UChicago vs. Reed vs. Wesleyan vs. Oberlin

College Search & Selection
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<p>Alright. So. I've gotten all my responses from colleges, and I managed to narrow it down to these four, but unfortunately I can only actually attend one. So, basically, HELP! Obviously, my two main concerns are academics and atmosphere. I want to major in anthropology and I'm particularly interested in Latin American and Eastern European cultures. I also like linguistics, creative writing, languages (it would be cool to pick up serbian/croatian or czech or something), and film (not a deal breaker if not present). As far as atmosphere goes, I'm going for laid-back, doesn't-take-self-too-seriously and does-weird-stuff but willing-to-work-hard intellectual.</p>

<p>UChicago: My favorite by far for academics. I'm in love with the course catalog. They have all the languages and cultural studies I'm interested in AND linguistics and creative writing and classes on film production. Plus, obviously, it's a very reputable school - intensely intellectual, which I like - and the quarter system = awesome. My main concern is the size. There are less than 5,000 undergraduates, but the place is pretty top-heavy with grad students. Someone told me 15,000, which is kind of insane. I'm an LAC person, so I'm a bit skeptical. Seminar style classes and a sense of community are big with me. Concern #2 is the atmosphere, but I suppose I'll find that out when I visit...</p>

<p>Reed: My favorite by far for atmosphere. Visited in October and it was amazing. Seriously - packed with weirdos. The students were really cool, and definitely the sort of people I can see myself hanging with for four years. Main concern: academics. Not that they aren't strong. I'm positive they are. But my interests lie in specific areas of the globe (Latin America and Eastern Europe), and they don't really offer much/anything in those areas. It's actually really depressing, but I suppose I'm sort of stuck. I want the courses of a big school with the community/vibes of a small school. Concern #2 is distance from home. Portland is awesome, but plane tickets to the east coast are pricey (I don't mind the actual distance, just the cost).</p>

<p>Wesleyan: Visited during the summer, so I'm already a bit biased against it. Middletown is kind of/really boring, and the campus is square and not very nice. Plus, the closest city is New Haven? Blech. Academics are strong, but not as many choices as at UChicago. Then again, better than at Reed. Smaller than UChicago, which is a good thing. Closer to home than Reed. I'm gonna visit to gauge the environment, but I'm hoping for Reed-type weird. It probably seems like I've already ruled it out, but I'm trying to see it as kind of a compromise between Reed and UChicago... Plus, the film program is great.</p>

<p>Oberlin: Another compromise. Again, smaller than UChicago but bigger than Reed. Really nice course offerings - I think I like them better than those at Wesleyan. Oberlin, OH is supposed to be middle of nowhere, but an actual college town, so probably still better than Middletown. A good size. Seems weird-ish, which is good. Once again, I'm visiting to check on the atmosphere. Gave me $15,000 a year.</p>

<p>Right, so, I'm visiting, so I'll be able to figure out some of this stuff for myself, but any opinions?</p>

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<p>You’re going to feel limited at these small LACs. You’re going to develop strong interests and have no way to explore them. You have to go for Chicago, you need the breadth of options.</p>

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<p>I think you should go with Chicago for a couple of reasons. 1) You sound like the type of person who would appreciate the opportunities and resources of a large university. 2) The Princeton Review ranked Chicago the best undergraduate experience two years ago (good indicator of social/academic balance and opportunities) 3) Chicago has the best Anthropology department out there 4) Student body is motivated and confident but still has that special quirkiness.</p>

<p>I went to Wesleyan over my spring break and really wasn’t that impressed by the environment. It looks like the entire student population is boring and hails from an hour outside of Boston… oh wait only a majority (I’m from Chicago so I must say I am biased against “preppy” New Englanders). </p>

<p>I have looked deeply into Reed but I am not into the weirdo atmosphere, so I cant really say. Oberlin to me looks like a watered down version of Chicago for what you are looking for, but still a very nice school. If finances are an issue, I would definitely look into it.</p>

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<p>Ah! I’m trying to decide between Wesleyan and Oberlin as well. I’m going to be visiting both overnight (Wes during WesFest). I’m also particularly interested in Languages (mostly Spanish, but I want to study other languages). Can anyone help us both out and say if this is better at Wes or Oberlin? Also, sciences seem to be great at both for LACs, which is better?</p>

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<p>You’ll find the grad students at Chicago a huge plus. Both my sons attend and they have really enjoyed the grad students they’ve met…a nice mix of mentors/friends.(Save for one) Seriously, you won’t feel overwhelmed, if anything, they are a nice supportive layer between you and your profs.</p>

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<p>I’m not anti-grad student. It’s just that they make the school BIG. 2,000-5,000 is sort of my range, and if I factor in grad students, Chicago is way above that…</p>

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<p>Oh, and thanks for all the responses! You guys are pretty much telling me what everyone else in my life is telling me…</p>

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<p>This one is easy----Chicago by a mile.</p>

