<p>Does anyone here know have any experience with computer science at Oberlin? I've read the course offerings and it certainly sounds legit, but outside of one student blog posting about taking an intro-level course, I've never read anything by or about anyone involved with it.</p>
<p>D. is a first-year student, planning on majoring in computer science and creative writing–she chose Oberlin for writing opportunities, but so far she’s happy with CS, too. Because of AP credit, she took a 200 level CS class this semester, and found it interesting and a challenge. She also enrolled in the exco in competitive computing, and went to a programming competition this fall–we were impressed that she could do so as a first year. It seems like there’s opportunity for interested students to do CS research, too.</p>
<p>The CS department at Oberlin is pretty small, so the odds are against you hearing much about it from current students. I had a CS minor at Oberlin, and I really enjoyed my experiences with the department. The course offerings aren’t as extensive as you’ll see in some other departments, but all of the basics are covered, and the majors are generally satisfied with what is available. If you’re interested in studying something else more in depth, there is plenty of support for independent study. </p>
<p>My favorite part of the CS department was the community among the CS students–because it is a small major, you’re likely to know everyone in your classes, and students tend to hang out in the CS lab on a regular basis, socializing and helping each other with their classwork.</p>
Does anyone have any current insight on Oberlin’s Computer Science Department and faculty? Child has an interest in pursuing TIMARA program in the conservatory along with Computer Science in the college.
I’m a cs major at Oberlin, so I might be biased, but I overall I really do think our compsci major is great. The bit below includes some of my thoughts on the program, but if I miss something you’re curious about or if you have any other questions feel free to ask here/pm me!
If you want to do it you’ll want to get started in your first year since it does require a more structured schedule than most college majors at Oberlin. So that can be a bit of a hassle, but the professors are amazing at working with you and making sure that you get your requirements done and in order. Also, this means you end up in a lot of the same classes as people you started your intro class with, which I think is a positive. You get 24/7 access to the cs labs (which are in King, the main academic building) so that can also be a fun place to work and hang out with other cs students. Right now our faculty to staff ratio isn’t great (I think it’s 13:1, highest on campus) but they have been looking to add another position, which should help out. Classes are getting bigger (usually low 30s), but I’ve still felt that they have been more personal than many of my other classes on campus, just because the professors are so great to work with. It’s the only cs department I’ve really had experience with, but as female I’ve felt completely respected by both students and faculty which unfortunately I’ve heard isn’t the case at all schools. Good luck with everything and again, feel free to ask if you have any more questions!
What is it like at Oberlin doing CS and men’s basketball?
Sorry for the late reply, I was hoping someone with more experience with athletics would chime in, but seems like this board is pretty deserted. I think you would be fine doing CS + men’s basketball. I’m not sure if there are currently any basketball players in the department but there are definitely other varsity athletes and they seem to make it work just fine! As long as you start taking cs/math courses early (preferably first semester, but probably you could probably make it work if you start within the first 3) it isn’t too hard to fulfil the major requirements, and I personally don’t think it’s any more time consuming than writing 15 page papers or having to go into labs for 3+ hours a week.