<p>I was accepted to Oberlin a few days ago, and was happy with their $15,000 grant. However, I was wondering how one negotiates aid. I was not offered this much money at any of my other schools, and Oberlin is the best school I got into. Right now im between Oberlin and SUNY Binghamton (instate). I'm visiting Oberlin in two weeks. </p>
<p>Also, does anyone know more about the school. If they are all radical hippies, I dont know how well I'd fit in, even though im the liberal type.</p>
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<p>Hey Donpon,</p>
<p>Well, my D. is considering Oberlin, and she is quite liberal, but not a radical hippie (!) -- though she loves Birkenstocks, lol</p>
<p>yes i need a new pair. I've managed to put a hole right through the big toe.</p>
<p>I wouldn't call Oberlin hippie, but it has a pretty liberal student body (oberlin is not too far away from my home).</p>
<p>Oberlin is awesome! A friend of my S's goes there and LOVES it! We visited and the student body seemed very open and immediately accepting of my S and his friend. They welcomed the "prospies" right away!</p>
<p>If you can swing Oberlin financially, by all means do it over SUNY-Bing! The campus is very pretty, kids are happy there, and it will be a very stimulating and upbeat place.</p>
<p>Thanks, weenie; we are dealing with similar decisions here. We haven't received our financial aid package yet from Oberlin, and D. didn't receive a merit scholarship there. The schools where she got the most money are Case Western and American, neither of which she particularly wants to go to. The schools she REALLY liked, besides Oberlin, are Pitzer (no money to speak of); Rochester (very small grant) and UVermont Honors College (reasonably good aid/ and scholarship).
But the money differences aren't huge, and we may be able to swing Oberlin.
She'll have some decisions to make!</p>
<p>weenie, what exactly do u mean by stimulating. I ask because my uncle told me, basically, "most schools teach u how to memorize. Oberlin and a very small number of other schools teach you how to think".</p>
<p>donpod:
I just think you will find a much more diverse, interesting group of students at Oberlin. They will come from different places, many with interesting musical backgrounds or other talents. Binghamton will be much more homogenous (nearly all NYC-Long Island), much more of the "pre-med" or "pre-law" mentality (which can get really boring after a while). Unfortunately, at Binghamton you find lots of kids who wish they could have gone to school somewhere else. At Oberlin, most of the kids will be in their first choice spot. At Binghamton you will find a lot of kids who already have established social circles (so many come from the same high schools!) but at Oberlin I suspect nearly everyone will be new and alone. I attended Binghamton (many years ago) but from what I hear nothing much has changed there. I toured Oberlin with my son, and he did not apply for a number of reasons (mostly money). But the campus was very pretty and it seemed like a really classy place with a more mature or self-confident student body.</p>
<p>weenie. Thank you so much. So many of my doubts have just been ridden of!!!!!</p>
<p>i'm considering between Oberlin and Stanford. Can anyone give me some advice? I just love Oberlin but the opportunities at Stanford is tough to resist though..</p>