Visiting Oberlin late January

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin has a January session, so check to see whether they will be between sessions, have tours, etc.

If you want her to like Oberlin: stay at the Hotel Oberlin if you can. There’s a super cute bakery down the street and a nice coffee shop near the Apollo movie theater. There’s a cool vintage store called Ratsy’s. There’s also an art supply store where you can spend 20 minutes with kittens who are being fostered (the under of the store wants them to be socialized to get ready for adoption).

The Oberlin art museum might appeal.

Yes, OP. Please research this cute bakery (I'm assuming pp means Gibson's--but even if OP is referring to someone other one, please research Gibson's) and their recent history with Oberlin.

After what Oberlin did to that bakery, I can't imagine why any parent would think their child would fit in there. Surely your daughter has at least some redeeming qualities?

How many times are you RWNJs going to bring this up? And why would I judge the entire college by one incident (even if your version is correct)? It's an excellent academic institution regardless of what you think of it politically.

It's "one incident" that the entire college participated in, and that they were still refusing to pay as recently as several months ago (July.)
Blatantly lying and trying to destroy someone's livelihood is not "politics"--it's pure evil.

In 2016. Under a completely different admin. With different kids. Lawsuit settled. It’s been 7 years. Move on.

OP: my kid goes to Oberlin and loves it. It’s def. More liberal than the City of Oberlin, but the College does a lot of outreach— people in the town auditing classes, a pottery collective, free tuition to anyone in the HS who is admitted ED, Maker Adair’s, a Dog Fair, plus free entrance to all the cultural events. Still— it’s more conservative.

Visit the Blue Rooster, the Feve, Ben Franklin, the kittens. It’s going to be gray and snowy. But that’s Oberlin several months a year. I’d check the academic calendar to see if students are back before taking a kid. When my kid applied in 2019, he asked admissions if he could spend the night on campus and was able to. That sold it.

Be aware they are still cautious with COVID. He’s at study abroad this year, but I believe they are back to masking in classrooms with the latest wave. My kid made it 2.5 years without getting sick.

LOTS of DMV kids at Oberlin.

Different administration— but this one doubled down. Not a good look. The college has gone down in prestige over the years. And I say this as a former Obie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin has a January session, so check to see whether they will be between sessions, have tours, etc.

If you want her to like Oberlin: stay at the Hotel Oberlin if you can. There’s a super cute bakery down the street and a nice coffee shop near the Apollo movie theater. There’s a cool vintage store called Ratsy’s. There’s also an art supply store where you can spend 20 minutes with kittens who are being fostered (the under of the store wants them to be socialized to get ready for adoption).

The Oberlin art museum might appeal.

Yes, OP. Please research this cute bakery (I'm assuming pp means Gibson's--but even if OP is referring to someone other one, please research Gibson's) and their recent history with Oberlin.

After what Oberlin did to that bakery, I can't imagine why any parent would think their child would fit in there. Surely your daughter has at least some redeeming qualities?

How many times are you RWNJs going to bring this up? And why would I judge the entire college by one incident (even if your version is correct)? It's an excellent academic institution regardless of what you think of it politically.

It's "one incident" that the entire college participated in, and that they were still refusing to pay as recently as several months ago (July.)
Blatantly lying and trying to destroy someone's livelihood is not "politics"--it's pure evil.

In 2016. Under a completely different admin. With different kids. Lawsuit settled. It’s been 7 years. Move on.

OP: my kid goes to Oberlin and loves it. It’s def. More liberal than the City of Oberlin, but the College does a lot of outreach— people in the town auditing classes, a pottery collective, free tuition to anyone in the HS who is admitted ED, Maker Adair’s, a Dog Fair, plus free entrance to all the cultural events. Still— it’s more conservative.

Visit the Blue Rooster, the Feve, Ben Franklin, the kittens. It’s going to be gray and snowy. But that’s Oberlin several months a year. I’d check the academic calendar to see if students are back before taking a kid. When my kid applied in 2019, he asked admissions if he could spend the night on campus and was able to. That sold it.

Be aware they are still cautious with COVID. He’s at study abroad this year, but I believe they are back to masking in classrooms with the latest wave. My kid made it 2.5 years without getting sick.

LOTS of DMV kids at Oberlin.

Oh gosh I worked at the Feve back in the 90s, when it first opened!

I'm so glad to hear about kids having a good experience at Oberlin, lo all these years later.

