Hi there, I’m trying to decide between the 3 schools above. I’m interested in pursuing psychology, English, and/or creative writing and am hoping to double major. If it helps, I’m an AP student with a 4.9/5.5 GPA on a 5 pt scale, 35 ACT, and 1540 ACT. I had a really atypical high school experience (missed freshman year and first semester or sophomore year, had to take online classes) due to health issues and really want to make the most of college. I know this is last minute, I was pretty sure about Oberlin but am now having second thoughts.
What I’m mainly wondering: Oberlin has about an even number of pros and cons, while both Emory and wash u have more pros than cons. However, I’m wondering if I’m putting too much of an emphasis on the social experience (it’s just important to me since I largely missed out on this in HS) I know I could get a really good education at any of them and am lucky to be able to afford wherever I want to go, but I am truly wondering if either Emory or Wash U are worth double the price of Oberlin, especially since I want to pursue grad school and possibly a doctorate degree.
Oberlin pros:
37k merit aid
strong creative writing program
strong music presence
smaller, closer relationships with professors
great art museums
tons of students go on to get grad degrees and phds
big fish in a small pond sort of thing- will I be better set up for success if I’m at the top of my class rather than average?
Cons:
surrounding town is REALLY small and in the middle of nowhere
college is also a small for my taste
I consider myself to be pretty liberal but I’ve heard Oberlin is very strongly left leaning and I’m worried politics will take over other aspects of the college experience
from what I’ve seen from the admitted students page and the class I’m taking, (as well as stereotypes I’ll admit), I don’t feel like these are “my people.” I know this is very subjective and I may be drawing conclusions too quickly, but it’s just the vibe I’m getting
less name recognition
smaller alumni base
basically no social scene
Gibson’s case being dragged out
how are jobs/internship opportunities?
Wash U Pros:
super strong psych program
tons of research opportunities
seems more like my kind of people
known for having a really collaborative environment
closer to home
gorgeous campus
near a big city but not right within one
mid-sized, so still has smaller classes but more peers and activities
more of a social scene
know people who go there and love it
Cons:
I’ve heard that the workload can be pretty intense (that being said, I love being challenged but I don’t want it to take over my life so that I have no time for myself)
I’d be a more average student there, less to make me stand out
Emory Pros:
strong creative writing program as well
my mom went and absolutely loved it
not in the Midwest
near Atlanta but also not right in the middle of it
strong alumni base
lots of job opportunities and internships in ATL
I have family in Atlanta
also mid-sized
also has more of a social scene
Cons:
furthest away from home
also would be a more average student
are students super preppy?
Thanks so much, I’m really looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Also let me know if you have any questions.
IMO, the academics at these schools will be equally strong (so it’s doubtful you’ll be a big fish in a small pond at any of them).
And so, also, no, purely from an academics perspective, I don’t believe WashU/Emory are worth double Oberlin.
As for the social aspects, you really should visit each to get a feel. Then, if your family has the money, they can decide whether to pay up 6 figures for essentially the social aspect (though I can think up a lot of ways to spend that amount for social stuff).
Start with this. If you are interested in pursuing one of these majors and possibly going to graduate school, you should seriously consider minimizing debt. These majors generally don’t lead to high-paying jobs right after graduating. If you then go on to grad school, if you’ve taken out loans you won’t have to make payments while back in school but they will continue to accrue interest.
I have a child who is about to graduate from Oberlin and she did not lack for things to do or feel like the social scene was lacking (unless that’s code for Greek life/parties). There will be parties, just not crazy huge ones. Her stats were at least on par with yours. She did not lack for academic peers and she had numerous professional and job opportunities both during college and post-graduation. You would definitely be challenged there and would be prepared for grad school or employment upon graduation. She did not find the politics to be over the top. The main thing that gives me pause is that you didn’t feel like the admitted students were “your people.” At a smaller school you want to feel like you fit in. I would describe the student body as kind, earnest, and idealistic. Time is short at this point - I recommend that you dive into the Oberlin student blogs - they will provide a cross section of student types and were really helpful to my daughter when she was making her choice.
