<p>I've visited both and narrowed it down to two! here are the pros and cons:</p>
<p>Oberlin pros: I love music so the conservatory is a plus, I already know a few people there, my boyfriend is a current freshman, classes are awesome and strong in all areas, 11k merit scholarship, art museum/art rental, divided doubles, perfect size,great reputation when applying for grad schools
Cons: Cold weather, far from home, very very rural location, bad food, mostly white, don't feel like I quite click with the student body.</p>
<p>Scripps pros: Beautiful campus, great food, only an hour's flight/day's drive from home, ability to go to a city if desired, more diverse than Oberlin, and most importantly, I felt completely comfortable and at home with the student body.
Cons: Scripps itself is a little smaller than I'd like (750 students total) and the mingling with the other colleges (5000 students total) can be limited. Paying full tuition. Didn't feel that the classes measured up to Oberlin. I sat in on 3 classes and one was downright awful. The other two were certainly better than your average college class but didn't reach nearly the same level of depth as the Oberlin classes I visited.</p>
<p>I think basically, it comes down to this: do I sacrifice my comfort at Scripps (with student body, weather, distance from home, food) for the stronger academics at Oberlin? Does anyone know if Scripps's reputation for grad school is significantly different from Oberlin's?</p>
<p>As a parent I would like my kids closer to home.
But your take on the academics is they are weaker, and that is after all what you are going to school for. You can also take courses at Claremont and Pomona, does that help? Or is that ability actually limited, in practice?</p>
<p>As a teeny all-women’s school you really need the extent of mingling with the rest of Claremont to be highly extensive. With all the colleges there, they have a decent social scene , D1 reported following her Pomona visit. But you say actually the extent of mingling can be limited. Not good.</p>
<p>On the other hand, at Oberlin fit with the prevailing campus culture can be quite important, and you’re not so sure that you fit all that well. Also not good.</p>
<p>So, i don’t know what to tell you, you’re on your own for this one.</p>
<p>99.9% of all HS sweethearts break up in HS. So that should not be a factor. That said, I would go with the best financial situation and think about traveling back and forth as part of your COA.</p>
<p>Oberlin is a fantastic school. You’ll find your way in their student body; it’s very welcome and much more diverse than Scripps. Except from being farther from home (which isn’t such a bad thing), why would you choose to go to a college if you write this:
<p>To be honest, if you were my daughter and you told me that food quality was a factor in your decision as to which college to attend, I would not be very happy.</p>
<p>In my mind, academic quality should be the overwhelming factor in deciding upon a college, subject only to financial or family considerations where those are significant. Other factors should be considered tiebreakers.</p>
<p>As an east-coaster, I’m much more familiar with Oberlin than Scripps. Oberlin has a fine academic reputation, and is considered to have a very liberal, artsy, and very gay-friendly culture. People here tend to think of it as a place where rejected Brown applicants migrate. Most Oberlin graduates loved their experience there. </p>
<p>Scripps is not well known here, other than being a small women’s college at Clairmont. Pomona and Harvey Mudd are known as great schools. Scripps, not so much. That may or may not be fair or accurate–just the reputation.</p>
<p>Chiil out people, the food at Scripps is legendary. They had to limit the other colleges access, because everyone was coming there to eat. It is important to all humans to enjoy food and it is important to eat healthy for optimal brain and physical functions. Something we haven’t learned to well the last 60 years.</p>
<p>I think that at Scripps you would get a very intimate mentoring experience with the faculty. The other 4 colleges sit cheek-by-jowl, so the population is like 5,000 and I do know people at the Claremont colleges (many) and some are graduating from one, while taking almost all their classes at another.</p>
<p>However, I happen to think an away experience is a plus, not a con (perhaps due to it being such a positive experience for my daughter.) And I think that an isolated campus creates a more involved student body. Don’t fool yourself that kids in Claremont have time or resources to get to LA much.</p>
<p>I think Oberlin is the stronger school, and it sounds like you like it better. (Please leave the boyfriend out of the equation!) The financials should make it a nobrainer.</p>
<p>OP – I’m not sure some of the responders in this thread understand Scripps is a 100% female college. For some, that is a critical decision criterion… though it doesn’t sound like it is for you, unless that’s what you meant about feeling comfortable there.</p>
<p>An angle nobody has mentioned: as a Scripps student, you have cross registration privileges at Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Pomona, and Pitzer. If you’re looking for a more intellectual classroom environment fix from time to time, Pomona classes will give you that in spades, probably more than even Oberlin. BTW, who told you that mingling with the students at the other contiguously located colleges is “limited”?</p>
<p>Having said that, I agree with the other poster who said it sounds like you like the classroom experience at Oberlin better, and it is 25% cheaper. A good choice.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar boat… Except I’m a dude, I do jazz sax and my schools are Peabody v. Oberlin. </p>
<p>Do Oberlin… It’s stronger academically and musically - yeah you’re surrounded by cornfields, but so what. You’ll become (assuming you’re driven) a better musician at Oberlin than Scripps, and it seems like they want you more anyway ($$ is nice). And yeah, the grad reputation is stronger at Obie. You should really go there…</p>
<p>Don’t sweat the cash too much or the boyfriend or the food or the weather so on and so forth… What really matters is performance opportunity, class strength and your future private teacher. If I haven’t convinced you, listen to recordings or read bios of the teacher you’ll be studying under at each school etc. </p>
<p>Best of luck! And who knows, maybe we’ll meet next year?</p>