Agree with the others that Jan is a good time to visit if you're looking for her to have a realistic take on what it will be like there weather-wise, but if you're looking for her to fall in love I might go in the spring. But I remember it snowing during spring semester finals one year. And PP said that she's there now and it's not that cold this year - so, maybe Jan is the time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the accepted student week about 90 percent of the families I spoke to all had the same list of schools, Vassar, Brown, Wesleyan, Middlebury, Bates

Did they get in to those schools?

[Anonymous]

Oberlin gives merit aid so will be more affordable than Brown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin gives merit aid so will be more affordable than Brown.

Depends on financials. Brown meets need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another Obie parent here. I second the recommendation for Hotel Oberlin if you can afford it, as your student will get a much better sense of what life is like on campus. It will be cold and I would check the weather before leaving but it should be fine. Most kids won’t be back until the last few days of January so campus will likely be quiet, but on the plus side faculty who are around for winter term may have more time to meet with your child. The real sell of Oberlin is the attentiveness of the faculty and their real investment in the students.

I agree on staying at the Hotel at Oberlin. It's on campus and is a great little hotel. It's a beautiful campus, but visiting a college is always better when school is in session.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin gives merit aid so will be more affordable than Brown.

Depends on financials. Brown meets need.

Right. We are a family who will likely not get any need-based aid.

[Anonymous]

I agree, it's a great idea to visit during the less than ideal months, to see if they still like it. Every college is at its best on a beautiful spring day. They might still like it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin has a January session, so check to see whether they will be between sessions, have tours, etc.

If you want her to like Oberlin: stay at the Hotel Oberlin if you can. There’s a super cute bakery down the street and a nice coffee shop near the Apollo movie theater. There’s a cool vintage store called Ratsy’s. There’s also an art supply store where you can spend 20 minutes with kittens who are being fostered (the under of the store wants them to be socialized to get ready for adoption).

The Oberlin art museum might appeal.

Yes, OP. Please research this cute bakery (I'm assuming pp means Gibson's--but even if OP is referring to someone other one, please research Gibson's) and their recent history with Oberlin.

After what Oberlin did to that bakery, I can't imagine why any parent would think their child would fit in there. Surely your daughter has at least some redeeming qualities?

How many times are you RWNJs going to bring this up? And why would I judge the entire college by one incident (even if your version is correct)? It's an excellent academic institution regardless of what you think of it politically.

This from the LWNJs who routinely dig through the past of people and institutions they don’t like in order to find “one incident” that means that person or institution should be canceled. 🙄 So many times in this forum have we heard LWNJs say we should judge an entire college negatively because some kids there are supposedly Trump supporters, as if that represented institutional policy, and yet Oberlin should apparently get a pass for being awful to a local small business because that was “the previous administration” or something. SMH.

[Anonymous]

I agree that Cleveland has a lot more going on than most DMV people would expect. I also think it’s a much more interesting city than DC. But I doubt that selling something based on its proximity to Cleveland will work.

Ah, dismissals of Cleveland are endlessly amusing (and totally unexpected). Haha.

Since they're going to be in Cleveland anyway, I think the point was to use that time to show that Cleveland has stuff going on (rather than just stay and dine in an airport hotel), and show that being a half hour from Cleveland isn't like being a half hour from Youngstown or a half hour from Green Bay or a half hour from Dubuque. Given the general stupidity in the DMV about what life is like west of the Appalachians, in my experience most east coasters find that Cleveland actually exceeds expectations significantly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin has a January session, so check to see whether they will be between sessions, have tours, etc.

If you want her to like Oberlin: stay at the Hotel Oberlin if you can. There’s a super cute bakery down the street and a nice coffee shop near the Apollo movie theater. There’s a cool vintage store called Ratsy’s. There’s also an art supply store where you can spend 20 minutes with kittens who are being fostered (the under of the store wants them to be socialized to get ready for adoption).

The Oberlin art museum might appeal.

Yes, OP. Please research this cute bakery (I'm assuming pp means Gibson's--but even if OP is referring to someone other one, please research Gibson's) and their recent history with Oberlin.

After what Oberlin did to that bakery, I can't imagine why any parent would think their child would fit in there. Surely your daughter has at least some redeeming qualities?

How many times are you RWNJs going to bring this up? And why would I judge the entire college by one incident (even if your version is correct)? It's an excellent academic institution regardless of what you think of it politically.

It's "one incident" that the entire college participated in, and that they were still refusing to pay as recently as several months ago (July.)
Blatantly lying and trying to destroy someone's livelihood is not "politics"--it's pure evil.

In 2016. Under a completely different admin. With different kids. Lawsuit settled. It’s been 7 years. Move on.

