<p>Help - can’t decide. I’m a cellists and I love both teachers…
Oberlin - great liberal arts/winter session/encourage entrepreneurship
CIM - more focus on performance/Cleveland Orchestrra/ better chamber program?</p>
<p>Anyone have any thoughts, or direct experience?</p>
<p>No experience, just congratulations–what a wonderful problem to have! Good luck with your choice.</p>
<p>Two very different options here. You’ll get a great musical education at both places. How much of the other things at Oberlin will you use? Do you want access to the academic opportunities Oberlin offers?</p>
<p>Congratulations on having great options!</p>
<p>At CIM you have access to CWU–while it doesn’t have Oberlin’s liberal arts reputation, it still is a fine school and as long as you pick your classes/instructors wisely (as you need to do at any place including Oberlin), you will have some stimulating/challenging work outside of music. </p>
<p>I think that the overall level of playing at CIM is higher–you have a lot of grad students to help raise the level and you have a great group of instructors; Oberlin certainly has good instructors and good players, but with strings, CIM is very hard to beat.</p>
<p>It really depends on what your aspirations are, and what sort of stimulation you need to keep you growing and focused. If you enjoy music but could see yourself going to grad school for something other than music, then Oberlin might be a better option. If your goal is to play cello in a good orchestra, then CIM might be the better option. If being surrounded by musicians all day is not stimulating for you, then may Oberlin is the better option. . . .</p>
<p>The “vibe” at both schools is vastly different as are the campuses. Oberlin is out and away from things, so life is limited to the school and the small town of Oberlin itself, and the location can get buried in snow , which makes it seem even more isolated. If you’ve visited the school, you have a grasp of the campus life. CIM is set in Cleveland, but yet, not right downtown,and sits on a corner of the Case Western campus. The theory track at the conservatory is intense ( take than to read in caps!), academic classes strong and the playing opportunities plentiful. Students can attend Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall, and that orchestra is now ranked in the world’s top 3. CIM has at least 2 student orchestras, and they get the chance to play in Severance as well, plus there are chamber groups galore.
violindad’s last paragraph is important, but I’ll also add in, are you looking toward grad school later too? Oberlin presents a unique college experience and is well respected, yet CIM is known as a top school for string players.
Great job on your acceptances!</p>
<p>I’m currently a student at Oberlin and while we are a little bit isolated, there are always concerts to attend and things to do. The town is starting to develop and a bunch of new shops and restaurants are going in. The Cleveland Orchestra also comes and performs on campus.</p>