Vassar vs. Oberlin

[rosenstockm]

My son is in contact with XC/Track coaches at Oberlin and Vassar, both of which are very attractive to him on paper and online but neither of which we have visited. He likes liberal arts colleges (we live in NC and he loves Davidson), will probably major in history or American studies, wants to do research in college, and would love to run with a D3 team. He has been invited by both coaches to make a visit, but we are likely going to make only one trip to one of the schools. Any advice about which to see?

[cinnamon1212]

Really, only you can answer this question!

If he were my son, I’d visit Vassar. It’s harder to get into, and we used athletic recruiting to gain admission to a more selective school. I realize that may not be your family’s goal though.

Also, while both schools have reputations for being very liberal and quirky, Oberlin seems farther out on the continuum than Vassar. I thought Davidson had a reputation for being a little more conservative, which would nudge me towards Vassar.

[collegemom3717]

Assuming both are affordable……Strongly, strongly, strongly recommend visiting both. Much more different than they look from the outside, esp in ‘personality’. Both are places where students tend to really fit- or really not.

[Mwfan1921]

I agree only your S can make this decision. Has he done a virtual admissions session and tour at each? If not, he should.

It would be great if he could visit both because both are fit schools in some ways. Do both schools have majors he is interested in? Have you run the NPCs at both and they look affordable?

Both feel kind of rural. Oberlin is a bit larger in terms of students, and closer to Cleveland (25 min drive) as compared to Vassar which is about an hour and a half into NYC.

I don’t have the sense that Oberlin is more liberal/activist than Vassar. There is an athlete/non-athlete divide at Oberlin, not sure about Vassar…but that divide is not uncommon at LACs.

[merc81]

In Oberlin’s favor, it offers a strong history program, its gender ratio falls closer to that of Davidson and it appeared in The Complete Book of Running, which was written by alumnus Jim Fixx. Statistically, however, its admission yield has been somewhat low recently, at 24% (compared to 31% at Vassar).

[circuitrider]

Of the two, Vassar is probably the least like Davidson in terms of student body. Therefore, I’d make that particular visit a priority.

[Juno16]

These were my D’s top two schools. I will note that one thing she liked about both was that they did not emphasize sports. We loved both in person and visiting both made a huge difference. Oberlin is a little bigger due to the conservatory and in an idyllic small town. It’s a beautiful campus which is set up in a way that at least I was unable to get a feel for on-line. The kids seem interesting and fun and the faculty my D reached out to were eager to help. For my D the strong music emphasis was a real plus. However, once she visited Vassar she fell in love and ended up applying ED there. Its location is a bit grittier, though there are businesses near by and the campus is gorgeous. It felt just a bit more academically challenging and exciting. She loved the history and that NYC was (somewhat) accessible. Oberlin remained her back up and had she not gotten into Vassar she might well have ended up there. One thing that may or may not matter to you but which a year later would matter a lot to us is the political climate in both states. At this point I’d be a lot more hesitant to send a kid - esp a girl of course, but a boy too - to Ohio. That of course may not matter to you. Otherwise we loved both schools and it really just came diwn yo which felt more right. I strongly urge you to try and visit both in person - it made a huge difference for my D’s decision-making.

[rosenstockm]

Thank you for this thoughtful, detailed reply. Indeed, I am concerned about the political environment. I would prefer for my college kids to stay out of Ohio entirely, but I won’t impose that on them.

[hoya91]

My oldest is a sophomore at Oberlin. Plays field hockey there and is very happy with their decision. Would your son like a quirky, liberal, artistic type environment? Oberlin is that. My kiddo has dyed hair, plays D&D and has learned how to make chain mail jewelry via a student led class. If that gives you an idea of the vibe that I’ve observed. Also don’t take that as in any way negative - all the kids I’ve met are super nice, super engaged, and super smart.

[kaslew]

My son is a sophomore at Vassar, my high school senior daughter’s top choice is Oberlin. We love both schools. Academics at both are superb - I know faculty and alums from both. Ratings are obviously ridiculous - take a look instead at percentages of kids that go on for PhDs to get a sense of academic rigor and student engagement with academics. Both are excellent in the humanities (and soc and nat sci’s). Both regularly send kids to post-grad fellowships. Both have strong alumni networks. Both are artsy - Oberlin stronger in music, obviously, Vassar in theater. Both have very engaged faculty. Setting is SUPER different. Poughkeepsie is not a big city, but it’s certainly not a small town like Oberlin. It has not recovered from the departure of IBM and general economic malaise, feels a bit depressed still, but it does have Maris College and the Culinary Institute in town, among other things, and it does have more going on off-campus, besides just the small set of shops right by campus - if you’re interested in social service, lots of opps and need in Poughkeepsie. That said, most Vassar kids never seem to leave campus - son’s freshman year, one trip to NYC. In Oberlin, Cleveland is closer than NYT to Vassar, but in some ways less accessible (easy rail to NYC). Both are very different from Davidson. In the absence of greek life, sports teams and clubs can become de facto social groups at both schools, but even so, sports less of a big deal than at Davidson. Not an adversarial divide between athletes/non-athletes, but a divide. Don’t know XC/track culture at Oberlin, but at Vassar my son reports that the track kids are a truly interesting bunch (he is not an athlete). Yield rate and acceptance rate at Oberlin make it appear less elite. That is a function of location, I would suggest. I would place them on the same level, academically. Yes, I’m worried about Ohio for my daughter. But Oberlin is truly a bubble, and a long history of righteous civil disobedience, from the underground railroad on up. My son saw Vassar and fell in love. He doesn’t mind the heavily skewed gender ratio. My daughter found Poughkeepsie unlovely, and wanted a slightly more even gender balance. She thought Oberlin looked idyllic and the tiny town charming and “manageable.” (no car, can get everywhere, super-safe feeling, happened to visit on a day when the whole community was out chalking the downtown). My son’s first year at Vassar was EXCELLENT. Love that school for him. My daughter can’t wait to apply to Oberlin, will keep her fingers crossed… Good luck with your decision (and for what it’s worth, both campuses looked better to me than their photographs).