I couldn’t seem to find one already started so I thought I would check in and see if anyone else had a student applying for ED1 at Oberlin. My DD and I visited a total of 13 schools and just got back from the last one on Monday (Grinnell). She went to meet with her college counselor yesterday and decided she wants Oberlin ED. Grinnell was a close second followed by Hamilton but I think the time she spent at Oberlin was really special to her.
The funny thing is that because she did their regional fly-in program it is the ONE school I have not seen. I’m fine with that but would love some thoughts about the school from current parents or others who have visited (or students!).
About DD - She is planning to major in creative writing, has won several Scholastic Writing awards for fiction, writes plays and directs them. She is also interested in East Asian Studies (she is half Asian) and Japanese. Her ACT is a 31 composite but very spread out - Reading 35, English 36, Math 29, Science 25. She is definitely much more of a humanities girl!
My DD is also likely applying to Oberlin ED1 (after formal visits to 13 other schools and 3 other casual campus walkthroughs).
Grinnell, which is also on her list, and Oberlin felt very similar to us on our recent visits. Since Grinnell is your D’s runner-up, I’ll focus on those two schools. Oberlin has more creative energy and seems a bit more quirky and laid back. The students were also less career focused and more introspective. Of all the schools we toured only two campuses, one being Oberlin, felt like they actually belonged to the students. These same two colleges allowed their student ambassadors/tour guides/interviewers to discuss mistakes and to display doubt. In other words, they were allowed to truly speak for themselves. These qualities are extremely appealing to my D. She also loved the co-op dining and housing options at Oberlin.
Since Oberlin has over a 1000 more students the town has more of a classic college town feel with more student focused businesses and a greater variety of restaurants even though the population of Grinnell is about the same size. We loved the wicked witch of the west style bike culture on the Oberlin campus that is served both by a local bike shop and an on campus based bike co-op.
Grinnell, however, has a very healthy endowment and this shows in all kinds of little ways e.g. free printing, free laundry machines. The focus on externships, internships, and the alumni network is also impressive. Studying abroad was also more emphasized at Grinnell. Their own program in London was discussed at length. My S18 loves Grinnell and it’s at the top of his list.
@Hellofagal thanks for your insight! From what you mention it seems to be exactly what my daughter loved about Oberlin that she found possibly lacking at other schools, though she didn’t articulate it that way. She loved how “chill” everyone was at Oberlin and she bonded with the town in a special way. The coop idea really intrigues her too. She does long for Grinnell’s open curriculum though!
Let me know if your DD ends up deciding on Oberlin for ED1. They have a good admit rate, much more favorable than RD, which is what has sealed the deal for my daughter.
Check out their student blogs on admission, my daughter has enjoyed reading them!
@Hellofagal Oberlin also has a London Program: http://oberlin.edu/london , and indeed Oberlin’s and Grinnell’s programs share the same resident director. They’re very similar.
@LMC9902 IMHO, there’s not really much difference between Grinnell’s “open curriculum” and Oberlin’s. Oberlin does have distribution requirements (you have to take a number of courses outside the division of your major, and demonstrate competence in writing and quantitative proficiency), but they are minimal, and most students fulfill them quite easily. There are no required courses at Oberlin.
@dave72 Good to know about the curriculum and how similar it is to Grinnell. My daughter is just not a fan of math and science classes and would prefer not to take any in college to save room for more humanities. Of course, she is bright and hard working so if there’s a quantitative requirement at Oberlin she should be ok.
@Hellofagal sounds good, I look forward to hearing. We are waiting to hear what the admissions committee tells us about potential merit money and then we will make the final call on ED1. Either way it’s her first choice so I’m hoping it works out.
@walkbanx Good luck! My daughter felt the same way when she got back. It took her longer to decide on ED because she wanted to see a few more schools but once she had done that it was clear to her.
@Hellofagal that’s great news! I hope the month goes quickly and ends well. What about Oberlin made your daughter decide on ED? @mamaedefamilia is your daughter applying ED anywhere or just keeping options open? I kept going back and forth with what to tell my daughter but she was confident so I let her do it. We looked at so many great schools where I could see her thriving that it was hard to let them all go, but it’s her decision!
Hi @LMC9902 It is her clear first choice but we will need to compare merit offers as we don’t qualify for need-based aid, yet with another child graduating in four years, we need to be equitable and couldn’t commit to full pay. So no ED anywhere. We also visited during the summer and I would hesitate to apply ED unless my child had the opportunity to visit campus with classes in session, sit in on a class or two, and check out the student vibe when everybody is there. We live over 1,000 miles away so that wasn’t feasible. Seniors at her school get an extra long break in March and she can do follow up visits to her top 3 at that time.
Naviance data from D’s school is encouraging and students with comparable or lower stats have been accepted and received merit awards. So we will keep our fingers crossed and see what happens! She liked Macalester nearly as well and feels as though she could be happy at a few other LACs to which she has applied.
Thanks @mamaedefamilia. I hear you about the cost because we don’t qualify for aid either and have another child four years younger who attends an expensive high school. We got an early read on merit and were happy with it and have told DD she needs to apply for a number of scholarships for freshman year if she gets in and is “done” in December. Not easy but we can make it work.
My S attends as well as his good friend from our town. His friend interviewed at oberlin and before applying ED, they talked about costs with both the boy and his mom. My understanding is that he’s paying about the same price as a SUNY
He’s a great kid and interviewed well. By the end of his interview, he was beatboxing with his interviewer (he’s not a con kid). His stats weren’t overwhelming, 93.5 gpa and a 2050 sat score. I don’t know for sure what his package looked like.
My conclusion is that an interview with someone from admissions is very helpful.
My daughter had a great interview experience as well when she visited for her overnight and has since connected with her admissions counselor Jill Medina (who she didn’t meet on campus). I can’t say enough great things about how they run admissions, at least from what I’ve heard through my daughter about the fly-in and Jill.
Many competitive schools don’t go out of their way to get to know applicants the way Oberlin has (D visited 10+ schools so I have points of comparison!).