<p>My s liked oberlin but feels u mich has a stronger poly sci program and the rc may provide some of the advantages of the oberlin. merit at oberlin makes it about the same cost as u mich.</p>
<p>any thoughts on this comparison?</p>
<p>tia,</p>
<p>They’re both great schools, but very different schools. Michigan does have a great poli sci department, one of the very best. The one thing I’d caution in that regard is that poli sci is a very popular major at Michigan–about 350 poli sci majors graduate each year–which means that even a lot of the upper-level classes are going to be large lectures. While the Residential College (RC) does offer some of the intimacy and small classes of a LAC, most of the RC classes are going to be language, arts, and interdisciplinary classes. For poli sci your son would need to venture into the larger university and end up in those big classes. Which obviously is just fine with some people, since so many do it. </p>
<p>Oberlin has a pretty large poli sci faculty for a small college and offers a broad range of courses in that field. The one thing that jumps out at me as missing is the lack of anyone teaching research methods & a quantitative approach to the subject. Other than that, I can’t speak to the quality of the program.</p>
<p>thanks so much! he was also admitted to u mich honors program, will that mitigate the larger class size? </p>
<p>thanks again!</p>
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<p>Well, yes and no. (Not sure how relevant this is to the Oberlin forum, but . . . ) Being in the Honors Program at Michigan would put your son immediately into Great Books, a 2-semester course taught in a large lecture format exclusively to Honors students. It would also give him an Honors adviser, which may be beneficial, and open up opportunities to take Honors-only intro courses (usually small) in some departments, and Honors sections of big lecture courses where the Honors discussion section is usually taught by the professor doing the lectures, i.e., by a full-time faculty member rather than a Graduate Student Instructor. But that’s all pretty much at the intro level. </p>
<p>Once he’s selected a major and is taking mostly upper-level courses, things shift, Then, the Honors sequence is by department, and there’s no guarantee that being admitted to the Honors Program means you’re automatically moving on the departmental Honors track. In poli sci (a big department) it appears you need to do well in one particular course, submit an application, and be approved to move into the departmental Honors sequence. Then the focus becomes production of a senior Honors thesis under supervision of a faculty member. So if you get that far, there’s the potential for a lot of one-on-one interaction. But it’s not as if there’s an Honors sequence of Honors-only small classes in the department. Most of the poli sci classes would still be quite large, and relatively few poli sci majors will be pursuing departmental Honors.</p>
<p>Anyway, it’s complicated. Further compounding things, being in RC and Honors at the same time multiplies requirements. Some people do it successfully, but a lot of people say it’s better to choose one or the other. </p>
<p>But that’s more about Michigan than Oberlin. I’d be interested to hear more about the experiences of current Oberlin students or recent Oberlin grads.</p>
<p>terrific information, thanks…actually one of the best posts I’ve seen on this site. S decided last night on u mich. good luck to all, it seems like oberlin would also have been a wonderful choice.</p>
<p>Congrats, quietdesperation! And Go Blue!</p>
<p>I quite agree that either Oberlin or Michigan would be a wonderful choice; I’m a big fan of both schools. But it’s good to get to the point where the decision is finally made and the student feels good about the choice. Although my own experience as a Michigan undergrad was more years ago than I care to admit, I am fully confident, after speaking to a number of current Michigan students and recent Michigan grads, that it’s still a great place to go to college. I wish your son every success in that endeavor.</p>