<p>According to my good friend, who was enrolled in Oberlin for a year before giving up, the quirky political and diverse socioeconomic nature of the college has completely changed for the worse in a matter of few years due to fewer and fewer of the students coming from working-class background. One of the main reasons I applied was exactly this reputation of it being a socially conscious school, or however one might call it - is this true? Any current enrollees have any input? Thanks.</p>
<p>Wow... I hope this is not true, especially since I come from a working-class background. It would be a shame if it is true.</p>
<p>I know, I'm in the same situation. I was really looking forward to a class-conscious school somehow.</p>
<p>This is absolutely not true. A total fiction. Oberlin was NEVER entirely need-blind--VERY few LACs or universities can afford to be--but the only admissions decisions which are at all affected by financial status are the admits from the waitlist (when the financial aid budget for the year has been exhausted). All regular admissions decisions are made need-blind, Oberlin continues to have a very generous financial aid budget, and every admitted student receives financial aid to meet his or her full need as reflected by the FAFSA.</p>
<p>So how come two different people have felt Oberlin has changed, and drastically? I mean it has to come from somewhere?</p>
<p>Students constantly exchange rumors not based on fact. Juniors and seniors have worried that the incoming classes were a lot more conservative (or less diverse, or less "quirky") than they were for at least the last 25 years.</p>
<p>Haha, point taken.</p>
<p>According to Oberlin's viewbook, it gives 39 million dollars in aid. According to Vassar's viewbook, Vassar gives 23-24 million dollars in aid :). They're both considered kinda quirky (I think, I'm an international student, don't kill me if I'm wrong) and Vassar has the whole Seven Sister prestige thing. </p>
<p>Based on the numbers, I don't think Oberlin's stopped giving aid. Besides, they're the only college apart from HYP and such that say they won't differentiate between American and international students for finaid.</p>
<p>As an alum from '94 I can testify to the fact that concerns regarding the incoming class being more conservative are an Oberlin tradition. If Oberlin is becoming more conservative, which schools are becoming more progressive? I think the truth of the matter is that college students in general are more conservative today than 20 years ago.</p>
<p>Fear not. I graduated from Oberlin more than 20 years ago (ouch). At that time, it was not particularly diverse from an economic perspective. Though there were lots of people who had work-study obligations, most students were from fairly wealthy families. Despite this, it was a very politically-active place. Perhaps more importantly, it was a vibrant place to learn about everything from physical chemistry to music theory to theology to geology to literature. </p>
<p>A visit to the campus last fall convinced me that Oberlin is no less politically/socially conscious than it was in the early eighties. The main difference seems to be that the current students are generally smarter and nicer than they were 'back then,' yet they have retained their 'quirkiness.' </p>
<p>The college now seems to have its act together from an administrative standpoint. The anarchic approach of the 1970s and 1980s (e.g., no distribution requirements, pass/fail grading, etc.) has been tightened up a bit, but no one seems to have suffered. Even in the 'old days,' people worked hard and competed, if only quietly and with themselves. </p>
<p>The college now has a good advising system, and it doesn't ignore the need to look into the future (i.e., careers) as it once did. Though Oberlin cranks out huge numbers of grads who get graduate degrees, a lot of Oberlin grads go into non-academic careers so it's critical that Obies have some decent guidance. Not all Obies can, or want to, become professors. </p>
<p>There is still the usual and customary griping about there being "more conservative" students on campus, but Oberlin's definition of "conservative" is rather different from that which prevails in the rest of the world. (I remember the uproar when John Anderson (an independent candidate in the '80 presidential election) was brought to campus by the 'moderate caucus.') It would be hard to find a school that has more political activity (and more liberal-leaning activity) per square mile. </p>
<p>There is also the ongoing struggle (such as it is) between the faculty and the administration. However, some of the faculty who were wild radicals 25 years ago are now the landed gentry. The food coops are still there, and they still have their individual identities, causes, and the like. Oberlin people still talk about the ideal of tolerance, but now they seem to put it into practice more than was the case a couple of decades ago. </p>
<p>At its core, Oberlin is a great place where you will work hard, learn a lot, and meet plenty of interesting people. There is great potential for establishment of life-long friendships, along with a chance for an excellent education. Oberlin is what you make of it -- and a great deal can be made of it indeed. Whereas I was a little wary about my son applying to Oberlin, I now would be very happy if he were to enroll there. </p>
<p>If the idea of 'school' as a structure for learning or community is repugnant, then maybe Oberlin isn't the place for you. But as long as you can accept the fact that Oberlin is an institution, and can live within its rather unrestrictive confines, you should be very happy. </p>
<p>Hope these comments help.</p>
<p>My recollection from a lecture about the history of Oberlin financial aid by Rupert Wilkinson (which you can read about at <a href="http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2005/11/4/news/article8.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2005/11/4/news/article8.html</a>) is that Oberlin actually was need-blind until 1994. The current need-aware policy is not limited to the waitlist, but it is only "at the margins," so the college is need-blind regarding the "best fit" students. We do have a generous financial aid budget and "meet 100% of demonstrated financial need," though whether that's really what people need varies.</p>
<p>Concerns about the school becoming more conservative are a tradition going back at least 140 years or so. Sometimes they've been justified, usually they haven't. I think right now there are ways in which Oberlin is becoming more conservative (we have an active College Republicans group again after not having one for a decade or so) but by and large it's not changing very much.</p>
<p>A few fun quotations:</p>
<p>"In the decade before the Civil War... [Oberlin College] moderated the extremes of opinion and emotion with which it was beset."
John Barnard, 1969</p>
<p>"Now we are really too popular."
Charles Finney, c. 1870</p>
<p>"Really the old Oberlin is passing away."
John Rogers, 1895</p>
<p>Peter Collopy, Oberlin '07</p>
<p>Hahaha, the replies really crack me up, it's so true -- three out of four of the movements I've been active in would always gripe of the "Golden Days" where everybody was more radical, more hard-working, and more authentic.</p>
<p>Thank you all. I had no idea Oberlin was considered that quirky, actually (I'm an international student).</p>
<p>Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.</p>
<p>Haha, that's funny, BanjoDad.</p>
<p>I'm an international student too, and I know Oberlin's quirky, because I've practically memorised the Wikipedia article on Oberlin. Plus, I've been to OberWiki, and um.. I researched a lot of stuff for the Why Oberlin essay ^_^.</p>
<p>It was kind of embarassing, at the Oberlin chat for international applicants, I was going "LUCY STONE WENT TO OBERLIN" and the politics professor I was talking to was like "...who's Lucy Stone?" >.<</p>
<p>A fine post.
Thank you!</p>