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<p>Chicago, Reed- particular required “western Civ” type courses. Do you want this particular program of studies? My D1 didn’t. </p>

<p>Reed- mandatory thesis; vs. Oberlin optional thesis if you do decently well & are invited to do Honors. Prefer optional, myself.</p>

<p>Chicago, Reed reputed to have particularly tough academics, though others are no cakewalk and this may just be talk.</p>

<p>Sizes, locations, are what they are.</p>

<p>Oberlin big on music and politics. 40 minutes from Cleveland, but need car for that. And, then it’s still Cleveland.</p>

<p>Wesleyan, Oberlin try to have lots to do on campus. Which is a good thing.</p>

<p>Course selection will be much better at a university, presumably.</p>

<p>Reed is much smaller than Oberlin and Wesleyan, I think,.</p>

<p>It’s nice to be within driving distance from home.</p>

<p>It’s nice to be in or near a city, provided that the city does not eviscerate the life of the university and the college experience.</p>

<p>Go where you want, and where you can afford it.</p>

<p>Is Chicago $15k /year “better” than Oberlin? My D1 didn’t think that, for her, it was even $zero better. In the end, was she right? Who knows.</p>

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<p>Oberlin is within an hour of Cleveland. The merit aid is definitely something to factor in. However, Oberlin does NOT offer linguistics except as a self-designed major in linguistic/cultural anthro or something like that. Pure linguistics courses are scarce. I don’t know how Wes does with that. I do think of Wes as closer to Reed in “vibe” than Oberlin is, but I’ve never visited any so it’s all gut. Make your own judgments.</p>

<p>When you visit Chicago, be sure to talk to students about class size and TAs–Chicago WILL have fewer seminar classes and you WILL have some recitations led by grad students, but maybe it’s a worthwhile compromise.</p>

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<p>Missed that thing about lingusitics, this will not be highly in evidence at most LAcs. I think oberlin has a single course buried in their Spanish department, or something. On the other hand, this is one of those subjects that people think they might be interested in, maybe take a course and find out it actually isn’t their thing.</p>

<p>And now that I look you cite a number of other potential interest areas that may be somewhat esoteric, you should check that the various schools even offer instruction in these areas/ languages. IIRC Oberlin did seem to have some interesting Sociology offerings relating to eastern Europe; they were supposedly really good courses too; strong profs. But I don’t know about all those languages.</p>

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<p>It is worthwhile to note that Wes has approximately the same amount of ling as Oberlin (almost nil). Reed does have a department, but if your anthro interests are weak, that is a problem as well. Essentially a decision of academics vs. atmosphere–which is more important to you?</p>

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<p>Since:</p>

<ol>
<li>It seems as though you’d be happier in an urban setting (or at least easily accessible to a city) and<br></li>
<li>Reed isn’t a LAC, it’s a small LAC (only Haverford smaller among academically similar schools) and</li>
<li>Your interests are varied and generally not very mainstream (Serbo-Croatian or Czech???)…</li>
</ol>

<p>I’d agree with some other posters that Chicago may be your best compromise. The campus may feel less intimate with a grad student:undergrad population about 2:1 but classes tend to be small and TA/grad student teaching is fairly limited. Professors will generally be more accessible than at larger unis. And yes, they have a Department of Slavic Languages.</p>

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<p>Yeah… The more I think about it, the more I lean towards Chicago. Bad atmosphere is a deal breaker, though, so I’m really hoping I’ll like it when I visit. I think I will. Then all I’ll have to worry about is COLD.</p>

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<p>It’s a shame you won’t be able to visit Wesleyan when there are actual students around. :(</p>

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<p>I will! I’m visiting next week! Can’t make it to their actual open house-y deal, but I’m doing an overnight, at least…</p>

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<p>Wesleyan is the best out of all three, but that’s just my opinion. I live about twenty minutes away and I’ve visited the school, too. I actually like the uniqueness of the campus and don’t find Middletown to be bad at all. There are a lot of reasons I love Wes, but that’s not why I’m here…</p>

<p>Oberlin is a great school as well! It’s a lot like Wesleyan in my opinion but still is different. UChicago is really “where fun goes to die” according to my friend’s parents. But apparently they did like the school. And I haven’t done much research on Reed just because I don’t like the school that much.</p>

<p>Ultimately, the decision you make should be a lot easier to make when you visit all of them. Good luck on your decision! I think it should come down to what school you think you would be enjoy yourself at, academically and socially.</p>

1 Like
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<p>As far as I can tell, that “where the fun goes to die” thing is 75% self-deprecation and 25% acknowledgment of the fact that UChicago is hardcore when it comes to academics. It doesn’t worry me too much. What worries me is the size and sense of community (or potential lack thereof). I’m seriously going back and forth every five minutes between UChicago and Reed, which probably seems ridiculous since UChicago is pretty big when you throw in all those grad students and Reed is under 2,000, but I love them both for different reasons… And BOTH reasons are EQUALLY important to me… Blegh. It’s a good thing I didn’t get into Brown.</p>