Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a small Liberal arts college located in Oberlin, Ohio. The student population is about 3000 with the surrounding area being a tiny college town. Oberlin College is split into two parts: the Conservatory of Music and the College of Arts & Sciences. I plan to get a degree in the College. A special thing about Oberlin is its vibrant music scene. There are several bands that perform in a variety of different venues across campus. Although the Conservatory and College are both separate departments, there are several instances where college and conservatory students take classes in opposite departments. Because of this, there is a lot of potential for students to bond , which can build a nurturing community. However, there are downsides, including poor dorm maintenance, poor food quality, and occasional unresponsiveness from campus safety to student issues. I strongly advise thinking if this college is where you truly want to be. There is the bright side and the dark side

When I first arrived, I already had a pretty good impression of the place. But from living here, studying here, and just utilizing all of the facilities the campus has to offer, I fell in love with this place. The atmosphere is great, it's the perfect kind of small college town, and studies are wonderful. There's no better place to study as an undergraduate.

Academically, the school is excellent. All the professors are experts in their field and extremely passionate about their subjects. The small class sizes are amazing and really encourage intellectual growth and discussion. I also find that the opportunities on campus are fantastic. Because there is no graduate school, there are countless research and publishing opportunities for students. I got a paid research opportunity at the campus art museum my freshman year. Faculty are extremely helpful in terms of finding opportunities and internships, and Oberlin is one of the top Fullbright producers in the country. In terms of campus life, it really is what you make of it. The dorms are run down and there are limited options when it comes to food. The real highlight is the music scene here on campus. There are around 3-7 concerts every week, ranging from full classical orchestras to hyperpop to rap, and all of them are free. Nightlife mostly revolves around these concerts, since Oberlin is not really a party school and has no greek life. There is a party scene on campus if you're looking for it, but most students prefer smaller dorm parties with their friends. There is also a huge scene for weed and psychedelics. The location does kinda suck, but the sheer number of activities and events that the college offers really does make up for it.

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Oberlin College is my home away from home. When I first applied, I thought it was a good match for me, but little did I know how perfectly it fit me until I got to campus. I'm challenged academically, and I feel like I'm actually learning useful and important things in my courses. I'm able to continue pursuing my interests while also exploring a whole realm of others I never thought I'd consider. And, most shockingly, the social environment has allowed me to make so many amazing friends. I've grown so much as a person in just my first year—growth I both didn't think was possible and didn't realize occurred until coming back home for the summer. When I graduated high school, I didn't want to go to college. Now, being at Oberlin, I don't want to leave.

If you're a man be above average looking and reasonably muscular (add being like 5'11 and this is more true) and you'll pretty much feel like a boss here. The number of dweeby, incredibly scrawny hipster or hipster-like guys here is alarming. You'll be less successful than you'd expect with a lot of girls because many deny their innate desire and go through a weird guy phase at Oberlin - or are just pathetic and permanently stuck in that role. Still, you'll regularly feel more alpha than 85%+ of your peers and that's worth something. If you couple those traits listed with being white and having a WASP-y or Scandinavian name and/or appearance, you might as well just play the villain role. Either that or be self-hating and pander to all the thinly veiled animosity most of your fellow students have for you.

Overall, Oberlin College is a cool, but very unique place. It certainly isn't for everyone, but if you give it time it has such a special atmosphere that I haven't found anywhere else. We are an intense group of people, who generally care a lot about our fellow human beings. Sometimes, it feels like politics and academics can be too intense, but as I've progressed through Oberlin (I'm a junior) I've found a group of people who care about school and politics but at the end of the day are down to kick back, drink, and chill out. Oberlin is an ideal college for those looking for that balance, who care about the world, and a ready for their identity to be challenged in many ways. It's fun, the classes and professors are great, and the people are some of the best i've ever met.

Overall I really like Oberlin and couldn't picture myself in a better place. All though Oberlin is a very rigorous academic school there is always something else to do. There are​ always talks to go to or concerts to attend. Here at Oberlin, you will never feel bored because there is always something to do.

Oberlin College is a liberal arts college known for it's history in the forefront providing education for the marginalized. Oberlin College was the first college in the United States to admit women and African-Americans. There motto is, "Think one person can change the world? We do." In keeping with their motto, professors and students alike are activist for a myriad of causes.

Oberlin is my top choice as the community mirrors the best academic experience I had at an intensive neuroscience program at Northwestern University. Our shared suite bounced around ideas for three weeks. My classmates collaborated to bring out the best in others, as more informed environments benefit the individual. In the fall 2012 edition of Oberlin’s The Synapse, Cynthia McKelvey’s article “The Clinical Benefits of the Party Drug” exemplifies the collaborative soul and boldness of the campus. The article yearns to bring awareness, despite the stigma, to the therapeutic benefits of MDMA (especially for PTSD). This is the culture of Oberlin, one of testing boundaries and questioning the traditional. This magazine flourishes in the intellectual wealth crafted through collaboration, written by natural science students and illustrated by art students. My goal for college is to be in a learning environment that supports teaching and inquiry and opens minds to possibilities. Oberlin's atmosphere of progressive discourse to propels entrepreneurial programs such as Launch U and social responsibility projects such as Ecolympics. Launch U projects like Skritter (an innovative language acquisition program) are given incubation space and funding to bring their idea to fruition. Ecolympics builds awareness about environmental mindfulness while playfully engaging the campus. One of the major tenets of environmentalism is to convince the majority that it is worth changing habits to ensure sustainability. Ecolympics is an example of how Oberlin is keeping an open mind about developing creative solutions to complex problems.

