<p>Main concern is with academics. Is one more rigorous with the sharper student body? Did anyone decide between the two, have kids or siblings at both that might be able to provide a point of comparison?</p>
<p>D was accepted to both of these schools but chose Grinnell two years ago. We could discern no difference academically between the three schools. The students at both Oberlin and Vassar are bright and motivated. I would focus more on what is offered in your academic areas and how you felt with the students at both. Both Oberlin and Vassar have a bit of what my daughter called an “edge” (you may know what that means, I’m not sure). Vassar has the classic beautiful campus, Oberlin a nice but a bit on the scruffy side in places. Bottom line-where are you more comfortable? Coming from the northeast, you might prefer Vassar.</p>
<p>D is in her first year at Oberlin, and I attended Vassar back in the dark ages. Not sure how relevant my recollections of VC are, but my impression of Oberlin today is similar to the Vassar of my day. Excellent academics; engaged, left-leaning students; close communities with plenty to do on campus. You have two terrific choices.
A year ago D. was deciding between Oberlin, Grinnell, and Middlebury. I’m sure she could have been happy at any of these schools–in the end, Oberlin felt best to her (and was the shortest drive for us, and most generous with scholarship/aid–although all were generous.) Attending classes at Oberlin helped her reach the decision.<br>
If you’re trying to compare academics and student body, I think you’ll find that they are excellent at both schools. Specific course offering may be different (for example, D. didn’t apply to Vassar because of fewer writing courses.)</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>I think some northeasterners need to get out of their northeastern cocoons. As a native northeasterner, it’s always galled me how so many of the people I grew up with and worked with felt there were only two places on earth they could possibly live without regressing in some way: the northeast and Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Anyway, Oberlin has a huge contingent of northeasterners and a huge contingent of west coasters, mostly Californians. Almost no one from Ohio goes to Oberlin. It almost seems like there are more people from Minnesota at Oberlin than Ohioans. True, there are other LACs in Ohio, including Kenyon, Colllege of Wooster, and Ohio Weslyan. But Minnesota has some fine LACSs too: Carleton, Macalester, St. Olaf, to name three. The only thing I can figure is there are more liberals in Minnesota than Ohio, and Oberlin has a very liberal reputation.</p>
<p>Actually, Plainsman, about 9% of Oberlin students are from Ohio. That said, it is a very geographically-diverse student body: there are more students from New York and California than there are from Ohio.</p>
<p>If my household is any indication these schools must have a lot of applicant overlap.</p>
<p>Vassar waitlisted D1, but she preferred Oberlin anyway; product of the intellectual atmosphere she experienced during an overnight, and just feeling “right”. Both schools were among the very few closely considered by D2, though she wound up choosing a third.</p>
<p>Both daughters thought they felt slighty more comfortable with Oberlin students; IIRC they thought they were on the whole a little more “down to earth” , as an aggregate, with a smaller affluent/ preppy/" poser" (d2s words, not sure what she meant) contingents? But these were impressions drawn on knowing just a few people who went there, quite likely completely flawed impressions.</p>
<p>I don’t know about “more rigorous”, other than D1 found Oberlin’s degree of rigor suited her, and it was no cake walk. IMO the best proxy to draw conclusions about “sharper student body” is the published midrange SATs, you can look them up, and they are what they are. To compare apples to apples, be sure the Conservatory students are not included in the Oberlin #s.</p>
<p>To help differentiate, one might be 'better"/ offer more in particular areas of interest than the other, maybe.</p>
<p>I now live near NYC, and Oberlin is by comparison far away; either a plane ride or an eight hour drive. I would have preferred D1 to be closer to home, she could have come home more and some things that came up would have been easier to deal with. Plus at a certain point she probably would have preferred occasional access to NYC, on a weekend. Vassar is less than two hours from us, and trains run from Poughkeepsie to NYC. In the end she did wind up making some use of Cleveland & surrounding areas; much more easily once she got a car. But Cleveland is not NYC, and the car is pretty necessary to do stuff there as a practical matter. From a selfish perspective, I did not like the long drive there & back, which I had to do a number of times.</p>
<p>I knew two people who went to Vassar, both guys interestingly. Both of them were people I liked, and they did very well for themselves there. FWIW.</p>
<p>My last kid is starting to look at schools now, we toured Vassar (my 3rd time now, I can almost give the tour) and he loved it. Too bad his grades are a little weak. He will probably not be applying to oberlin since he was with us on one of those car trips to oberlin (for graduation) and wants to stay closer than that to home.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are plenty of Obies from NYC, so evidently others do not mind getting there & back as much as I did.</p>