Tales from the Crypt

Colleges and Universities A-Z Oberlin College
1

<p>Talked to a staff member today…okay, I talk to someone almost every day (I’m worried sick about where my fifty grand is going–why isn’t flagship state U good enough?). Turns out only a tiny handful of incoming frosh, those quickest on the trigger with their seminar and course choices, had their choices installed online so they could be viewed via PRESTO. I believe the cutoff was last Wednesday. It seems they needed to test the system. No one else will be able to actually see if they got their first choices until after August 14. My D faxed her choices last Thursday, so she missed the opportunity. But I’m confident she’ll get her first choices. Evidently the first 200 kids are likely to get their choices. However, there is a huge hedge in that statement. Apparently, more than a few of these super smart kids admitted to Oberlin make colossal blunders on their course registration forms. Here’s a sampling that I picked up today:</p>

<li>Kids fail to notice that their first choice course and first choice FY seminar have a time conflict.<br></li>
<li>Kids select courses that are only offered in the Spring semester (then insist they want the course in the Fall)</li>
<li>Kids pick courses from the main Oberlin online course catalog INSTEAD of the correct source: the First Year 2009 Course Schedule. </li>
</ol>

<h1>1 I was not that shocked about this common freshman blunder. Not that I ever made it–I’m a planner. But I watched my D consider the course list and write down her 1 through 4 without checking the days and times for potential conflicts. So I helped her with it and she submitted a proper schedule–the first time.</h1>

<h1>2 This one I don’t understand. If you’re looking in the FY seminar book, it says “S P R I N G” or “F A L L” right underneath the course. These kids were high school scholars?</h1>

<h1>3 Did they read the INSTRUCTIONS that came with the Big Book of Forms? Did they not follow the link provided? Oh boy.</h1>

<p>Other stuff. Some frosh will get frozen out of their preferences then try to argue that nowhere in the Big Book of Forms instructions was there anything about first come, first served. It’s right there in black and white. READ!</p>

<p>Maybe a lot of kids are just nervous. More nervous than their parents. :)</p>

2

<p>Almost every day!? What do you find to talk about. I guess it is a good thing we’re not all like that or the good folks at Oberlin would never get their work done.</p>

3

<p>…to talk about: dorms, dorm proximity to classrooms, dorm proximity to dining halls, registration, curriculum distribution requirements, campus jobs, buying a PC from the technology center, dining hall menus, faculty advisers, local doctors/medical care facilities, out of state medical insurance coverage, student parking rules and locations, campus security, music lessons, lockers for musical instruments, Phi Beta Kappa requirements, co-ed bathrooms, storage, dorm room floor plans, townies, banks, drugstores, restaurants, vagrants, president of the college, student orientation, parents orientation, Oberlin Inn, flex points, paying tuition in lump sum, paying tuition in monthly installments, Freshman Seminars, laundry facilities, airport shuttle, Cleveland, transfer credit for summers at other colleges, workout facilities, students on campus during fall break (dining halls closed), students on campus during winter break, spring break, too short Thanksgiving break, Obie dollars, program houses, surrounding towns for an innocent girl to avoid and why… and much, much more</p>

<p>For me, reading the descriptions, if they are available, is one level. Talking to a human being who can tell you how it really works is another level.</p>

<p>I’m really sorry. I’m a lawyer and ask a lot of questions. I live for detail.</p>

4

<p>As an incoming freshman, I hope that you will let your daughter discover at least a few things for herself once she gets to Oberlin. That’s what college is all about, after all.</p>

5

<p>Plainsman: when you call next, hows about asking about the cut in bus service to the airport! It would be a drag to have to pay for cabs. The bus service during the regular semester (as opposed to breaks, where they often arrange for additional buses to the airport) also is the only cheap way to get to Cleveland without a car.</p>

6

<p>mamenyu: I was unaware of that change. I only recently became aware that there was shuttle service, and that it departed from the Oberlin Inn. Seven bucks, I was told. This is disturbing, if it is true that service is being cut. Terrible!</p>

<p>kiralll511: Frankly, I’m worried ***** less about my D. She’s never been away from home! No summer camp, no vacations with friends, no nothing. I’m extremely nervous about her being so far away. She’s not an urban hipster. She’s a sheltered suburban kid. Inside, she has to be terrified, but she won’t say.</p>

7

<p>Plainsman- What do you fear will happen? Lots of suburban kids, some as unworldly as your daughter go to college. Just about all of them do great.</p>

8

<p>I’m not sure it matters much whether the college is in another state or down the street (I live in a college town and one of my kids went to college here); students are in their own world. At Oberlin, it appears that students can be very happy; it’s a nurturing and forgiving place, with lots of academic and administrative support and friendly students. And you can’t really get lost - the town is only 2 blocks long.</p>

9

<p>You’re both probably right. But I’m still concerned. This is my little girl we’re talking about. This is Daddy’s girl. How do I know she’s going to be all right? She’s never gone any place without the family. I can tell already that I won’t get any sleep until I pick her up for Fall break.</p>

10

<p>You call the staff to ask them about townies and vagrants? Of course you have your daughter’s wellbeing and happiness in mind, but part of what makes college so great is being able to get away and to make one’s own mistakes, discover a new world (which is rather small in the case of Oberlin). There’s not really anything too serious that can go wrong at Oberlin. Generations of kids have made it through–your daughter will be fine without you calling to ask about vagrants. Though the visiting preachers are fun.</p>

11

<p>Plainsman,
All these folks are right, your daughter picked a pretty safe, nurturing college environment; and if she got into Oberlin, she no doubt has the smarts to navigate her way through this new journey. Maybe this summer is a good time for her to plan some transitional away-from-home weekends with friends… to help her and her father get used to separating.</p>

12

<p>Plainsman,
All these folks are right, your daughter picked a pretty safe, nurturing college environment; and if she got into Oberlin, she no doubt has the smarts to navigate her way through this new journey. Maybe this summer is a good time for her to plan some transitional away-from-home weekends with friends… to help her and her father get used to separating.</p>