Food & Other Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Oberlin College
1

Hi everyone,

I’m super-interested in Oberlin, but I have a few questions.

  1. Are the students actually that liberal? I’ve read quite a few articles on Oberlin’s political correctness (see The Big Uneasy in the New Yorker and the Atlantic one on cultural approbation from cafeteria food.) I care about politics, but I am not so much a big fan of political correctness and such extreme views. Will I find more ,uh “normal” students here or are they not the norm here? Basically, sorry if I’m offending tons of people here, but I don’t want most of my classes to be filled with extreme left people. The extreme political correctness that has been in the news recently has kind of freaked me out. I know that this is probably a huge stereotype, but I would really like to know.
  2. How is the food? I checked out the menu online, but I don’t really see any actual photos or videos of it. Does anyone have pictures or know where I can get more specific photos?
  3. How is the party and drug culture? I am not interested in a huge party or drug culture, and especially not peer pressure.
  4. job prospects/alumni networking. How will does Oberlin prep you for the real world? I am planning on majoring in art history and going to PhD level, but I am not 100% sure yet, as things often change. Are most Obies able to find a good job out of college? average salary? How much does Oberlin assist with helping one find jobs, etc?

Thanks so much!

2
  1. The average student is nothing like the student portrayed in these articles. That said, most do take social justice and activism seriously. There’s a reason that it is considered one of the most left leaning schools in the country (right up there with Berkley). While there are plenty of “normal” people there and you could certainly find a niche there, but you’d never be too far away from activism.
  2. The food is diverse with co-ops and many other dining options. The students I know think that Stevie, the main dining hall, is quite good for college food with some items being better than others (apparently the bread is usually excellent cookies sometimes aren’t too good).
  3. While there are plenty of parties and lots of weed around there are also plenty of groups who don’t participate. It’s certainly no worse than most schools. I can say that there is almost no peer pressure. The strong “ok to be you and me” vibe means that it’s cool if you aren’t partaking even if you are at a party where most are.
  4. I hear excellent things about Oberlin’s career services but I can’t give much real insight into them as my D has not yet needed to use them I can say that Oberlin grads are highly regarded in academia and if you are looking to do post graduate work it’s hard to go wrong with going to Oberlin.
3

Basically I just want to 2nd everything Troyus said, but I’ll respond just so you get another opinion!

  1. Yes and no. There are students who will say things that you may be shocked aren’t jokes as a first year and you will roll your eyes at as a senior, but in the middle you’ll grow a ton and you’ll come out of Oberlin a much more understanding and accepting person. But the students with such extreme views are definitely the minority.

  2. The food is pretty good! I think 4th meal is great, it’s open from 10-11:30pm and has fun themed nights that make for nice study breaks! Dinner/lunch is pretty good too. Since they put the menus online, you can usually find at least one or two things you want to eat for any meal. If nothing sounds good, the off campus restaurants are also really good and relatively cheap (can easily get a meal for $5-$10)

  3. There’s approximately 3 parties every weekend that will have around 50-100 people at each one. With maybe another 30-50 or so upperclassman at the Feve (local bar/restaurant). So most of the student body is not at a party. Drugs are easy to find if you look for them but very easy not to find as well, with no peer pressure. Not sure if anything will change with the smoking ban they just put in effect, but I would doubt much, if anything, will change.

  4. Not sure about Art History, but Oberlin has a great reputation to grad schools and Oberlin professors definitely want to help you out at much as they can, so I think Oberlin would be a great stepping stone for your career path!

4

Thank you!