Oberlin or Colorado College

College Search & Selection
1

College Confidential, you’re my only hope. I got accepted to both Colorado College and Oberlin and I don’t know which one to go to.

I like Oberlin because of the music and prestige. I’ve been a musician all my life and, even though I’m not going to be in the conservatory, I still enjoy the possibility of being around so much music. I also enjoy people knowing Oberlin, which (to be completely honest) more people happen to know than CC.

I like CC because it has the perfect major for me: Romance Languages major. It is exactly what I do now: study Spanish and French concurrently (with the possibility to solidify my Portuguese as well). Granted, I could do that at Oberlin, but there’s a specified major for it there.

I dislike Oberlin because of what I’ve heard and seen about it. Things seem to get so hostile socially and politically and though I know I would be able to ignore it if I went there, I don’t think I should have to force myself to do that. I also have seen that there is a lot of protest culture and “us-against-them” mentalities, which I don’t really like. I also don’t like how homogeneous thought seems there. If you deviate even slightly, from what I’ve seen, you would get ostracized. Which, if I’m being honest, seems a bit ironic coming from a school who champions themselves on being the most diverse a college can be. But, I could be wrong. It’s just from staying on campus overnight and interacting with some Obies, I picked up that sort of vibe. Keep in mind, I’m liberal, but I’m not far-left.

I dislike CC’s schedule. I shadowed a class and the three hours felt so long and cumbersome. I also don’t know if being a Language major in that environment would be the best for me. I also don’t like that possibility that if I get sick or miss a class, I will have a deep hole to dig myself out of, so to speak.

Someone please help. I’m getting so close to May 1!

2

“I dislike Oberlin because of what I’ve heard and seen about it.” Have you spent some time looking at the Oberlin blogs? (www.oberlin.edu/blogs ) As an alum, the blogs seem to me to give a much better representation of what Oberlin students are actually like than the stereotypes you seem to be believing. Most Oberlin students seem to me actually quite open and accepting, not at all the sort of hostile and unpleasant types you’re describing. I’m very happy I chose Oberlin–it changed my life in wonderful ways. Good luck with your decision.

3

@hydrationiskey I have a happy kid at Oberlin and she has a HS classmate who is at Colorado College. Obviously, I know more about Oberlin. My impression after spending some time on campus is yes Obies have a distinctive feel to them. However, I do not find them intolerant or judgmental and I have not heard of any SJW excesses/shutting down free speech/etc. While this may sound counter-intuitive, the vibe feels almost libertarian in a “live and let live” kind of way. Many of the students feel a bit nerdy/hippie to me, which will not be to everybody’s taste. I agree with @dave72 's advice to spend some time with the student blogs. They depict a representative cross section of the students pretty accurately.

The college is also starting an initiative to make it easier for college students to access conservatory resources if you want to continue with your music at a high level.

As for CC, my kid’s friend loves the location and is generally happy, with the caveat that if you don’t enjoy a given class, it can be a LONG 3 weeks. This student is focusing in STEM and I think the lab sciences are probably where you see the real benefits to the block plan. If you already have a solid foundation in your target foreign languages, I don’t think it would be too onerous to focus on one class at a time.

They are both good choices with great academics, congrats. Having to choose is a good problem to have.

4

@dave72 I’ve looked at the Obie blogs, stayed overnight on campus, talked to alums, and plan to revisit later this week. But I also know that I can’t just read the student blogs or I’d be giving myself a bit of a one-sided picture. I’ve taken from multiple sources (older College Confidential forums included), but they don’t address the specific questions I have.

5

If you don’t like the schedule at CC, that should seal the deal. That’s at the heart of academics there. It works well for some, less well for others.

6

Try CC for a year because it offers a preferred major, but the block plan schedule is an unknown. If unhappy at CC, then transfer to Oberlin or elsewhere.

7

I have some thoughts to share, but I want to start with one overarching idea: the choice is ultimately yours, and yours alone. I would spend time reflecting about the decision in solitude, wherever you find meaning, peace, and renewal. It’s an important decision, and you will think about it in the future, regardless of whether your home turns out to be Colorado College or Oberlin.

First, I want to say that I wish I had been a Romance Languages major at CC. If I had realized earlier how much I would benefit from studying multiple languages, I would have had the chance to take courses in Spanish and Italian in addition to French, my eventual major. I think CC is a great place for language study, and the three-hour classes were helpful for immersion in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. I also took advantage of the language houses at CC and excellent study abroad opportunities there. (I confess to having loved the Block Plan; it worked well for the way I learn.) Even though I love French, I am surrounded today by Spanish speakers, and not a day goes by that I don’t wish I had extended my stay at CC to complete a major in Romance Languages.

You expressed some concerns about the social milieu at Oberlin. First, I feel I must make a disclaimer: I work with some extremely talented Oberlin grads, and I also know it’s a beautiful campus (having visited Oberlin and Grinnell on a cross-country trip a few years ago). While I can’t speak directly to your concerns, I can offer one possibly parallel example. When I was at Colorado College, I knew several transfer students from Reed College. They expressed discomfort with the intense political environment at Reed and wanted a slightly more laid-back social environment, which they found at CC. If this scenario seems like one you feel you would likely encounter at Oberlin, and it is not one in which you feel you would thrive, you might factor that into your decision.

Finally, I feel I can say something about CC’s status as a still somewhat hidden gem. I understand your concerns since, like so many other CC students and graduates, I had offers from better-known institutions (in my case, Duke and Chicago). First, I predict Colorado College will have its day in the sun, and I feel it will gain even more national and international recognition. I believe it will happen when something written about Colorado College or set at Colorado College becomes a film featuring the school and its understated yet magical qualities. (It could be something else, too, such as a Colorado College graduate being elected president or appointed to the Supreme Court.) Until that happens, though, I can say that I’m proud to have graduated from a school that prepared me well for everything I have done since–and in a highly unusual and ethical way.

