Oberlin College/Conservatory Parents' Group

Plainsman
Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:32:47 +0000

pennkidd, I have to agree but I think what you are viewing as concerns, I view as positive things about Oberlin College.

My D2 is a sophomore. Two years ago her accepted students visit was indeed somewhat chaotic, perhaps disorganized, compared to the accepted students days for other colleges that she attended at both LACs and large universities. The “lunch” and refreshments at Oberlin were incredibly cheap, there were no organized class visits on accepted students day, and very little direction. Our entire family attended. We decided to look at it as a reflection of Oberlin’s personality. It was more like a disorganized family reunion, the opposite of a well-oiled machine—what we experienced at other schools. It was quaint. Cozy. Homey. Laid back. Authentic. Friendly. We decided if attending the college was anything at all like the accepted students day or the freshman orientation week which had the same pulse to it, our daughter would feel very comfortable. And that is exactly how it has turned out.

We attended one college’s accepted/admitted students day where they had all the newly accepted students names integrated into a video on broacast in one of the auditoriums. It ran at just the right heart-warming moment, scrolling your child’s name across the screen, this at a school several times larger than Oberlin.

At another college, an LAC, the accepted students day was run with the kind of precision (time-wise) that would make Hitler’s SS sigh in admiration. Everything was on time. Every accepted student was escorted to not one but two selected classes for sit-ins, and the parents escorted to special events on time, every time. Current students went to lunch with you and your student. Coincidentally, we drew the cover girl from that college’s admissions video.