know if they were on something or just happy that the sun was out.