Oberlin vs. Grinnell?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Oberlin College
1

<p>I've finally narrowed down my choices to these two schools, and having visited each twice, I know that they're much more similar than they are different, but in the end I can only pick one. I have a few specific concerns about each that I was hoping the gurus of CC could help me address. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Price/debt: Grinnell would cost my family about $22k and after graduation I would have about $16k in debt. Oberlin would cost $25k and leave me with around $24k in debt. Is 8k more significant enough that I should be cautious taking out so much money in loans? I read recently that the average amount of college loan debt is around 26k (!), which is really scary, and I don't want to be overly burdened upon graduation. However, Oberlin would definitely be my first choice if they were the same price.</p></li>
<li><p>Opportunities: Grinnell's Career Development Office seems to offer a lot of cool possibilities for internships, externships, and the like. I couldn't get a sense as much from Oberlin's Career Services page how useful the center is, but I did get the understanding that they don't subsidize unpaid internships (Grinnell does). However, I understand that Oberlin's January Term could be used to explore internships/externships, so maybe the two are equal in this category? I also feel like Oberlin has more extensive study abroad opportunities in Spanish-speaking countries; when I looked at Grinnell's options, they seemed a little more limited than I expected. One of my main concerns is being able to find a job after graduation (in what field, I don't know), so I want to gain as much as experience as possible while in college.</p></li>
<li><p>Student bodies: When I visited Grinnell, I felt a little more like I was back in freshman year. My host and I didn't really connect, I would have wanted to be his friend, but I'm not sure we would have been. He was a Posse scholar, a program that I like because it increases the socioeconomic diversity of the school, which I think is as important as racial diversity. The student body seemed more balanced socially, but I don't know if that's what I want. I talked to a lot of people on the Oberlin 2017 Facebook group and overwhelmingly felt that I would fit in there better, although that may not be a good indication. Both schools also seemed to be a bit racially segregated, which was sort of disappointing. I also liked how everyone at Oberlin had awesome music taste.</p></li>
<li><p>Location: Oberlin's town wins easily. Both are 5 hour drives from my house. I also feel like Oberlin is more connected to the coasts than Grinnell. I'm from Chicago and would like to live elsewhere after graduation, and I get the sense that Oberlin has a stronger national reputation, while Grinnell is more regionally well-known. Cleveland is also a bit better than Des Moines, though I doubt I'll be in either city much.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So those are my main concerns. Thanks for reading.</p>

2

<p>Student body diversity: Oberlin participates in the Posse Scholar program as well as the Questbridge program. </p>

<p>It isn’t really helpful but I don’t think you can make a wrong choice here - they are both excellent schools. It might very well become an economic decision. It is easy for me to sit here and say that 8K isn’t significant in the long run - because depending on your circumstances, and the terms of the loan - it might very well make a tremendous amount of difference. </p>

<p>Where do you think you’ll be the happiest?</p>

3

<p>You like Oberlin, but Grinnell’s price is better. You’re worried about the debt, and Grinnell is cheaper. Both schools would give you an excellent education. Go to Grinnell.</p>

4

<p>Reading your post, it seems to me that you prefer Oberlin. $8,000 extra in loans is not that big a deal once you start working.</p>

5

<p>Both college’s are great! But as for there not being a big deal in the loan difference I beg to differ. If you put in the amount of the loan on the student loan payment calculator located at: [Student</a> loan repayment calculator](<a href=“Mapping Your Future: Page not found”>Mapping Your Future: Page not found) you will see that for a total loan of $16,000 your monthly payment for 10 years would be $184.12; total interest would be $6095.42; and the annual minimum salary to handle that payment would be $27,619.00. If you put in a total loan amount of $24,000 then your monthly payment for 10 years would be $276.19; total interest would be $9143.13; and the minimum salary to handle those payments would be $41,428.00. When you are just starting out (or any time for that matter) those are big differences! Many students are tempted because of high loan payments to extend the loans to 20 years. Before doing that, check on the calculator how much you would pay into your 40s! It should alarm you. Oberlin is fabulous-- but so is Grinnell and you should not take the cost difference lightly.</p>

6

<p>Have you tried negotiating with Oberlin to meet Grinnell’s package?</p>

7

<p>“I was hoping the gurus of CC could help me”</p>

<p>Last week it was CC versus Grinnell. Get to Colorado Springs on your own money, if necessary, and see whether you like it. Obviously, you have cold feet about attending Grinnell.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1467441-grinnell-vs-colorado-college-3.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1467441-grinnell-vs-colorado-college-3.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>BTW, was Midd’s FA worse than Oberlin’s?</p>

8

<p>I am going to CC next week, thanks… I just want to consider all of my options. I love Grinnell, but I also love Oberlin, and it has been my first choice for over a year. I am in the process of getting them to match my FA, so this is hypothetical, but they seemed pretty positive on the phone. Then again, if they don’t, my choice will be made for me. </p>

<p>And yes, their FA was worse. Midd EFC was 35k, Oberlin 32k. But they literally called me and asked me how much more money I needed and I said around 7k would make it possible. TBH they caught me off-guard, I was in school at the time. But anyways, this is supposing that they do accept my appeal.</p>

