<p>Some thoughts on Oberlin.</p>
<p>English is our largest department, with the most faculty members and declared majors. I haven’t taken any classes in the department, since it’s not my interest, but it’s extremely strong, with a wide variety of courses offered each semester (you may have as many as 30 English courses to choose from each semester). </p>
<p>Computer Science is one of the smaller departments, but has a hardcore contingent of students. I attended an Honors presentation shortly before the end of last semester, and was very impressed. Beyond the courses intended for majors, there are usually several designed for people simply with an interest in computer science–including a interdisciplinary seminar each spring on “Mind and Machine,” which involves contributions to our understanding of the mind from artificial intelligence, neural networks, cognitive psychology, philosophy of mind, linguistics, and neuroscience.</p>
<p>Creative Writing is one of our best departments. The only downside is that so many students want to be in it that each course is open by application only–meaning that while anyone can take the courses, you have to be good enough to get into them, even if you’re a major. If you have a strong portfolio, that’s a plus. There are introductory courses that you can take in your first year to let you consider the program. Notably, Ishmael Beah’s book “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” was produced as a result of Oberlin’s Creative Writing program.</p>
<p>Just felt I had to pimp the school a bit.</p>