Colleges with really interesting students

[Anonymous]

Forget Oberlin and any other get-over-yourselves-rich-kids college, try a school like Berea College in Kentucky. You're going to find some *truly* interesting students there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sat through a Bates, Davidson, Occidental, Oberlin session w/ DD a couple of weeks ago. Bates was Very generic. Davidson was very, very into the fact that they have all D1 sports (very not my kid), and Occidental thinks it’s a good idea to call themselves Oxy (WTAF?!? Has no one clued them in?).

Oberlin said they were looking to recruit blue haired kids. Not kids who actually have blue hair, the Ad Rep clarified, but the sort of smart, artsy, different from the crowd, think outside the box kids who might have blue (purple, pink, hair). . A couple of older DS’s friends are there, love it, and that’s a fair assessment. Super smart, not preppy, not jocks. Outside the box kids. Very kind.

This was a joint session?

Yep. Very interesting first college session for Junior DD. The colleges are very different vibes and in different areas of the country. Nice contrast. Although the Bates session was pretty dry. ‘‘Tis one has passed, but wouldn’t be surprised if they host another one this fall.

My kid was very into Oberlin and Occidental, hard pass on Davidson. Question Mark on Bates. Didn’t learn enough to scratch it o keep it.

She just did a midwestern college session this week— St. Olaf, Carleton, Macalester all made her list. One to one visits with Reps. She also talked to the Kenyon Rep, and it dropped off. Ran out of time for Grinnell.


Before applying to Occidental, check out its financial situation. Oxy just terminated its football team a month ago. The alums were not happy. You can find the comments on the Occidental College Facebook page, scroll down to the announcement about termination of football and read the comments. Also Oxy's small (448M) endowment is light years behind that of its competitor a few decades ago, Pomona (2.325 billion). The financial concerns, the new President, the new SJW push, and the elimination of the football team suggests you may want to watch financial health closely. A few months back, a study done by a professor analyzing which college and universities would shine through this pandemic, struggle, or fail was discussed on this board. I can't remember the author but I'm sure if you google financial health of colleges and impact on them by
Covid, you could find it. Oxy was listed as one of those the author thought would struggle.


https://connect.oberlin.edu/portal/consortium_student?id=84f913c0-e2c8-43e5-b1f9-4927e7181dd8&utm_campaign=counselor&utm_source=as_admissions&utm_medium=email

Yep. I’m really not enthused about Any school that calls itself Oxy. Although my kid would view loss of a football team as a plus. I’m hoping this does a natural death.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sat through a Bates, Davidson, Occidental, Oberlin session w/ DD a couple of weeks ago. Bates was Very generic. Davidson was very, very into the fact that they have all D1 sports (very not my kid), and Occidental thinks it’s a good idea to call themselves Oxy (WTAF?!? Has no one clued them in?).

Oberlin said they were looking to recruit blue haired kids. Not kids who actually have blue hair, the Ad Rep clarified, but the sort of smart, artsy, different from the crowd, think outside the box kids who might have blue (purple, pink, hair). . A couple of older DS’s friends are there, love it, and that’s a fair assessment. Super smart, not preppy, not jocks. Outside the box kids. Very kind.

This was a joint session?

Yep. Very interesting first college session for Junior DD. The colleges are very different vibes and in different areas of the country. Nice contrast. Although the Bates session was pretty dry. ‘‘Tis one has passed, but wouldn’t be surprised if they host another one this fall.

My kid was very into Oberlin and Occidental, hard pass on Davidson. Question Mark on Bates. Didn’t learn enough to scratch it o keep it.

She just did a midwestern college session this week— St. Olaf, Carleton, Macalester all made her list. One to one visits with Reps. She also talked to the Kenyon Rep, and it dropped off. Ran out of time for Grinnell.


Before applying to Occidental, check out its financial situation. Oxy just terminated its football team a month ago. The alums were not happy. You can find the comments on the Occidental College Facebook page, scroll down to the announcement about termination of football and read the comments. Also Oxy's small (448M) endowment is light years behind that of its competitor a few decades ago, Pomona (2.325 billion). The financial concerns, the new President, the new SJW push, and the elimination of the football team suggests you may want to watch financial health closely. A few months back, a study done by a professor analyzing which college and universities would shine through this pandemic, struggle, or fail was discussed on this board. I can't remember the author but I'm sure if you google financial health of colleges and impact on them by
Covid, you could find it. Oxy was listed as one of those the author thought would struggle.


https://connect.oberlin.edu/portal/consortium_student?id=84f913c0-e2c8-43e5-b1f9-4927e7181dd8&utm_campaign=counselor&utm_source=as_admissions&utm_medium=email

Yep. I’m really not enthused about Any school that calls itself Oxy. Although my kid would view loss of a football team as a plus. I’m hoping this does a natural death.

