I was very lucky to get into some great schools, but I am terribly indecisive and would love any advice from students who go to these schools or were deciding between them. I have one week to make the decision.
I am passionate about food justice and food security and would love to be a part of an agriculture related student organization and/or live in a house where I can cook my own meals. I am a runner and lead a very active lifestyle. CC was appealing in the realm, but I am having trouble wrapping my head around the block plan as a science person. I am interested in global/community/public health possibly premed, but also have interest in a food and agriculture track of environmental studies or a sociology major. I want a campus with an activist presence and one that confronts privilege.
Wesleyan is the only school I would not have to fly to, but I am concerned about the level of difficulty to get into classes and the lack of outdoor opportunities. Oberlin gave me the most money and seems to have the most going on, but also has very little outdoor opportunities and like Wesleyan, everything feels a like grungy there and I am worried I’m a little too mainstream for Oberlin. Colorado and Carleton both have beautiful campuses, but Carleton seems like there is not much going on and double-majoring or doing premed with a non-science major at Colorado sounds extremely difficult.
If anyone has any insights or can direct me to helpful threads, let me know!
We went to the fall open house at CC. They discussed the block plan and science majors and said it all works out. You might want to take part1 of organic one block, something easier the next, then part 2 the one after that. Also, students get a “free” summer block and some half blocks during winter break so you will have plenty of credits to do your required courses. If you have concerns call and talk to someone in the science department. Your admissions counselor can help connect you. They are exceedingly friendly there. My DS has chosen another LAC, but we both have a great love for CC. If I were going to college I have no doubt that’s where I’d be headed!
Not sure what you mean by “not much going on” at Carleton, but the school has its own farm where they practice composting,crop planning, time management,and farm productivity with a focus on sustainable ag. The current issue of the Carletonian has an article on this expanding program. “Farm House” is a housing option for students interested in farm-to-fork and locally grown, sustainably produced food.
Oberlin is a terrific choice for someone interested in food justice. It has a long tradition of social justice and features the largest student-run food cooperative system outside Berkeley, California. There are also student-run food gardens, so you will find lots of students concerned about healthy eating.
Although Oberlin emphasizes athletics less than some of its peers, the cross-country running team has done well in regional competition in recent years. Oberlin is pancake flat, but you will find plenty of places to run. It is easy to run out of town into the surrounding countryside.
I can see where this comment comes from. Some of the dorms at Oberlin are rather worn. On the other hand, Oberlin has one of the most beautiful and modern science centers I have seen. The environmental science center and the jazz music building both are exceptionally nice. Oberlin has opened a new dorm in recent years, so it is working on improving its campus.
I think Oberlin has different priorities for spending its resources than most of its academic peers. Due to its emphasis on social justice, it offers scholarships to a large portion of its student body, attempting to make its educational opportunities more affordable. This priority competes with constructing new campus buildings. In the end, the college’s financial priorities serve its intellectual and social mission well.
I do think Oberlin could excel for something like food justice, but I am partial to Carleton, as I think it may have a slight edge overall in academics and rigor compared to your other choices – which are all good. I also wonder if you will end up changing your interests as the years progress. Food justice in the abstract isn’t perhaps the most durable of careers, but: if you enhanced that with graduate / professional training, such as in philosophical / biological ethics, legal training, or bio-engineering, then you could potentially pursue your passion even further. All the schools would give you a good education, but I like Carleton, and perhaps then Wesleyan and Oberlin, for further advancement.
“…I like Carleton, and perhaps then Wesleyan and Oberlin, for further advancement.”
IMO all of these would be just fine for further advancement. It’s just a question of where OP would rather go.
I have to say, to me a lot of the 2nd paragraph of first post said Oberlin. But I don’t know as much about the other schools to say it didn’t say them as well. I can tell you that, from my selfish point of view, it was a real pain driving that far though. from NYC. A pain which could have been outweighed by extra financial aid though. I can be bought.
But Wesleyan is a great school, and is an easier drive.
I would certainly be interested in the Farm at Carleton. By “not much going on” I think I just felt a little underwhelmed at the admitted students day after seeing Wesleyan and Oberlin, which are slightly larger and seem to have a much more thriving artistic scene. Can you attest to the music scene at Carleton?
While there’s music at Carleton, and I know professional musicians who have graduated from Carleton, I think Oberlin’s conservatory, and Wesleyan’s graduate programs in music (having Anthony Braxton on campus, for example), are better for music. What Carleton has that the others don’t is proximity to Minneapolis. Wesleyan has NYC, but much further away than Carleton is to the Twin Cities.
But now it seems you want … well, everything; at least food justice support, not too crunchy, but lots of outdoors, with good cross country, and great music… etc. None of these institutions, given their relatively small size, will be the best for each distinct area. I still recommend Carleton slightly over the others for its outstanding academics. I know graduates of all four, and the caliber of students at Carleton seems to be just a bit higher than the others. But the money from Oberlin is an incentive, if that will be important for your family. Otherwise, choose for fit and don’t look back.
Disclosure: I always prioritize academics, and reasonable cost of attendance, over other aspects of life (which I do consider important, but secondary). Also, I really do understand your notion of confronting privilege from the initial post, and that is to be commended, but: be wary that this subset of schools you are choosing from are really quite expensive, and represent a form of privilege in and of themselves – and especially so when perceived from an international basis. Thus the student bodies will still skew towards upper middle class, save for those on significant aid.
I’d go with Carleton for the farm and the co-op; Northfield has a good music scene (clubs/bars) for a town its size, for classical it’s hard to beat St Olaf accross town, and for anything else the Twin Cities are 45mn away.
Re#11,
I don’t know what a “glide path” is but D1 had an apartment right off campus with a full kitchen her last year at Oberlin IIRC. She also lived in a Co-op one year, I believe they cooked for themselves there. Judging from another recent CC post, apparently one can live in a co-op all four years. Her freshman dorm had some sort of kitchen facilities too, IIRC. The adequacy of such OP can explore with Res Life staff. Along with the various other options that may be available…
re#10:
At Oberlin there is a great music scene on the campus itself, made by the students themselves. Classical too, obviously. I heard some performances by students in the conservatory at graduation; they were amazing. These people are performing all the time, basically, on campus. But there are also informal groups of others sprouting up all the time there. Tons of “indie” music, “roots” music, all types of stuff. Lots of students come there with those interests, even outside of the conservatory. Grads include Chris Eldridge, Josh Ritter, Rhiannon Giddens,Liz Phair, lots of obscure indie bands. As well as the many classical musicians and opera singers. All sorts of “types”. Imagine getting to hear them all in their early years, for free. There is music all over the place there. It is a very unusual college in that regard.
Each school has its "anything else"outlets. IIRC her senior year D1 saw several shows in Cleveland (40 min). Wesleyan is 20 minutes from Hartford, just under 2 hours from both Boston and New York.
Don’t let fear of the unknown (block plan) deter you from the sciences at CC. Excellent faculty and facilities. The science departments are fantastic. Block plan allows for unique opportunities regarding travel and off campus studies/internships. CC has an active, dedicated core of students passionate about food justice. You have some amazing schools to choose from, I just want you to hear from a CC grad that the sciences are more than manageable under the block plan (I’m a veterinarian) because you can immerse in the material and don’t have to divert attention to other subjects. CC has so many unique attributes that make it unlike any other LAC. It is a special place to spend four years.