<p>Now that I'm in Oberlin and can navigate my way through campus without getting lost...</p>
<p>No, seriously, I can answer SOME questions.</p>
<p>Teehee. Tell me EVERYTHING. Seriously. Should I fall in love with Oberlin? I'm right at the edge right now, but I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge.</p>
<p>What's the environment like? The student body? What kind of buildings does the campus have - modern, traditional, gothic, a variety? What do you do in your spare time? How's the dorm room - and the dorm environment? Are the buildings spread out or is the campus kind of small? Is it walled/gated? </p>
<p>Thanks :) I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions as the time for college applications approaches...okay, it's already here but I refuse to accept that.</p>
<p>Okay, so it's 3.30 AM and I just got back from a informal Taboo session in the lounge of the dorm where I live in.</p>
<p>I think you SHOULD fall in love. I'll start with the campus. It's not walled or gated, it's in the middle of the town of Oberlin. The town of Oberlin is not especially big (at all), but it's incredibly pretty. "Downtown Oberlin" is right next to the Conservatory. There are quite a few restaurants, all with affordable prices, a general store that has pretty much everything a college kid needs, even Wal-Mart within easily walkable distances [read: right next to campus]. It's very very beautiful. I don't know much about architecture, but we don't have "modern" looking buildings, IMO. Two of our buildings were designed by the same guy who designed the World Trade Centre. There's a mixture of styles, there's no matching theme to the buildings on campus. It's really beautiful, though. I have some pictures on Facebook.</p>
<p>I live in East, on the third floor, which is the Quiet Floor. I chose to live here, as did a lot of other first-years. It's pretty quiet in here. The dorm rooms are surprisingly nice, I didn't expect them to be so cozy / big. My dorm environment is kind of quiet, but then, I live in one of the three biggest dorms on campus. Dascomb and Barrows, the first year dorms usually have a lot of stuff going on. The program houses have a LOT of community. The campus is kind of small, but doul't feel cramped at all, it's spread out enough to be beautiful and look wide and sprawling, but small enough to walk across campus pretty comfortably.</p>
<p>I'm not a very social person, so I've just been hanging out with small groups of people. I haven't been to a party or the 'Sco (dance club) yet. Dascomb and Barrows always have things going on, though - if you like parties and noise and people. If you don't, there are PLENTY of people to hang out with. There are always other events going on, as well.</p>
<p>The food is pretty good. I mean, I probably will get tired of it after a while, but it's not bad at all. Our dining halls have very different menus, and large varieties of food, so it's pretty cool.</p>
<p>Classes are great, The social science / humanities classes I'm in are GREAT, very engaging and interesting discussions. The science classes I'm in are pretty awesome, as well, we had like six demos in Physics class today. Real experiments!</p>
<p>Ask me anything more you want. Good luck!</p>
<p>Oh, question! Why wouldn't I want to fall in love with Oberlin? ;)</p>
<p>(you do know why I'm asking this, don't you?)</p>
<p>Can you describe your first day at Oberlin? And your reaction to your new surroundings?</p>
<p>Thanks, in advance.</p>
<p>tetris: You probably wouldn't want to fall in love with Oberlin if you're intolerant / a homophobe / don't like music / are very preppy?</p>
<p>My first day at Oberlin would be kind of different from most people's because I'm an international student. I can tell you about my first few days, though. I got to Oberlin three days before all the other first years for international orientation. We drove from the Cleveland airport, and my first impression of Oberlin was that it was absolutely beautiful and green and clean and pretty! It's really, really beautiful.</p>
<p>We got to Oberlin, and checked in, and my family helped me put all my stuff in my room (I still haven't unpacked fully. <em>hides</em>) Then, I went to an international student dinner, and met all the other international people (from countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.) - everyone's really nice and friendly. When we were introducing ourselves to each other, it would often turn into political debate, and I really love that. Yes, on the first day!</p>
<p>For the next two days, we had international orientation (mostly speeches involving regulations for legal residency, and stuff like that) and barbecues and movie nights and pizza dinners :). After the official events, a lot of us would hang out in my room, and we'd end up discussing something like the morality of patriotism or the extent of cultural differences. (You shouldn't be intimidated by this, we were all new and international and didn't know all that much about other people's country. I had a very fun game of Taboo last night with pretty much the same people being completely ridiculous :P I'm just trying to say that intellectual discussions happen spontaneously at Oberlin.)</p>
