Please help me decide

<p>I was accepted to Oberlin today and was wondering if I should go here. My first choice was nyu but I was deferred to general studies which is basically high school for another two years because we have lower stats but they still want us in their school for one reason or another. I still don't know if I'm going to go to nyu but what do you think is so great about oberlin to choose it over nyu. Basically what I'm asking is in the end should I go with nyu's prestige and connections even if that means I have to go through general studies for two years or can I have four normal college years at oberlin and still be proud coming from a good, not as prestigious, undergraduate school. I know most of you probably go to oberlin so will probably tell me to choose it, but please give me an actual reason why I should. I am majoring in creative writing if that helps.</p>

<p>it depends on how you define "prestigious" ^^ I mean, Oberlin has one of the highest numbers of students going to PhD, and if thats not "prestigious", I dont know what is. In the 1st place, why did you choose Oberlin? Think about that, or maybe have a more careful look at the website/college catalog (esp. the creative writing deparment-*hey but i heard English is a strong department there), or read studentsreview.com...etc. and I think you'll find your own reasons, not others', to go for Oberlin.
I could not give you an "actual reason" why you should choose Oberlin, but I can tell you why Im so committed to it: its well-known "weirdness" (should i say "uniqueness"?:D and if you're wondering exactl how weird it is, browse their website ^^), its cheerful library, and its conservatory.
*again, i wonder why RD comes out so early???</p>

<p>I have a friend in general studies and she hates it. Its basically community college for kids who are smart enough to go to NYU but didn't have the right numbers for NYU.
I think that Oberlin is one of schools that truly nurtures the student and allows for them to have complete control of their education. Essentially, you will be taken care of at Oberlin. At NYU its quite different. The campus is 100% decentralized and your classes will be HUGE. Also NYU offers a terrible undergraduate curriculum, whereas at Obie the requirements are so loose that you can do whatever you want.
I was considering applying to the Gallatin School at NYU because it seemed like something fun to do. But I realized that I didn't wnat to live the life of an NYU student. In the end i chose oberlin because of all the reasons I just mentioned. I don't know you so I can't give you specific advice... hope this helps.
P.S. I'm from L.I. so NYU is a hot school here, but when you grow up no1 is going to care about the prestige of an undergraduate institution. And Obie is just as prestigious as NYU.</p>

<p>i actually know both schools very well, and I can tell you this: They are very, very different. Oberlin is much more of a rich, intellectual community with a very strong campus culture -- socially aware, musically engaged, creative, a little quirky, but very, very solid academically. There are tons of kids at NYU who could easily go to Oberlin, but there are also tons of other kinds of kids--smart, ambitious, career-driven, high achievers, but not particularly intellectually engaged. The NYU campus is also huge and there's not much of a ready-made community, so you really need to be able to navigate a big and vibrant city. You're basically in charge of making the school work for you--there's no hand-holding whatsoever.
I think it's somewhat different in the general studies program which, despite its reputation, is actually a very strong program that makes NYU a little more manageable a place for freshman. It's a smaller community and has a more focused cirriculum. I know a lot of very bright kids who went thru GSP and ended up indistinguishable (in terms of academics) from CAS kids.
So basically, it comes down to what kind of school you're looking for and what you want from your college experience. As far as prestige, I had always thought of Oberlin as a bit MORE prestigious than NYU, but really, someone else's notion of "prestige" shouldn't count for too much when it comes to choosing where you're going to be spending the next four years of your life. hope this helps.</p>

<p>How did you get a decision that isnt ED?</p>

<p>I would go to Oberlin over NYU GSP</p>

<p>oberlin > any other school ever</p>

<p>In the circles I travel in, Oberlin is much MORE prestigious than NYU, not less.</p>