<p>Yes, thank you for that loan calculation. How is interest 6k on a 16k loan?! That’s crazy. It’s not a federal loan, btw, it’s from the college, so I think the interest rate is different.</p>

9

<p>Some of the most revered social justice advocates attended Oberlin, along with plenty of friends and family members. You may regret NOT attending. I found the financial aid office easy to work with and I hope they come through for you.</p>

10

<p>FYI In terms of January term internships: Oberlin offers internships in San Francisco for Con students. Last year the program was expanded to include both College and Conservatory students. </p>

<p><a href=“http://obiebayarea.■■■■■■■■■■/[/url]”>http://obiebayarea.■■■■■■■■■■/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>Regarding payback of student loans, having done it myself all the way to Ph.D., let’s keep in mind that depending on the type of loan, they be deferred while in grad school as well as partially forgiven by doing various kinds of public service jobs, including teaching or joining the Peace Corps. An undergrad total debt of $24k is still below the average of $26k. I advise you to not make a decision to pass up your true dream school over an $8k difference in loans. If this is a worry, look into the various ways these loans can be forgiven.</p>

<p>Sent from my ADR6410LVW using CC</p>

12

<p>“I did get the understanding that they don’t subsidize unpaid internships”</p>

<p>Actually, Oberlin does have a process where you can apply for funding for unpaid internships. They also have funding for student led entrepreneurial initiatives and social programs.</p>

13

<p>Go to Oberlin. You won’t regret it.</p>

14

<p>sgt, where did you end up deciding and what was the thought process, if any? :)</p>

15

<p>I’m late to the party, but guessing this gets asked at least once a year. TWENTY years ago, I started at Oberlin. In my opinion, Oberlin was a suburb of New York city. I didn’t leave the East Coast to end up in an NYC suburb. It felt pretentious and gossipy (Lena Dunham, anyone?).</p>

<p>Even worse than that, however, was the feeling it pulled a bait and switch with financial aid. Oberlin required twice the contribution from my parents than Grinnell did freshman year. Sophomore, it was more like 3x. Twice was almost do-able, 3x was not. I appealed, and they took it down to 2.5x. Oberlin simply does not have the endowment Grinnell does to enable it to provide excellent, need-blind aid for 4 years. The endowment enables Grinnell to significantly subsidize the comprehensive fee that everyone pays. At full price, Grinnell is usually ~$3k less a year than Oberlin.</p>

<p>Once you are there and the comprehensive fee is paid, Grinnell is essentially socialist. ALL movies, concerts, dances, plays, parties etc are FREE, fully covered by the student activity fee. Once you are a sophomore and can get a single, that’s the same fee as a double, or a 3 room triple, or a 4 room triple, or the co-op in Cleveland Pit, or a college-owned off-campus house, or a loggia room. The post-WWII cinderblock monstrosity costs the same as the brand new glass air-conditioned dorms and the cool, old, formerly women’s dorms on South Campus. Food quality is recognized and receives awards regularly. The library is small, but frequently noted as one of the most comfortable libraries in the country.</p>

<p>Grinnell is often the US school with the highest percentage of students who are the children of college professors. They know how to study and they were raised to value education. Grinnell produces more PhDs per capita than Oberlin. It also has ‘self-governance’, meaning rules are set by students. Resident Advisors treat students like the adults they are, not regularly butting into their business as I experienced at Oberlin. </p>

<p>If you are heavy into the arts, need to stay in close contact with New York, and require little to no financial aid, Oberlin is probably better for you. If you need significant financial aid at a school that adjusts your aid to enable study abroad options and 1 summer internship instead of wage slavery every year, want to be treated like an adult, and spend your time learning instead of posing, go for Grinnell. Although its religious affiliation ended long ago, most students are more interested in doing good than doing well, and events like the Alice in Wonderland and other parties create Mazlowian Peak Experiences that make the Grinnell Experience something of a religion in its own right.</p>

16

<p>Erinyes, I’m glad you enjoyed your time at Grinnell 20 years ago. But I wonder why you feel the need to bash Oberlin after all this time. Certainly, Grinnell is a fine school - but so is Oberlin. Grinnell has more money than Oberlin (it has more money than most colleges). But lots of people, my son included, were transformed by their time at Oberlin. He received more financial aid from Oberlin than he was offered from similar schools - and that aid continued through graduation, including the semester he spent abroad. He appreciated Oberlin’s rigorous academic climate, its commitment to social justice and its wonderful creative atmosphere. He also made life-long friends there. I question why there has to be a zero-sum game regarding wonderful colleges.</p>

17

<p>I’m with opine1. Erinyes’ description of Grinnell actually sounds to me very much like today’s Oberlin. (I don’t agree with his/her characterization of the Oberlin of 20 years ago, but we’ll let that go.) And many students tell me that their financial aid packages from Oberlin are much more generous than what they’ve been offered elsewhere.</p>

18

<p>So strange that Erinyes would use experiences from 1993 to discuss what is occurring in 2013. I’m sure that it isn’t Grinnell’s fault that one of their graduates would make such a basic mistake in analysis.</p>

<p>Anbd in 2013: in re: financial aid: Oberlin has been quite stable for us . . . as our income changed, the aid has gone both up and down, appropriately (to my mind) reflecting our changed economic circumstances.</p>