Good to know about Occidental. My DD applied and one of the selling points to her was a SLAC with a football team on the West Coast. I will tell her they eliminated football last month so even if accepted she likely won't be interested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I sat through a Bates, Davidson, Occidental, Oberlin session w/ DD a couple of weeks ago. Bates was Very generic. Davidson was very, very into the fact that they have all D1 sports (very not my kid), and Occidental thinks it’s a good idea to call themselves Oxy (WTAF?!? Has no one clued them in?).

Oberlin said they were looking to recruit blue haired kids. Not kids who actually have blue hair, the Ad Rep clarified, but the sort of smart, artsy, different from the crowd, think outside the box kids who might have blue (purple, pink, hair). . A couple of older DS’s friends are there, love it, and that’s a fair assessment. Super smart, not preppy, not jocks. Outside the box kids. Very kind.

DS just graduated from Grinnell and, like its competitor colleges, it is definitely big on the red plaid, white skin, blue hair kid who thinks they are edgy and artsy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sat through a Bates, Davidson, Occidental, Oberlin session w/ DD a couple of weeks ago. Bates was Very generic. Davidson was very, very into the fact that they have all D1 sports (very not my kid), and Occidental thinks it’s a good idea to call themselves Oxy (WTAF?!? Has no one clued them in?).

Oberlin said they were looking to recruit blue haired kids. Not kids who actually have blue hair, the Ad Rep clarified, but the sort of smart, artsy, different from the crowd, think outside the box kids who might have blue (purple, pink, hair). . A couple of older DS’s friends are there, love it, and that’s a fair assessment. Super smart, not preppy, not jocks. Outside the box kids. Very kind.

This was a joint session?

Yep. Very interesting first college session for Junior DD. The colleges are very different vibes and in different areas of the country. Nice contrast. Although the Bates session was pretty dry. ‘‘Tis one has passed, but wouldn’t be surprised if they host another one this fall.

My kid was very into Oberlin and Occidental, hard pass on Davidson. Question Mark on Bates. Didn’t learn enough to scratch it o keep it.

She just did a midwestern college session this week— St. Olaf, Carleton, Macalester all made her list. One to one visits with Reps. She also talked to the Kenyon Rep, and it dropped off. Ran out of time for Grinnell.


Before applying to Occidental, check out its financial situation. Oxy just terminated its football team a month ago. The alums were not happy. You can find the comments on the Occidental College Facebook page, scroll down to the announcement about termination of football and read the comments. Also Oxy's small (448M) endowment is light years behind that of its competitor a few decades ago, Pomona (2.325 billion). The financial concerns, the new President, the new SJW push, and the elimination of the football team suggests you may want to watch financial health closely. A few months back, a study done by a professor analyzing which college and universities would shine through this pandemic, struggle, or fail was discussed on this board. I can't remember the author but I'm sure if you google financial health of colleges and impact on them by
Covid, you could find it. Oxy was listed as one of those the author thought would struggle.


https://connect.oberlin.edu/portal/consortium_student?id=84f913c0-e2c8-43e5-b1f9-4927e7181dd8&utm_campaign=counselor&utm_source=as_admissions&utm_medium=email

Yep. I’m really not enthused about Any school that calls itself Oxy. Although my kid would view loss of a football team as a plus. I’m hoping this does a natural death.

Good to know about Occidental. My DD applied and one of the selling points to her was a SLAC with a football team on the West Coast. I will tell her they eliminated football last month so even if accepted she likely won't be interested.

Tell your daughter to look up the stories about the team bring terminated in last month’s L A Times .

[Anonymous]

Oberlin was a no for my child after they hired Mahallati, let alone the bakery debacle. Glad your kids felt it was a positive experience learning about the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sat through a Bates, Davidson, Occidental, Oberlin session w/ DD a couple of weeks ago. Bates was Very generic. Davidson was very, very into the fact that they have all D1 sports (very not my kid), and Occidental thinks it’s a good idea to call themselves Oxy (WTAF?!? Has no one clued them in?).

Oberlin said they were looking to recruit blue haired kids. Not kids who actually have blue hair, the Ad Rep clarified, but the sort of smart, artsy, different from the crowd, think outside the box kids who might have blue (purple, pink, hair). . A couple of older DS’s friends are there, love it, and that’s a fair assessment. Super smart, not preppy, not jocks. Outside the box kids. Very kind.

DS just graduated from Grinnell and, like its competitor colleges, it is definitely big on the red plaid, white skin, blue hair kid who thinks they are edgy and artsy.

