Macalester vs Kenyon vs Oberlin for science major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of the three, Oberlin probably has the strongest science departments. A lot of its students go on to PhD programs.

+1. I have an Obie in a sciences field who is planning to work for a year and get a PhD. Two years of research with a prof. Plus a summer of research. Who is their “mentor” and a co-author on 1-2 papers. A study abroad with a research component specific to their interest. Getting ready to present at a conference. Is working with the school on their personal statement. After the Conservatory, sciences is Oberlin’s strongest area.

That said, my kid also applied to Mac and Kenyon and was accepted, also with merit. Kenyon is lovely, but more remote and stronger in humanities (esp writing and English) than science. I think that’s your third place choice in terms of science pre-PhD.

I loved Mac, which had a lovely, walkable suburban campus and was also strong in my kid’s area of science. But neither my kid, nor their sibling 3 years later, liked the school when they visited. It was very, very white. Sibling also passed on Oberlin.

Mac and Oberlin are schools you need to visit. I will cheerlead Oberlin’s science department. But doing well at Oberlin is really about fit, so I would never insist it’s the best school for your specific kid. You also need to visit Mac. Not sure why it raised such negative feelings in my kids— maybe the lack of diversity after the DMV?

That's great! May I ask what STEM field your kid is currently pursuing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think these are all likely places my strong in science and math child will apply. They love history too. Any thoughts or experience with science post-grad outcomes and which might be better for a well rounded but analytically gifted sort of student?
Appreciate positive comments, please.

Kenyon College is probably not a good match for one interested in science.

Oberlin College is more about fitting in with the campus culture (fairly extreme) and--according to some curent Oberlin athletes--there is a social divide between athletes and non-athletes.

Macalester offers an unusual setting for an LAC.

Have you considered Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania ? Under 1,200 students but sends an unusually high percentage of students to medical schools.

Carleton College would be another to consider.

Not an LAC, but Washington University in St. Louis is a great choice for one interested in science (biology, chemistry, bio-chem, neuroscience).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid also like Macalester until his visit. We were surprised at the turnaround.

What affected your student's opinion of Macalester College ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of the three, Oberlin probably has the strongest science departments. A lot of its students go on to PhD programs.

+1. I have an Obie in a sciences field who is planning to work for a year and get a PhD. Two years of research with a prof. Plus a summer of research. Who is their “mentor” and a co-author on 1-2 papers. A study abroad with a research component specific to their interest. Getting ready to present at a conference. Is working with the school on their personal statement. After the Conservatory, sciences is Oberlin’s strongest area.

That said, my kid also applied to Mac and Kenyon and was accepted, also with merit. Kenyon is lovely, but more remote and stronger in humanities (esp writing and English) than science. I think that’s your third place choice in terms of science pre-PhD.

I loved Mac, which had a lovely, walkable suburban campus and was also strong in my kid’s area of science. But neither my kid, nor their sibling 3 years later, liked the school when they visited. It was very, very white. Sibling also passed on Oberlin.

Mac and Oberlin are schools you need to visit. I will cheerlead Oberlin’s science department. But doing well at Oberlin is really about fit, so I would never insist it’s the best school for your specific kid. You also need to visit Mac. Not sure why it raised such negative feelings in my kids— maybe the lack of diversity after the DMV?

That's great! May I ask what STEM field your kid is currently pursuing?

Geology. Which means they also have done work in the Chemistry, Physics and Math departments. Headed to New Zealand this week for a month of field camp focused on vulcanology, plate tectonics and mapping, followed by a Semester at U. Canterbury and a couple weeks for travel. Oberlin is part of the Keck Geology Consortium of SLACs, and they run this program with other Keck members. Won’t be home until late June (gulp, I can send mMy kid halfway around the world for almost 6 months, right?).

Cannot recommend the quality of the science programs highly enough. But Oberlin is geared toward intellectual quirky kids with interests in fine arts. A traditional LAX frat bro would hate it. It’s a school you really need to visit.

[Anonymous]

Oberiln is definitely a school that a prospective student should visit.

Macalester College has a great location--lots to do off campus if feeling constricted by a small school environment. Macalester is strong for math & statistics.

Grinnell College in Iowa is strong in sciences--probably stronger as any of the 3 schools listed by OP--and is just as liberal as Macalester, but a bit less so than Oberlin.

[Anonymous]

Op here! Thanks for all these helpful responses!

[Anonymous]

Just to be clear: Visit Oberlin College while school is in session--not during any breaks.

[Anonymous]

Oberlin produced 4 Nobel prize winners. I believe 3 were in sciences and the 2021 one in economics. The first was by Robert Millikan. He was the first president of Caltech. Oberlin is hard to beat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear: Visit Oberlin College while school is in session--not during any breaks.

+1. I think this goes for most schools. Our kid stayed over part of summer break to research. We visited and the campus was dull. Normally, there are kids out eating in Wilder Bowl and performing and practicing instruments outside and all sorts of activity. My kid was admitted in 2020 and visited pre-COVID. He was able to spend the night in a dorm and go to class with his host. That’s when he was sure it was the right place for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin produced 4 Nobel prize winners. I believe 3 were in sciences and the 2021 one in economics. The first was by Robert Millikan. He was the first president of Caltech. Oberlin is hard to beat.

Great information. I googled this.The Nobel prizes won by Oberlin graduates were in 1923, the 1930s, 1945, and, most recently,in 2021 for economics.

I found this: https://bestmastersprograms.org/most-nobel-prize-winners/ is there a list focusing just on LACs regarding Nobelprize affiliations ? TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The science majors I met while touring Kenyon seemed to have amazing undergraduate research experiences and other support from the college. I was particularly impressed with the number of female science majors in hard sciences.

They do amazing research. Kenyon had an impressive student poster presentation during Parents Weekend to share their research that they did over the summer that I was able to attend. There were probably about 50-75 posters. I know that they have other poster presentations throughout the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin produced 4 Nobel prize winners. I believe 3 were in sciences and the 2021 one in economics. The first was by Robert Millikan. He was the first president of Caltech. Oberlin is hard to beat.

Great information. I googled this.The Nobel prizes won by Oberlin graduates were in 1923, the 1930s, 1945, and, most recently,in 2021 for economics.

I found this: https://bestmastersprograms.org/most-nobel-prize-winners/ is there a list focusing just on LACs regarding Nobelprize affiliations ? TIA

Off the top of my head, not many can beat Oberlin.

Amherst and Swarthmore each has 5.
Pomona College may have 1.

[Anonymous]

OP: This has turned in to a fairly exciting thread !

[Anonymous]

Oberlin was the first college in the country to desegregate and Black students with white students together

It was a stop on the underground railway

It was the first college in the country to offer a co-educational education

My sister applied, in the late 80s, and it was known as a very safe and welcoming college for gay students.

And today it is a very supportive college for trans kids. It also is doing excellent work in providing meaningful support to first gen students. From what I can tell, they are doing so very successfully by using common sense, ignoring side show and focusing on substance. For example, the housing application asks if you are comfortable with a trans roommate. Done.

We’ve been fighting the culture wars for centuries. And Oberlin consistently has been on the forefront of making decisions that stand the test of time. The school is very proud of their legacy. As they should be.

[Anonymous]

There are still some tensions between Oberlin and the town of Oberlin as a result of this case. But the townspeople and local workers that we talked to (in a restaurant right next to campus) this fall during our visit are hopeful that the tensions will settle down now that Oberlin has agreed to pay the damages and not pursue further appeals. We were there about a month about Oberlin announced this. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/us/oberlin-bakery-lawsuit.html