OP: my kid goes to Oberlin and loves it. It’s def. More liberal than the City of Oberlin, but the College does a lot of outreach— people in the town auditing classes, a pottery collective, free tuition to anyone in the HS who is admitted ED, Maker Adair’s, a Dog Fair, plus free entrance to all the cultural events. Still— it’s more conservative.

Visit the Blue Rooster, the Feve, Ben Franklin, the kittens. It’s going to be gray and snowy. But that’s Oberlin several months a year. I’d check the academic calendar to see if students are back before taking a kid. When my kid applied in 2019, he asked admissions if he could spend the night on campus and was able to. That sold it.

Be aware they are still cautious with COVID. He’s at study abroad this year, but I believe they are back to masking in classrooms with the latest wave. My kid made it 2.5 years without getting sick.

LOTS of DMV kids at Oberlin.

Yes, it happened in 2016 and as recently as July 2022 (so just 7 months ago) they were still fighting in court, denying any culpability. "Different admin and 'kids' (?)" but ones that obviously agreed with what Oberlin did, or else they wouldn't have stepped foot on the campus.
Of course there are many students that fit in with the disgusting behavior continued for (as you point out) SEVEN YEARS. As a parent, I wouldn't want to admit my kid was one of them.

They have paid. It’s over. You need to find a new hobby besides stalking Oberlin threads and ranting about this. It’s not like sex abuse was being covered up (THE Ohio State, MI State, a UC), or athletes were graduating with African Studies degrees that they literally did no work for (UNC), or Woke students shut down classes (Mt Holyoke and Haverford), or there was admission fraud (Yale). Or there have been 9 suicides in 3 years, including a soccer star who was told she would not graduate because she threw coffee a a guy who sexually assaulted a minor on her team. Plus Brock Turner (Stanford).

Name a college and I can find a mistake they made in the last 7 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin gives merit aid so will be more affordable than Brown.

Depends on financials. Brown meets need.

Right. We are a family who will likely not get any need-based aid.

We didn’t either. My kid got $25k a year. They guarantee $10k. Make an account on Raise.me (a legit microscholarship program) and fill it in for every dollar you can. My kid gets and extra $3k a year on top of the Oberlin merit aid for doing raise.me. That’s 12k extra. It adds up. You kid can also save $4k a year on Board by joining a co-op and helping cook about 3 hours a week. Better food and another $16k saved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree, it's a great idea to visit during the less than ideal months, to see if they still like it. Every college is at its best on a beautiful spring day. They might still like it!

One nice thing to remind kids of is that they don’t need to be on campus for Winter Tem, which is most of January. My kid has done one WT on and 2 off. Literally anything can be WT project. They are PF. I know a kid who did intensive Icelandic language and a kid who did a circus arts class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I agree that Cleveland has a lot more going on than most DMV people would expect. I also think it’s a much more interesting city than DC. But I doubt that selling something based on its proximity to Cleveland will work.

Ah, dismissals of Cleveland are endlessly amusing (and totally unexpected). Haha.

Since they're going to be in Cleveland anyway, I think the point was to use that time to show that Cleveland has stuff going on (rather than just stay and dine in an airport hotel), and show that being a half hour from Cleveland isn't like being a half hour from Youngstown or a half hour from Green Bay or a half hour from Dubuque. Given the general stupidity in the DMV about what life is like west of the Appalachians, in my experience most east coasters find that Cleveland actually exceeds expectations significantly.

I think the point is that if you're at Oberlin, you're probably not spending tons of time in Cleveland no matter how great a city it is. You need a car to get there, you need the time to get there (it's an hour away, not 1/2 hr), etc.

I say that as someone who went to Oberlin (a hundred years ago) and didn't have a car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I agree that Cleveland has a lot more going on than most DMV people would expect. I also think it’s a much more interesting city than DC. But I doubt that selling something based on its proximity to Cleveland will work.

Ah, dismissals of Cleveland are endlessly amusing (and totally unexpected). Haha.

Since they're going to be in Cleveland anyway, I think the point was to use that time to show that Cleveland has stuff going on (rather than just stay and dine in an airport hotel), and show that being a half hour from Cleveland isn't like being a half hour from Youngstown or a half hour from Green Bay or a half hour from Dubuque. Given the general stupidity in the DMV about what life is like west of the Appalachians, in my experience most east coasters find that Cleveland actually exceeds expectations significantly.

+1. Good music, art and theater (they just let kids buy subsidized tickets to take a bus to see Hamilton. And Little Italy.