<p>My reaction to new surroundings would probably be way different from yours, if you're American, which you probably are? I didn't know how anything in the US worked, so I was confused and awkward for a little bit (but found great people to help me through!). I didn't really know how water fountains and salad bars and things like that worked. So I'm probably not the best person to ask about that, unless you have a more specific question?</p>
<p>Keep them coming.</p>
<p>Ah, I'm none of those.</p>
<p>Therefore, there is no reason for me to hate Oberlin!</p>
<p>You'll probably get questions from me in a couple of years' time though.</p>
<p>I don't even know why you're on CC. Tenth graders shouldn't be on CC. It's just... wrong.</p>
<p>Hope you brought an umbrella, it's raining there I understand.</p>
<p>Hmm. Can we be Facebook friends, then, so I can see pictures? :D</p>
<p>What made you decide to attend Oberlin over other colleges?</p>
<p>Yes, we can be Facebook friends. You're going to be my 41st friend from CC, if I remember the count I was keeping but gave up on.</p>
<p>Thanks monydad, I have an umbrella, but it's only drizzling here, and it's nice to walk through it without one :D.</p>
<p>Oberlin is small, has amazing people, is poltical, people think for themselves, there's no need to conform. (There's a guy here who spends all of his time in a bathrobe. ALL OF HIS TIME. He's in one of my classes, and he's in a bathrobe!) People aren't as preppy and apathetic as a lot of college kids seem to be. And everyone seems to genuinely care. That's why I chose Oberlin, I thought I'd have an atmosphere like that, and I have NOT been disappointed. I'm a very awkward and "what will people think of me?" kind of person, but I have been relaxing a LOT at Oberlin, I've been wandering around campus in flip flops (okay, everyone does.), not being embarassed at things I'd overanalyse a lot before, and just... relaxing so much. It's fun!</p>
<p>Hi I'm considering Oberlin but I'm sort of preppyish. Am I going to be able to fit in? Oh, is Oberlin a welcoming place for minorities/internationals? I'm Asian from California.
Thanks!</p>
<p>I'm from India. I have always lived in India. I'm having a great time here. We have a Multicultural Resource Centre, Asia House, Afrikan Heritage House, Third World House (last three are dorms), and a lot of student groups for virtually every ethnicity. I think they have diversity weekends for applying and accepted students, as well. This doesn't mean that minorities and / or internationals are isolated into separate groups, not at all. </p>
<p>Define "sort of preppyish"?</p>
<p>Wow, you are from India? I used to live there in Delhi. hehehe
yes, anyways, I meant like in clothing-wise. Ralph Lauren wearing, big sunglasses wearing sort of thing.</p>
<p>...I don't think anyone cares what you wear. You could wear Ralph Lauren, or you could wear a bathrobe. As long as you're not snobby / snooty, you should be fine. </p>
<p>Yep, I am from India and arrived in the US less than a month ago for college. I live in the south of India, nowhere near Delhi.</p>
<p>though TheOneCurlyFry has done an excellent job answering these questions, I just thought I'd point out that Wal-Mart isn't really within walking distance of the campus. You'll need a car for that one. But really, most everything you'd need is downtown. Plus Wal-Mart really isn't that popular among obies.</p>
<p>Thanks :).</p>
<p>Didn't they open a new Wal-Mart around here last year? The other international students have been walking to one. I don't know where it is, though.</p>
<p>There is a Wal-Mart now, and I think the public bus system stops there. It's not far, but far to walk I imagine. Particularly with the packages you would be coming home with.</p>
<p>Virtually all of the other big chain stores- Sears, Home Depot, Loew's, etc- are in in Elyria, about 15 minutes away. There are malls there too. But you need to find somebody with a car. Unless you can figure out how to use the bus system to get there and back better than my daughter has been able to do.</p>
<p>You can get to Cleveland via bus to the airport, then the Cleveland train system, which is pretty good, from there. The destinations my daughter has visited there took 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hours to get to that way, variously. Of course this does not compare with getting a ride (40 minutes). And you are bound to the bus schedule, which is limiting particularly on the return leg.</p>
<p>More questions!</p>
<p>If any of you visit, I could try and be your overnight host too, I'm signed up for the program. PM me if you'd like to try that?</p>
<p>how is the science programs there? is it very well known?
i plan to be a premed student and i want to know if oberlin is a good choice for me in terms of academics.</p>