<p>I'm a high school senior and consider myself pretty intellectual curious, and generally do not have trouble in school. However, upon sitting in on a Political Theory class this past week at Oberlin, I was incredibly surprised at exactly how sophisticated the content and conversation was. I've heard that the school's work-load is all around intense, and undoubtedly interesting, but is the material generally extremely complex and difficult to understand to then be translated into a high grade? Exactly how much work goes into being successful here- will I, as a prospective dual-major, have any free time?</p>
<p>It depends greatly on the professors you have and the major you’re pursuing. When you say dual major, do you mean you’ll be majoring in two disciplines in the college, or that you’re a prospective double-degree student in the college and the conservatory?</p>
<p>There are a lot of factors that will affect the perceived difficulty of a class, but generally you can expect to be challenged in any class at Oberlin. The students are motivated, the discourse is at a high level, and the professors have high expectations. On the other hand, you will find a great deal of support in your quest for success. My daughter has found the professors incredibly helpful and responsive when she has needed assistance. Once she emailed a professor on a Saturday a question about an essay she was writing. He arranged to meet her at a coffee shop Sunday morning where they spent an hour discussing her essay and then another half hour talking about other classes she might enjoy taking.</p>
<p>I plan on pursuing a major in the Conservatory for Jazz Performance, and the College of Arts and Sciences for Politics. I’m significantly more concerned about the Politics concentration, particularly, as identified by flexflyer, the level of discourse. I’ve always been considered by my peers and teachers as being exceptionally articulate and having strong analytic skills, however I sometimes found myself lost while listening to the conversation in the Politics class I sat in on and was overall extremely surprised (granted, I have not read the literature that their discussion was based on, nor was I fully aware of the class content beforehand). I’m also a bit worried about the general workload I would receive as a double major, and if I would realistically have any time to pursue any outside activities (clubs, socializing, networking, having basic free time, etc).</p>
<p>The grading is just as hard as at Swarthmore. To get an A, one really, really has to go above and beyond. There are really no “gimmes.”</p>
<p>The double-degree program is demanding and requires careful planning, time management, etc. But Oberlin believes that anyone accepted for the program is fully capable of doing the work, and will also have a reasonable amount of time for other activities. My guess is that the class you sat in on was an upper-level class in the Politics Department, in which case the students you saw were not first-year students, and had developed the skills you saw through their work in lower-level courses. And especially since you haven’t taken the courses they have, and hadn’t done the reading, of course you found it hard to follow the discussion. You don’t need to feel intimidated by it.</p>
<p>Tripsounds: I don’t know if this might help, but this semester my daughter dropped one class that she found too easy (or rather, not focused enough on learning the things she was particularly interested in), and added an interesting class in a department she hasn’t tried yet, to stretch her learning boundaries. So for her, it was relatively easy to adjust her schedule this semester to the challenge level of her liking - including sticking with a challenging, but for her stimulating, Politics class, maybe the one you sat in on. She also decided to take four classes this semester instead of five, so that her load will be light enough to have time to pursue activities, and also time to start planning for internships and study away for next year.</p>
<p>She completed a comfortable mix of both challenging and enjoyable courses during her freshman year. She has always contemplated double majoring (not a Con student), and as a sophomore, she is now trying to narrow things down to two out of three majors she’s interested in, one of which is Politics. She has been quite active extracurricularly and socially, and rarely reported feeling like she was so busy that her coursework suffered. She got excellent grades because, like other students that Oberlin enrolls, she has discipline and drive to excel academically. If you get accepted, do not worry - you can do well in classes that you love, and have a blast at Oberlin College!</p>
<p>Oberlin is not a killer school grade wise. Remember there is a flexible pass-fail option up to 9 weeks into a course so that the student can take a risk outside his/her comfort zone but without deleterious consequences.</p>
<p>Wow- my son is considering applying to Oberlin. He will be happy to hear that.</p>
<p>Agreed, this is a terrific approach to academics and learning.</p>
<p>The Politics major at Oberlin is as challenging as you want it to be, tripsounds. It doesn’t take very much effort to get a B, but it takes a fair amount to get an A-, and more than that to nail a solid A (granted, some professors are stricter than others. You will learn who they are fairly quickly). Some students also take multiple 300-level classes instead of just one to graduate, and some pursue Honors. </p>
<p>I would guess that the only reason you couldn’t follow the class is that upper-level political theory classes can be jargon-heavy, depending on the professor. If you pursue theory, you will undoubtedly learn all the jargon and feel comfortable in class.</p>
<p>My senior daughter has a triple major and a minor. A glutton for punishment in my opinion, but that’s her. It can be done.</p>
<p>My son recently graduated as a History major. His first roommate was in the Con - not a double degree student. While my son was fully satisfied with the level of discourse he found at the college, he often remarked that Con students had to work really hard and that their course work, practice, and concert schedules left them less time than the students at the college. That isn’t to say that the College students are slouches - they aren’t. Students at Oberlin work hard and intellectual discussions don’t end in the classroom. My son marveled that anyone could combine the work required for a double major - one from the Con and the other from the College. (Double majors within the College are pretty common.) College students can be involved in the Con (up to a point) without being formally admitted, and the wonderful, creative energy that spills out of the Con is a fabulous and defining element of going to Oberlin. But every year there are a number of students who do succeed as both Con and College students - they graduate with a degree from the Con and a degree from the College. Those particular double degrees usually take 5 years - which is one of the reasons Oberlin’s graduation rate in four years is a bit lower than peer institutions.</p>