I am a high school Senior from near Boston. I want to study creative writing, along with psychology, German, and maybe continuing Spanish. I am also interested in film. I want to study abroad. I have been unable to visit either campus because of COVID and that makes it a lot harder to make a decision. I have narrowed it down to three schools: Oberlin, Bard, and Sarah Lawrence. Bard is the cheapest from the aid I have gotten.
Cons of Bard: not close to a city, lots of academic requirements, lots of weed smokers
Cons of Oberlin: harder to get to from where I live, not an open curriculum
Cons of Sarah Lawrence: boys: girl ratio, fewer options of areas to study, small campus/smaller population
There are more of each but I am not sure at this time.
Does anyone know how flexible the Oberlin curriculum is?
What is each campus like?
What school do you suggest I go to?
I think Oberlin is going to give you the most options to explore what interests you. It has a larger student body, is more diverse, will have many more courses to choose from, and isn’t hard to get to. It’s not far from Cleveland which has a major airport. It’s also probably the most well known of the three, and will likely have better connections for careers, etc…
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Oberlin has the best retention rate among your three listed options.
Bard and Sarah Lawrence are each “distinctive” in terms of the college experience, with a more unusual academic structure compared to many other LACs. At Bard, students go through “moderation” at the end of their second year to apply for upper level status and be admitted to their major. We understand from students and faculty we know that some departments, especially in the arts, are very very competitive, and students may not be accepted. Sarah Lawrence is more interdisciplinary, tutorial style learning, much more student-directed – great for the kind of student who flourishes in that environment. As both schools are so different from other LACs, some students may transfer out after realizing it is not the right fit for them.
Oberlin would be the most “traditional” LAC of the three, though certainly an artsy and intensely academic community. Oberlin requires 2 courses in 3 different areas of study, plus assorted quantitative and writing requirements. My kid went to another Ohio LAC with similar requirements and never found them difficult to meet, plus he enjoyed taking classes in different fields and meeting students from other disciplines. We’ve visited Oberlin a lot, between both our kids who considered it, including one who went through athletic recruiting there. Campus has a range of architectural styles, and the town green is the college’s “front yard,” with town shops right there. While not as easy as an Amtrak ride from Boston, Boston to Oberlin wouldn’t be bad, with a non-stop flight and then campus shuttle to/from airport which is about 30-45 min. Oberlin seems like the least risky, most “moderate” choice for a student who has not been able to visit. The other two are very distinctive and a student either loves them or is left cold by them.
At each school, do double check on how financial aid/merit aid works for study abroad programs.
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The distribution requirements at Oberlin are not particularly onerous. You’re required to take two courses each in Natural Science and Math, Arts and Humanities, and Behavioral/Social Sciences. There are also requirements in Cultural Diversity, Quantitative and Formal Reasoning, and Writing, but these tend to overlap naturally with the above categories. For example, you could take a first year seminar that potentially could fill four of those categories at one go. My kid went there and she was easily able to complete the distribution requirements and a double major.
Oberlin’s campus is integrated with the small town of Oberlin, OH (population about 10,000), which feels very much like a small town in the Mid Atlantic or southern New England states. Everything is walkable and the Main Street area has the usual coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries, vintage shops, a movie theater, etc. The campus is connected to the town by a large park called Tappan Square. Oberlin also has a very impressive art museum. Cleveland and its airport are readily accessible by shuttle, Uber, or student ride shares. The academic quality is excellent and the programs that interest you are all very good, especially creative writing. If you enjoy music and theater, it’s a great place to be. It is probably the most prestigious of your three picks.
I don’t know the other two schools as well. I do know that Sarah Lawrence is extremely flexible to the point that they may not require you to complete a major. Its main draw for many applicants is its relative proximity to NYC. Bard, if I recall correctly, is well regarded for theater, and maybe film and writing.
Good luck!
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