I hope this helps. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best. And please let us know what you choose to do.

P.S. I sang in the concert choir at CC and loved it. It was one of the best experiences of my CC career. I also was part of a madrigal singing group. There’s a lot of music at Colorado College. It may not be Oberlin’s Conservatory, but you will not be disappointed!

8

Rather than focus on the name of the major, look at the course catalog for each school and map out 4 years. Also look at study abroad options. And keep in mind how you feel about one class at a time. If you can study the same material, you really are free to consider these two schools on their own merits.

Planning to transfer as a backup is a bad strategy. I have personally known several students who were not accepted as transfers at schools that had admitted them as freshmen.

9

The block plan at CC is not for every student, if you do not comfort in it, CC won’t be a right place for you to spend your undergraduate four years. I have a friend in CC who study Russian, and he always complaints about the block plan because the class schedule is too tight. Block plan may be suitable for science majors, but Learning Language needs a long time process to continue to understand and explore. He is now considering transfer out of CC to Kenyon or Oberlin.

Plus, I think Oberlin is more nationally known and has better academic reputation than CC. CC is built in 1874, which is a college with long history. After one houndred years development, CC’s reputation is still really limited, and it’s obvious that it cannot improve its reputation in only ten or twenty years. Every college can say it will have its day of sun one day, but achieving is much harder than saying. It’s just like when we were at childhood, almost every child wants to be a superman, which is unrealistic. The same is for CC.

Oberlin has better graduate school outcome. Obies went to Harvard, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Duke, Chicago to get master degrees or Phd degrees. Oberlin is known for Phd production, which means its strong reputation in academia.

Anyway, both are great colleges, I personally think Oberlin is a better fit for you! Wish you a great future in the next four years!

10

CC is much more difficult to get into. It’s reputation is just fine, especially out West. I’d say it’s been on the rise while Oberlin is facing some issues, including declining enrollment. https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2018/01/oberlin_colleges_new_president.html

Last time I was on Oberlin’s campus, I found it needing some maintenance and upkeep. Meanwhile, CC doesn’t face deferred maintenance from what I’ve scene.

As far as PhD production, a lot of CC students choose to not enter academia as a career. It’s really about the type of student CC attracts more than a difference in academic quality. Those who go on for post grad studies do just fine.

All that said, if you can’t get comfortable with the block plan, CC is not the place for you.

11

@gardenstategal I did that. The name of the major matters little to me, but when that name is the difference between the type of work I will be doing, then I argue it does hold some importance. Case in point, the Romance Language major is specifically structured for multilingual romance language study, more so than a hypothetical Hispanic Studies-French double major at Oberlin.

Regarding the second part of your comment, what types of schools were these students reapplying to? Were they LACs? Research universities? Ivies? State schools?

12

It seems you feel CC is a better fit academically and socially–Go for it!

13

^^ Selective LACs and Ivies. Just a heads-up.

Sounds like you have done your homework. Does Oberlin allow you to craft your own major? Does it not have the courses you want? What I am saying is that if you can take the courses, it doesn’t have to be in a major. That is the beauty of a liberal arts education.

Of course, if the school doesn’t offer the coursework you want, that’s a different ball of wax.

14

If you do well in your first year at CC & want to transfer, you should have many options. CC’s block plan is highly unusual, so that is a ready made reason to transfer if you do not like it.

Although I agree that going to one school with a plan to transfer is not wise, but it is in certain cases–and this is one of those instances.

15

The Oberlin enrollment comment is not factual. The class of 2020 had the lowest acceptance rate in years, the class of 2021 was below the norm but the above writer might have looked for a cut and past that was current. Last year’s class of 2022 enrollment was above recent historical averages and basically made up for the dip in 2021. My son attends, plays a sport, and is pre-med. He is very happy with the academics. He does say the politics gets a little to far left at times (we are a mod-lib family) but he loves the school and loves the academics. He has no regrets.

16

Kind of hard to argue against the college’s own published facts, @gonzaga35. It’s not my opinion. It’s the actual numbers.

Here’s a chart that shows declining enrollment the past few years, including the most recent year. To my knowledge, Oberlin isn’t intentionally looking to enroll less students.
https://public.tableau.com/profile/birdmanobie#!/vizhome/OberlinIRQuickFacts/Story1

Here’s a graph published by the college showing declining yield rates the past few years and rising acceptance rates. You can see more data if you hold your cursor over the data point on the graph. Notice test scores are missing for 2017 data. Perhaps the drop was such that they didn’t want to publish? They have it for other years so it makes me wonder… Again, this includes the most current enrollment year, 2018.
https://public.tableau.com/profile/birdmanobie#!/vizhome/OberlinIRQuickFacts/Story1

Here’s a handy summary of CC’s yields and acceptance rates over time. Notice it has been trending downward.
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/ipe/admission.html

Comparison for 2018:

Oberlin
Acceptance rate 39%
Yield rate 29%

Colorado College
Acceptance Rate 15.0%
Yield Rate 42.4%

17

@doschicos there you go again using facts…

18

Facts can be so pesky. :wink:

19

I just noticed in my post #15, the Oberlin links don’t go directly to the tabs I am referencing.

For yield info, look at the second tab entitled “Undergraduate Enrollment History”.

For acceptance rate and yield date, look at the tab entitled “First Year Student Admissions History by Division”.

20

Oberlin is still experiencing financial difficulties and plans to shrink conservatory.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/04/18/amid-budget-deficits-and-unfavorable-demographics-oberlin-pushes-do-more-less