<p>I'm not fond of Oberlin for a couple of reasons.</p>
<p>In Ohio, Oberlin is not seen as a top liberal arts college. It's pretty much seen as a party school, and if you ask top Ohio students, they're surprised that Oberlin has a good reputation. Denison and Case Western are considered to be better.</p>
<p>I also want out of Ohio. I'm a couple hours from Oberlin but it's still going to be too Ohio for me. Ohio as an adjective is not a good thing. :P</p>
<p>Sorry this thread became so me-centric. Is there anyone else out there with similar values that has any suggestions? Again, I don't care that a school is stone-cold sober.</p>
<p>"More names to toss out there, where people get off on meeting other people but seriously pursue their studies: Oberlin, Brandeis, Grinnell, Earlham, Carleton, Haverford."</p>
<p>Chicago gives both need-based and merit-based scholarships, and considering that they just got an anonymous $100 million donation that's going directly towards undergrad financial aid, which is great news for lower and middle-class students. Students from families earning <60 k will not incur any debt; students from families earning between 60-75k will have their debt cut in half. Don't know if that applies to you.</p>
<p>Anyway, FA varies from school to school and from student, so don't limit colleges based on what you think you'll get. If a college falls in love with you, they'll find a way for you to attend.</p>
<p>JBVirtuoso: I live in Ohio, and I've no idea what you're on about. It must vary from community to community. Everybody in my area respects Oberlin as a top LAC that is quite difficult to get into. Also, if you're looking to live out of Ohio for the rest of your life, Oberlin has an amazing national reputation. And look at the stats. Oberlin produces more accomplished grads than the majority of schools in the country no matter how you tally it up.</p>
<p>Boy, that's a hoot. I've been on CC for quite some time now and this is the first time I've ever heard it described as a party school. If anyone's looking for a party school, I suggest you keep looking. You will most certainly not be happy there. Which is not to suggest that the kids have no fun.</p>
<p>Hey if you really want to party, check out Swarthmore, Reed and MIT. Good times.</p>
<p>Copied from a prior post on CC:</p>
<p>"Here's a list of the top 60 per capita undergrad PhD producers for the most recent 10 year period. The number is the percentage of all graduates of these schools who have gone on to get a PhD or equivalent doctorate. I've highlighted the LACs in bold:</p>
<p>Percentage of PhDs per graduate</p>
<p>Academic field: ALL</p>
<p>PhDs and Doctoral Degrees:
ten years (1994 to 2003) from NSF database</p>
<p>Number of Undergraduates:
ten years (1989 to 1998) from IPEDS database</p>
<p>Note: Does not include colleges with less than 1000 graduates over the ten year period
Note: Includes all NSF doctoral degrees inc. PhD, Divinity, etc., but not M.D. or Law. </p>
<p>Code:
1 35.8% California Institute of Technology<br>
2 24.7% Harvey Mudd College
3 21.1% Swarthmore College<br>
4 19.9% Reed College<br>
5 18.3% Massachusetts Institute of Technology<br>
6 16.8% Carleton College<br>
7 15.8% Bryn Mawr College<br>
8 15.7% Oberlin College
9 15.3% University of Chicago<br>
10 14.5% Yale University
11 14.3% Princeton University<br>
12 14.3% Harvard University<br>
13 14.1% Grinnell College<br>
14 13.8% Haverford College<br>
15 13.8% Pomona College<br>
16 13.1% Rice University
17 12.7% Williams College<br>
18 12.4% Amherst College
19 11.4% Stanford University
20 11.3% Kalamazoo College<br>
21 11.0% Wesleyan University
22 10.6% St John's College (both campus)
23 10.6% Brown University<br>
24 10.4% Wellesley College<br>
25 10.0% Earlham College
26 9.6% Beloit College<br>
27 9.5% Lawrence University
28 9.3% Macalester College<br>
29 9.0% Cornell University, All Campuses<br>
30 9.0% Bowdoin College
31 8.9% Mount Holyoke College<br>
32 8.9% Smith College<br>
"</p>