<p>I am posting for a family member who is enrolling in Oberlin as a transfer student. He is currently enrolled in one coop for dorm space and another coop for eating. Is that common? Also, how much time per week does participation in an eating coop take? Is he likely to meet more people eating in the dining hall or in the coop?</p>
<p>It’s not common, but it does happen sometimes. Which co-ops is he signed up for?</p>
<p>Dining co-ops require members to sign up for 4-5 credits, of which one needs to be a crew (cleaning shift). So at a minimum, co-opers do 4 hours of work per week. Some elected positions, like head cook, take up more time. You do get to pick your own jobs, and some have really flexible hours. Tasty-things makers, for example, can basically work whenever they want. Morning people can help make breakfast, night owls can sign up for a midnight crew - it’s not hard to fit it into your schedule.</p>
<p>I think he’s more likely to form strong friendships in a co-op than a dining hall. In my experience, the dining halls are large, there are a lot of people constantly moving in and out, and folks usually eat with groups of friends. Co-ops are smaller and much more intimate - everyone sits down to eat together at the same time each day, and the people you eat with are also the people that you work with, host parties and social events with, etc. It’s like a big instant family. Plus you have a connection with all the folks in other co-ops - there are All-OSCA picnics, bonfires, movie nights…</p>
<p>I don’t know which co-ops, sorry. But thanks for the info re the time commitment. 4-5 hours/week does not seem like much, and the social environment sounds good for a transfer.</p>
<p>To make things even more confusing, all of the dining-only co-ops are located in dorms. For example, there’s a dining-only co-op in Fairchild, and some people get confused and think that if they’re assigned a room in Fairchild, it means they’re living in a co-op. Either way, it’ll be clear what’s going on when he gets to campus, and it shouldn’t be a big deal 
Good luck - I hope he loves Oberlin, and I think being in a co-op is a great choice.</p>