Emory and Wash U are more similar than different, in my opinion. They are both great midsized research universities with strong preprofessional programs. They’re both in upscale suburban areas bordering major cities. Both have Greek life but not so much that it overwhelms campus life. Emory is more diverse, including socioeconomically, than Wash U. Wash U has one of the wealthiest student bodies in the US. The base price of Emory is less than Wash U and Emory is stronger for creative writing.
If money were no object and you were choosing between Emory and Wash U, I’d lean Emory. However, Oberlin is the practical choice and it’s not so small that you wouldn’t be able to find your peeps. And I agree with comments upthread, you will be swimming with many smart fish, wherever you land.
They are great options, congrats and best of luck!
Second thoughts are common, but a few suggestions. (1) admitted student social media pages can be wildly out of sync with what the actual experience will be because the “loudest” voices dominate the conversation and make it seem that everyone is that way, when really, other people don’t feel the need to proclaim about themselves. (2) trust your process that got you this far – Oberlin was your preferred school over Wash U and Emory for well-thought out reasons. All three schools are “elite” and the academics at each of them will be rigorous and top notch. Oberlin is one of the larger LACs, so lots of types of people. We know a handful of of recent grads and current students who are “mainstream,” regular kids and had a great experience. Both my kids visited Oberlin, and one went through athletic recruiting there – it’s a lovely school and a lovely community. The kids we know there have had a normal, active college social life – parties etc., though there is no greek life, unlike the other two schools.
Of course, I think I kind of worded that wrong as Oberlin is still very competitive and has high level classes, and I don’t expect it to be easy at all! I meant it more as a question and was wondering whether being at the higher end of their stats for admitted students (test wise and gpa wise) would be an advantage or not make a difference. Sorry if that came across wrong!
Thank you so much for this! I truly appreciate your insight and am happy to hear your daughter has had such a great experience at Oberlin! This was really helpful and I do feel a lot better. Not interested in Greek life so Oberlin’s lack thereof is no problem- I think I just got a little nervous reading some of the reviews online (which I know should be taken with a grain of salt but still made me pause!) and began to question my initial impressions of the school. There are definitely a lot of things that I love about Oberlin and I think at this point I may be psyching myself out. From your description/based on your daughter’s experience, I am feeling that I should trust my original inclination towards Oberlin. May I ask what your daughter is majoring in?
I agree with this assessment of the WashU vs. Emory decision… and further, I think it would be very helpful to this decision process to start by eliminating one or the other of these two schools. If you don’t, you run the risk of pitting Oberlin, in your mind, against all the best attributes of both WashU and Emory, when in fact you could only choose one or the other. If you address that first and eliminate one of the full-pay schools from the running, then you can think more clearly about Oberlin vs. the actual alternative.
So - kids from Harvard who major in English and Psychology make less than say an engineer from Alabama. In other words, those majors don’t lead to jobs. I’m not telling you to switch your major - I’m saying $37K a year - which is basically 50% - at Oberlin. That’s $150K being saved!!
That enough is reason to choose Oberlin. Then you have their writing specialty. btw - it’s not in the middle of nowhere - it is - but it’s 40 minutes from Cleveland - so it’s close.
Also, you’re making an argument that Oberlin has a similar # of pros and cons while the others have more pros than cons. Well, each item is not necessarily equal in weight - and if you really wanted to, you could have come up with more cons for the others.
Don’t get me wrong - Emory and WUSTL are great schools - in many ways mirrors of one another. Oberlin, btw, probably has similar if not more name recognition. It’s a known name - you’d be amazed at how many people have never heard of WUSTL or Emory. My sister thought Emory was an HBCU - both are elite schools but don’t have huge brands except for those who know.
I’m not saying the larger schools closer to society wouldn’t be better for you. I am saying, no way you can choose them, no matter how wealthy you are, pursuing a degree that probably isn’t going to make you rich - when you have a top notch option for half the cost.
