My daughter is deciding between Mount Holyoke and Oberlin. I’m trying not to be heavy handed but think that Oberlin has a stronger national reputation (we’re from West Coast) and a stronger arts department (she’s a visual artist). Any advice on helping her make a good decision?
Interesting that you think that Oberlin has a “stronger national reputation”. My impression is the opposite. Regardless, single sex versus co-ed should be a significant factor.
This is why I’m posting. I’m basing this on know many bright Oberlin grads over the years. Also the admission rate at Oberlin is 35% vs 50%. I’m glad to hear someone disagrees. She loves the single sex thing. Also, in this time of uncertainty, I’m wondering which school is in a better position to weather the many coming storms. OK, I’ll put it all out there: Oberlin gave her $20K a year merit aid.
Mount Holyoke is way under 50% now.
From the most recent CDS (2019-2020), the acceptance rate was 38%.
I was surprised, too, as we has been looking at MHC for our DD.
If the cost difference is $80,000 over four years, then the choice leans toward Oberlin College so long as your daughter is comfortable in a very liberal environment.
She is a very liberal, Queer, artist. She is extremely bright but has ADHD and anxiety.
She should enjoy Oberlin College. Easy choice as Oberlin has awarded $20,000 per year.
My daughter has a couple of friends who fit this profile, and who are very happy at Oberlin.
This is all very interesting and congrats to OP and his/her daughter.
One thing to consider is that Oberlin has been weathering a storm over the bakery fiasco. You may want to go to the Oberlin thread and read through some of the discussions there. That fiasco seems to be red hot in the atmosphere and threatens Oberlin’s reputation. Oberlin’s acceptances have been going up, the GPA averages down, and the yields also down. I say this as someone who has Oberlin on a long list for a current child but has had Mt. H on a short list–in fact as an EDII–for an earlier child.
Personally I would leap at a chance to send current Oberlin child to Mt. H if I could but this child IDs as male and that wouldn’t work. Mt. H is very well known and has a homey atmosphere and is very arty. Plus it is accepting of the “liberal, Queer, artist” sort of student. Plus it’s truly empowering. I was extremely impressed with the students I met there (on campus for 2 days). It would be an ideal school for us in so many ways.
The money issue on your side is of course very important too! Have you called Mt. H and asked for more aid? They tend to give merit money and this year, considering how schools are not sure they will fill, this may be more flexible for them.
This is very helpful. I have heard about the bakery fiasco and find it troubling. I wrestle with wanting my kid in an inclusive environment and exposing her to the politically correct mono think culture that is the opposite of what college is supposed to be.
I am a Mount Holyoke alum. My son graduated from Oberlin last year. Your daughter can’t go wrong at either one. Both are LGBTQ-friendly and academically rigorous.
@Massmomm
I’m seriously interested in Oberlin for many reasons but I’m also seriously turned off by the bakery issue that the president, some admins, and perhaps faculty and students seem to be pursuing. It would be great if my lovely child could attend and really not think about these issues. From what I’ve gleaned on this forum, it seems that Oberlin’s president has overplayed her hand and continues to use the courts to pursue … some end of some sort that truthfully I can’t fathom. If my sense of this is true, that sadly Oberlin’s president has gone down some rabbit hole, we will drop Oberlin from consideration. It’s just too distracting. But perhaps I’m just wrong. I wrote on another thread the question about how much this affects student life there, but no one responded materially. Do you have any thoughts about daily lives of students (pre COVID exodus)?
I know two LGTBQ recent MHC alums. One identifies as lesbian, the other currently as a transgender man. Both had very positive experiences at Mount Holyoke. I’ve also spent time with a bunch of LGBTQ recent Oberlin alumni who seem very attached to Oberlin. I don’t think in terms of your daughter’s identity you’d go wrong with either.
There are couple of obvious factors that differentiate the two. Single sex or coed. 5 college consortium or not. Both offer strong academics.
Although I know a lot of wonderful Oberlin grads I would be a bit concerned about the bakery controversy and some of the other smaller issues that have reared their head on campus over the last few years. That said, the money does make a difference.
The current president of Oberlin came in in the middle of the Gibson’s controversy. A small group of students overreacted, which, I am sure, pushed the school to overreact. But the vast majority of students continued to shop at, and have a good relationship with them. (They aren’t just a bakery, but a general store, where kids buy their snacks and when they are old enough, their beer.)
Oberlin does have a bunch of kids interested in social justice, some of whom don’t always try to get to the bottom of an issue before reacting to it. But I think students like these exist in every school. We’re talking about very young adults here. (I do think it’s funny that on move-out day, the kids who were so strident about conservation were hurling unused cases of paper towels, plates, shampoo, plastic storage bins, etc., into a giant trash heap…but again, these are kids who are just at the beginning of sorting out their values and trying to live in the world.)
Oberlin isn’t for everyone. My son wasn’t happy there, I should note, but he did get a good education and made some good friends. His professors were first-rate. It just wasn’t the right fit.
From what you have posted, I think it would be a fit for your daughter. But so would Mount Holyoke. She has some very good choices.
Thank you everyone. This discussion is very helpful.
@Massmom, @rayrayray20, I don’t like when conservative news outlets and websites brand Obies as snowflakes or social justice warriors (in its pejorative sense), but I don’t think characterizing the protesters at Gibson’s as being a “small group” is accurate. I say this as someone who knows and has great affection for kids who were there. They were a sizable group, as can be seen in videos of the event. Just do a video search and you can see for yourself. Oberlin, on its lawsuit FAQ’s, estimates the crowd to have been 150-200 students. I can’t imagine they would overestimate the size of the crowd, as it wouldn’t be in their best interest.
Obies are a passionate and creative group. IMO, they are sometimes misguided in their passion and creativity. Whether this will be an issue for your child I can’t say. It wasn’t for the Obie I’m closest to. Okay, at times it was for their liberal but not * that* liberal parents, but that particular grad is off to a great start in the world, full of passion and creativity.
Thanks to both of you, @Sue22 and @Massmomm. Both of your opinions/ evaluations are helpful. I was concerned by the lengthy thread on the Oberlin forum (and I do NOT want to rehash the issues at length) that documented how the administration pushed/ supported the student agenda including providing food and winter gloves. And then continued the law proceedings rather than settling and getting the issue behind them–ready to restart being “good neighbors”–it seems like an ongoing mess. Reframing it from a theft/assault to a racial incident and then to one of free speech seemed disingenuous. It seemed like a big mistake that Oberlin’s president wasn’t willing to admit to. We all make mistakes–boy, do we!–and then we rebuild especially with friends and neighbors. I’m not seeing the desire to put it behind them quickly and then rebuild the relationship … this is sad for me because I really like Oberlin in so many ways. But I don’t what my child to deal with this issue – like at all. This could be a deal breaker for us.
I don’t consider the New Yorker to be a conservative news outlet but I think the culture that they described is just an Oberlin phenomenon.
My daughter’s top 3 choices came down to Mt Holyoke, Oberlin and Smith. She ended up at Mt Holyoke partly because she had gotten the Trustee scholarship and had a preference for a single sex college. Oberlin had also given her a hefty scholarship. She loves the small intimate environment and the option to take classes at the other schools in the consortium and she loves having access to the East Coast cities. Both are excellent schools and well known. We sent our kiddo to college as a quiet scholarly student. She came back from Mt Holyoke a confident leader. A big fish in a small pond. The transformation was truly astounding. For the record I would have chosen Oberlin for my musical daughter but I am so happy so followed her own path and ended up at Mount Holyoke.
I have dd at Oberlin and dd at mhc. You cannot go wrong.