<p>Hello, I'm about to start applying and I have a tentative list of schools, but I'm wondering if these should be added, making my list up to 10. I'm hesitant because of the locations and the party atmospheres of these schools; as for location, they're both between 4-6 hours away from where I live, and I'd like to be able to come home every other weekend if I could. (Well, probably less often than that....) Also, they're both in the boonies.....I'd like to be able to go to a mall or a grocery store probably at least every other weekend without driving for more than 20 or 25 minutes. Bottom line, I'd rather not have to drive for miles to find a decent grocery store, mall, restaurant, etc.</p>
<p>Now......the part/drinking/frat atmosphere. I'm aware that Oberlin does not have frats, but Kenyon does. I've read on College ******* that both schools tend to drink quite a bit and there is a rather large presence of drugs. The frat scene at Kenyon is also somewhat large.....</p>
<p>Should I apply to these schools despite these dislikes? I would say that they're important ones, but does the education make up for them? The quality of life? What about the distance from home? </p>
<p>I'm also applying to Wheaton College in IL, which I like because it's dry and they have clean fun. The school is relatively close to Chicago, so I could get the small-town feel of Wheaton and the big-city feel that I might potentially want. How are this school's academics in comparison? </p>
<p>A closer school of which I am applying to is Kalamazoo College, which has an ideal location (1 hour away) and from my understanding there isn't as much drinking.</p>
<p>Or what about Denison University? On second thought, they all have either early decision (binding) or regular decision…I really don’t think early decision is what I need…</p>
<p>Unlike Kenyon, Oberlin is located in a nice, albeit small, town — with a movie theatre, decent restaurants, shops, convenience stores, as well as a world-class museum! Kenyon College IS the town (besides a bank, post office, a coffee house, and a small grocery, there are no signs of civilization other than the campus itself). Oberlin is relatively near several towns with malls etc., and just 30 min from Cleveland. Kenyon is very pretty, but in the middle of nowhere (about an hour from Columbus). Oberlin and Kenyon are the top 2 LAC’s academically in OH. I would give a slight nod to Oberlin in that regard…especially once you consider Oberlin’s music conservatory, which is among the most well-regarded in the country. I’m not familiar with Wheaton, so I cannot comment. As for the drinking/drugs scene, there will be some of that at practically every college. Perhaps the presence of frats at Kenyon would suggest that such is more likely there,but I’m not sure. I agree with rbouwens that you should apply to both, and if possible, visit them too. Good luck.</p>
<p>from what i have read and seen when i visited kenyon, the frat presence on campus is fairly minimal. also, it seems to me that most people there tend to be pretty open minded and quirky, so you can find other things to do besides go to frat parties.</p>
<p>I don’t know, Oberlin didn’t seem like a large party scene to me. I visited it, and yes, it’s in the middle of nowhere but would be 30 minutes from Cleveland.</p>
<p>Wheaton College in Illinois is excellent. I visited Wheaton and the professors definitely held their own against other schools I visited. Almost all had Ivy or top 25 PhD’s. it is a Christian school so the students will be more conservative than those at Oberlin. Although 60% of Wheaton faculty voted for Obama so the professors are generally more liberal. </p>
<p>If you want to be taught by angry Marxists, go to Oberlin. Ironically, Wheaton and Oberlin have deep historical ties, one remained (for the most part) true to its original mission while the other turned into a ultra-liberal bastion.</p>
<p>Have you looked at some of the other Christian schools, such as Taylor and Grove City in Pennsylvania? I know several very bright kids who go to Taylor who could have gotten in to more well known schools.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for a school with conservative values, you might consider Hillsdale. It’s less overtly religious than Wheaton but equally straitlaced.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in Wheaton I would think that Oberlin would be a difficult fit. Kenyon is in the middle of nowhere but has a beautiful campus. DePauw may be an option but I think it has a rural location.</p>
<p>^ On the Wheaton application, one of the 3 essays asks applicants to discuss their faith and the role it plays in their lives. I’m assuming they want students who are in accord with the school’s mission theologically. </p>
<p>That said, the majority of students on campus will be Protestant (like the majority of students at a Catholic school like Notre Dame will be Catholic)</p>
<p>Speaking of Notre Dame, have you considered applying (although it’s not a LAC)? It is a Catholic Disneyland :D</p>
<p>Hope College is mainly Protestant but welcomes Catholics. The importance is Christian faith and values, not adhering to a particular denomination.</p>
<p>Wheaton doesn’t have a small-town feel. It has a well-to-do suburb feel. You can access Chicago from there, but it takes some effort and a good hour on the train when all is said and done.</p>
<p>Oberlin was quite progressive almost from its founding. Even in the 1830s, it admitted African Americans and women. The first women in America to receive AB degrees got them from the Oberlin Collegiate Institute in 1841.</p>
<p>Political liberalism has deep historical roots in this country and in Christianity. “Liberal” concepts such as abolitionism, free universal public education, women’s suffrage, the progressive income tax, child labor laws, pacifism, etc., have been influencing American life since the 18th century. If you can imagine Liberalism without the Welfare State or sex-drugs-and-rock-‘n’-roll, what you’ve got left is a fairly mainstream set of Christian-influenced attitudes and ideas. If you can imagine Conservatism without strident Young Earth Creationism, you’ve got the other big stream in the American current. </p>
<p>There are very few “angry Marxists” at Oberlin or any other American College. If you want to keep your distance from casual sex and drugs, you can seek out a single-gender substance-free dorm. Or, you might indeed be more comfortable at a place like Wheaton. Before making up your mind, visit a few of these schools to check out the facilities, classes, and social atmosphere.</p>
<p>@rbouwens - As an alum of Oberlin (and as an employee of Oberlin College), I can say from first hand experience that while most college campuses have drugs and alcohol, Oberlin both has options for avoiding it and it is not the default activity because there is so much other stuff to do here. If you don’t want to be involved with a drug or alcohol scene, you don’t have to be, and you DEFINITELY won’t be pressured into it.</p>
<p>As a prospective student, Oberlin appealed to me because of the diversity of viewpoints and backgrounds (while some viewpoints and backgrounds tend to be a bit… louder or outspoken… you will not be marginalized for a differing opinion; it just opens the door to more conversation), a vibrant musical scene (I’m not a musician but I love being around music and performance), and the lack of Greek life (and the student cooperative association provided all the things that my friends at other schools said that the Greek system did for them: an automatic community, a great location to live on campus, and a rich history and generations of alumni who had gone through a similar system).</p>
<p>For your basic concerns about location, Oberlin is a small town, but it is in no way removed from the necessities you list (mall/grocery store/good restaurants). We have a local foods market, a small grocery downtown, and an IGA a few blocks east of campus (and a Walmart two miles away). Downtown Oberlin has some EXCELLENT restaurants, there is a mall in Elyria around 15 minutes away, and there’s always Cleveland if you’re up to 30 minutes of driving. I have an ongoing challenge with a coworker that recently came to Oberlin that we can find most anything she needs within 5 minutes of Oberlin. (The only big gap we’ve found is Indian food, but so many of the co-ops cook Indian food regularly… so it’s not as lacking as you’d think at first).</p>
<p>If a visit is within your reach, I highly recommend it. Oberlin is multi-faceted and it’s sort of hard to describe everything that happens here (academically, extracurricularly, socially, etc.) without seeing it in person. If a visit isn’t necessarily possible, I recommend checking out the [Oberlin</a> Blogs](<a href=“http://blogs.oberlin.edu/]Oberlin”>http://blogs.oberlin.edu/), an unfiltered collection of on-campus experiences from students, faculty, and staff.</p>