Oberlin is a school thats known for its social awareness being the first college to admit women and african-americans. Although part of this still holds up, many students have varying opinions on just how aware we are. Being one of the few Black students that attend, i feel that the campus is not very diverse. There are many white and jewish students. Much of the "wokeness" seems to be stemming from students that are almost over passionate about demographics that they do not belong to. Sometimes it feels like your race is an area of study for them and some students unintentionally go at far as to fetishize foreign ethnicities. Although there are many students like this, there are also a few students that are actually intolerant of students of different races although these students are often not public with their views concerning it. Overall, the education is generally very difficult depending on your feild of study however the professors are very open to helping the students. The weather is torturous most of the year with many freezing cold days blizzards with an occasional sunny-but-still-cold day. Housing is tolerable, however in some dorms the temperature of the showers and the rooms are uncomfortable.

Oberlin a great school, but it is kind of a hit or miss. The scene of Oberlin is only fit for a specific group of people. We a split into two schools: The Oberlin Conservatory and Oberlin College. There is a divide between Con and College students, but overall is like any college I believe. Also, Oberlin is a artsy kind of school. Everyone here has some appreciation for the arts in some fashion; from actual physical art to music. Oberlin is a great school for those that get our vibe.

For me, the very best thing about Oberlin has been the people. In my first year there (I'm currently going into my second year) I made some of the best, closest friends I've had in a while. They, like me, are nerdy, a bit weird, and have diverse interests. They are also very kind and caring people. And, I met most of them on the quidditch team. So, if you, like me, have had trouble fitting in in high school and are a bit quirky, I can almost guarantee that you will find your people at Oberlin. Now, I realize that you are probably looking for other things in a college beyond just friends, so I will cover some other things you may be wondering about as well: Academics- Just like your teachers at high school probably are, Professors can be hit or miss, this is probably true literally anywhere. Some professors are great and I have learned a lot from them, while other have given such dull, confusing lectures that I have basically needed to learn the material on my own. However, even when you do get stuck with such professors, there are drop-in tutoring centers for both writing and quantitative help and you can also get assigned an individual tutor for free, so you will still be able to make it through the course. Another important aspect of college academics is that you have almost complete freedom to choose your classes. There are distribution requirements to fulfill, but no specific courses you have to take, outside of your major (which you don't need to declare until the end of your second year). On the one hand, this is a wonderful thing. It means that you can take classes in subjects that you are genuinely interested in. On the other hand, what if you don't know what you are interested in? Also, first years have lowest priority in registration, so even if you do know what you're interested in, you can't necessarily get the classes you want. Your advisor can help you overcome these obstacles. However, the advising system can also be hit or miss. My advisor doesn't really do anything. He just meets with me once a semester and tells me that he thinks my course selections look just fine. However I know other people love their advisors. The good thing about advisors is you can switch if you don't like them and I am going to do that. So, overall, I think that academics are as good as they are at any college and most of my complaints just have to do with the fact that I am still figuring things out myself and that is ok. That is what college is for. Housing/dining- There is only one dorm on campus that has air conditioning and it is a first year only dorm (it's called Kahn if you are at the point of trying to get into it) it is also, as far as I know, the only dorm that was built within the last 30 years. In other words, all the other dorms are old and somewhat falling apart, though they certainly have character and are more homey feeling than Kahn. The food (if you are not in a co-op, look at other reviews to learn about co-ops as I have not been in one) is edible. Definitely not the reason to choose this school, but you won't starve. There is a lot of variety and there are options to fit any dietary needs you may have, it's just that none of it tastes particularly good (except the ice cream, ice cream is always good!). Also, if you get bored of dining hall food, there are several good restaurants in town (which is very, very close to campus) many or which are quite inexpensive. Clubs/sports- There are many clubs at oberlin. You will probably find one to suit your interests and if you don't, you can start one. As I mentioned earlier, I met most of my friends at quidditch which is a club sport. I don't know as much about varsity sports as I am not involved with them, but there are people who are and they seem to like it, though I've heard they are not very good. Social life - Your social life will very based on what you're involved in, who you hang out with, etc. So you will probably find a social life you enjoy. There is no Greek life and most parties are hosted in upperclassmen's houses. There is also a student bar/dance club called the 'Sco and you can party there too. These parties obviously involve drinking because this is college. However, if you, like me, are not into that sort of thing, you do not need to worry about feeling left out. You will find friends who also don't like parties and you can go to the arb (our little arboretum with two small lakes and hiking trails) or watch movies or have snowball fights or go to concerts (both classical conservatory concerts and concerts of other genres at the Cat in The Cream and the 'Sco) or do anything else you like to do. Relationship between college and conservatory- I am not in the conservatory, but my roommate (who I was randomly assigned last year but we are going to be roommates again next year because we became best friends) is a vocal performance major there. Because I really like classical music and had someone to go with, I went to a lot of conservatory concerts with her this past year (there are quite literally 500 of them a year) and I also took violin lessons from a conservatory student (they call these secondary lessons) I also got to know some other conservatory students. They have a very different culture from the college so it's cool to experience both. That being said, most of my friends in the college have nothing to do with conservatory and are just fine with that. So basically, if you like classical music and want to take advantage of what the conservatory has to offer, you can and I recommend it, but you certainly don't have to.

Oberlin is a great school if you are looking for diversity and many opinions. Known for it its liberal ideals, Oberlin is accepting of everyone and their backgrounds. Professors are there to see their students succeed and students are there to enjoy life. Very affluent and has great connections for future careers.

Love it! The community, the people there, there is something special about this place. It does have a rep (students that just fight over everything) that made me initially wary to visit, but once I did I saw that it was totally wrong. Not a fan of the location--surrounded by nothing--but there is so much stuff to do on campus that you wouldn't want to leave anyways! Also, high majority of the kids there are from large cities, so it doesn't have the feel of a small school in Ohio, if that makes sense. Overall, the pros heavily outweigh the cons, and I cannot wait to join.