<p>Hi everyone! These are the two schools I'm trying to decide between... I love both of them, and think I'd be a good fit at either, but I'm not sure quite yet which one I'd like better. Here's a short list of advantages I thought of for each school:</p>
<p>Colorado College
-I already have some experience with the Block Plan from CC's high school summer program, and I think it might suit me very well.
-I live only about two hours away, so I'd have some distance from home, but wouldn't be in a completely new environment.
-The location and weather are nice.</p>
<p>Oberlin College
-The population is more liberal and diverse, and Oberlin seemed to have a slightly friendlier feel.
-While I'm not a music student, I appreciate the opportunities the Conservatory brings.
-In spite of the small town, current students didn't seem to feel Oberlin was lacking in things to do.</p>
<p>I would very much appreciate anybody's input! Thanks! :)</p>
<p>And there is so so so much more. I’ve answered this question a lot recently during All Roads visit days, but in thinking about Oberlin versus a large city like NYC in terms of what’s here, some things to consider:</p>
<ol>
<li>Distance. If I decide at 7:50pm that I want to go to an 8pm concert, I can do that. I can hop on a bike, be there one minute before it starts (and perhaps nab a giant chocolate chip cookie if the show is at the Cat in the Cream), and everything is golden.</li>
<li>Concentration. There are so many things happening here at any given time in a smaller square-area than in a larger city. You’re going to have a hard time deciding what to go to here.</li>
<li>Money. Most everything on campus is free or heavily discounted. And that is awesome.</li>
</ol>
<p>Unlike a number of other liberal arts colleges, Oberlin also is situated in a town, which is a happening place even when the college isn’t in session. It’s a good place to be.</p>
<p>I was surprised to see that almost a quarter of Colorado College students are in-state versus 8% at Oberlin. I’m a big fan of going to school in a new area and meeting different kids of people. </p>
<p>As far as the block plan goes, it has plusses and minuses. Oberlin does have the January term which allows you to concentrate on one project each year which might be a good compromise. I think Oberlin is also more flexible in terms of general distribution requirements and has fewer freshman only courses-which may or may not be a plus for you. </p>
<p>I’d pick a couple of areas that you’d like to study and check out the course offerings at each school. You might want to consider how willing each one is to take any AP credits that you have as well. Oberlin is pretty tough in that regard. </p>
<p>Um, Oberlin parent here, so I can’t speak to AP credit issues overall, especially in the hard sciences, which is not D’s area of interest. Otherwise, I am not sure what qialah is referring to about Oberlin being tough re: AP credits. Oberlin’s fairly generous AP credit policy was one of the tipping factors for D’s decision to attend. D came into Oberlin with Sophomore status because of a plethora of AP credits, and therefore she has much greater flexibility in choosing to take courses she really WANTS to take, as opposed to HAS to take to fulfill distribution requirements. Oberlin was on her list because of the relatively open curriculum, and knowing that she had the 9-9-9 distribution requirements largely taken care of by AP credits helped in her decision to attend. She is planning on double majoring (always her goal, since early in HS) and she should have no problems completing requirements for two majors. She will also be able to take a full year abroad because of the flexibility her many AP credits afford her, and is now, as a rising sophomore, already exploring her options for study abroad in several different countries, which she hopes to do during her junior year.</p>
<p>They’re nice to have in terms of creating greater flexibility in scheduling classes, but I don’t think that a 3 on an AP test demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in a subject that equates to the level of a person who does a satisfactory job in the intro course for that subject at the college level. I’m really not even sure what a 4 or 5 means in that regard. I think it all depends on what your personal objectives are. If you want to learn the material at the college level you might want to take the course. Then again, you might have a mastery of it that would mean you’re wasting your time in the intro level – but that’s possibly not true with a “3” if your objective is to build on that experience towards something greater. Then again, if you want to skip past a certain distribution requirement or nail down more credits to improve your standing in registration or housing lotteries, then you will probably want to grab the credit in certain areas at the lowest possible level.</p>
<p>In the Colorado College class of 2015 only 18% of the students are from Colorado. With two boys at CC, I can also say that AP credit requires a 4 and 5.</p>
<p>LordYasai, who started this thread, is my son. He’s in an IB program and isn’t taking any AP exams. We should look at how Colorado College and Oberlin treat IB exam results, but I don’t think it’s a major issue.</p>
<p>IMO Oberlin and CC are both great LAC but I understand your S concern about location. My oldest S (senior at CC) chose CC over Grinnell because he grew up within 2 hours of Grinnell. Good luck to your son. I has two great choices.</p>
<p>What about diversity – geographic, ethnic, socioeconomic? In the past that has been a strong point at Oberlin, but not sure that is still the case. Just flipping through Priinceton Review guide I get the idea that CC isn’t that diverse.</p>
<p>Some quick diversity stats: Oberlin has about 19% students of color, 7% international students, 9% from Ohio (biggest states represented are New York and California), and about two-thirds receive need-based financial aid.</p>