<p>Gosh, I think this is very individual, and your experience does not resonate with what I’ve heard from alums and my own student at Oberlin, who enjoyed it even in deepest, darkest Winter Term, and got along very well without a car! There is a lot going on at Oberlin, more than one could possibly do on any given weekend - and really top quality speakers and performers. Some students will benefit from a semester or two abroad, but some just wouldn’t want to miss a semester at Oberlin; in fact, far fewer students are going abroad this year than was expected, some perhaps for economic reasons, but others because they like it there!<br>
The grad rate factors may also include the fact that Oberlin sometimes takes chances on students that comparable schools may not - and sometimes it works out well in four years for those students, and sometimes not…and some kids, with all the advising offered, don’t plan things out as well as they might and need more time to finish. At the current prices, I would not want that to happen, from my parental perspective.</p>