My son is trying to decide between Oberlin and Vassar. He is interested in both fine art and sports (rugby in particular), wants to primarily focus on environmental studies (with hopes of potentially pursuing environmental law—less science-focused, more policy or history-focused), is a vegetarian and has grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area (though is grandparents live in Ohio, making Oberlin a big plus in that regard). While my son visited both colleges, his impressions didn’t really give him enough to go on, and we don’t have the luxury of returning for a second visit. Any input regarding atmosphere, student body, work/play balance, social scene, etc. would be most appreciated. Thank you.
Don’t know much about Vasser. My Northern Cal D went to Oberlin and loved it. Never bored and enjoyed some fabulous winter term projects and Exco classes. Environmental studies is quite strong at Oberlin. I would think also he’d enjoy joining a coop. Many are vegan. Nearby grandparents sounds like a plus to me too. You can also try asking on the individual college forums.
By fit, you have described Oberlin. However, Vassar can be a difficult school to pass up and could be a very good fit for him as well. California, I believe, is the second most represented state at Vassar, should that mean anything to him. Tough call.
Thank you both for your responses. Most appreciated indeed.
I don’t know about Oberlin’s environmental studies classes, but S (who is from SoCal) has taken a couple of classes in Vassar’s program, which takes advantage of the Hudson Valley’s spectacular geology and the campus’ own 500 acre preserve called, “The Farm” (the rugby fields are actually on a corner of it). Vassar’s ESCI program is very multidisciplinary in that while there is a natural science component, it also encompasses social sciences and humanities, and students may choose to focus on policy and law or even art and history in developing their major.
Our S spent 2 weeks last summer on Oberlins campus studying environment sustainability issues and loved it. He just returned from the admitted students day and now near convinced he will attend. No doubt you know of their Adam Lewis Environmental studies center. If not please get on their web site and learn about it. It is the cornerstone of O’s nationally known envs program… One of several LEEDS buildings on campus. They offer a major/minor also in Law/Society which would facilitate an environmental policy/ law interest. They have 5 coops for living on campus…some of which are highly regarded by the vegan/vegetarian community. S described the student body as vibrant dynamic and friendly. A formidable sports program as well and at least more so than other “most selective” small LAC’s…S likely to choose Oberlin over Bard, Colorado College and Pitzer…!
For what it is worth, Vassar is currently ranked quite a bit higher than Oberlin according to most of the major rankings. And the Vassar campus (especially the main quad) is very beautiful. I think both schools are known for being artsy/quirky, with Oberlin probably a little more so than Vassar.
@bzzzbzzz The difference in ranking is not that big. Take the service academies out and look at the LAC rankings. Half the schools in the top 25 are tied anyway.
Just from readings these posts, I’d go with Oberlin (grandparents win!)
As it turns out, my S received substantial aid and scholarships to Oberlin and minimal aid to Vassar, making the financial disparity significant between the two. Because Vassar is the school my S was leaning towards, I wanted to see if Vassar was worth the disparity in price somehow, besides the caché of the name, the gorgeous campus, etc., especially since he seemed to connect better with the Vassar kids via Facebook. Hopefully he’ll find his people wherever he goes.