Yes I'm all for people dying their hair any color they want. But I notice when I drive by our local art college that pretty much EVERYBODY had blue/pink/purple hair. It's hardly a marker of somebody breaking from the norm among creative types. I'm surprised that a school like Oberlin landed on that as their pitch.
And I"m LOLing and the red/white/blue Grinnell thing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sat through a Bates, Davidson, Occidental, Oberlin session w/ DD a couple of weeks ago. Bates was Very generic. Davidson was very, very into the fact that they have all D1 sports (very not my kid), and Occidental thinks it’s a good idea to call themselves Oxy (WTAF?!? Has no one clued them in?).

Oberlin said they were looking to recruit blue haired kids. Not kids who actually have blue hair, the Ad Rep clarified, but the sort of smart, artsy, different from the crowd, think outside the box kids who might have blue (purple, pink, hair). . A couple of older DS’s friends are there, love it, and that’s a fair assessment. Super smart, not preppy, not jocks. Outside the box kids. Very kind.

DS just graduated from Grinnell and, like its competitor colleges, it is definitely big on the red plaid, white skin, blue hair kid who thinks they are edgy and artsy.

Yes I'm all for people dying their hair any color they want. But I notice when I drive by our local art college that pretty much EVERYBODY had blue/pink/purple hair. It's hardly a marker of somebody breaking from the norm among creative types. I'm surprised that a school like Oberlin landed on that as their pitch.
And I"m LOLing and the red/white/blue Grinnell thing

I have an Obie. Im pretty sure they were using blue hair as a proxy for smart, quirky, artsy (they have the Conservatory), outside the box thinking. When you go on campus, most kids are very friendly and kind. Lots of kids playing instruments outside when it’s pretty. Most kids are washed. Most don’t have dyed hair. There are quire a few girls in prairie dresses and boots though. Boys in jeans and T-shirts for bands, politics, math and science jokes, etc. And my kid, like a lot of boys, went clean cut, but desperately needs to see the barber over the break. I know there is a gender non-conforming population, but those kids don’t stand out. It looks a lot like many other college campuses we visited.

They have a significant number of kids whose parents are professors at other SLACs, which is interesting. And my DMV kid is close friends with a kid from Falls Church and a kid from Bethesda, which I found interesting.

Oberlin kids say everyone fits in, except the kids who were steotypically popular/ Heathers/ mean girls/ preppy/ jocks in high school. There is some disdain for very mainstream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin was a no for my child after they hired Mahallati, let alone the bakery debacle. Glad your kids felt it was a positive experience learning about the school.

Definately. The bakery thing was 4 years ago, and they changed the President and top administration since then. The new President is super impressive. If Penn State and zohio State can move on from sexual abuse scandals and Inca can move on from fake egrets, Oberlin can move on too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin was a no for my child after they hired Mahallati, let alone the bakery debacle. Glad your kids felt it was a positive experience learning about the school.

Definately. The bakery thing was 4 years ago, and they changed the President and top administration since then. The new President is super impressive. If Penn State and zohio State can move on from sexual abuse scandals and Inca can move on from fake egrets, Oberlin can move on too.

^^ UNC can move on from fake degrees

[Anonymous]

Top admin did not change. Raimondo is still there.

[Anonymous]

Definately

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I sat through a Bates, Davidson, Occidental, Oberlin session w/ DD a couple of weeks ago. Bates was Very generic. Davidson was very, very into the fact that they have all D1 sports (very not my kid), and Occidental thinks it’s a good idea to call themselves Oxy (WTAF?!? Has no one clued them in?).

Oberlin said they were looking to recruit blue haired kids. Not kids who actually have blue hair, the Ad Rep clarified, but the sort of smart, artsy, different from the crowd, think outside the box kids who might have blue (purple, pink, hair). . A couple of older DS’s friends are there, love it, and that’s a fair assessment. Super smart, not preppy, not jocks. Outside the box kids. Very kind.

This was a joint session?

Yep. Very interesting first college session for Junior DD. The colleges are very different vibes and in different areas of the country. Nice contrast. Although the Bates session was pretty dry. ‘‘Tis one has passed, but wouldn’t be surprised if they host another one this fall.

My kid was very into Oberlin and Occidental, hard pass on Davidson. Question Mark on Bates. Didn’t learn enough to scratch it o keep it.

She just did a midwestern college session this week— St. Olaf, Carleton, Macalester all made her list. One to one visits with Reps. She also talked to the Kenyon Rep, and it dropped off. Ran out of time for Grinnell.


Before applying to Occidental, check out its financial situation. Oxy just terminated its football team a month ago. The alums were not happy. You can find the comments on the Occidental College Facebook page, scroll down to the announcement about termination of football and read the comments. Also Oxy's small (448M) endowment is light years behind that of its competitor a few decades ago, Pomona (2.325 billion). The financial concerns, the new President, the new SJW push, and the elimination of the football team suggests you may want to watch financial health closely. A few months back, a study done by a professor analyzing which college and universities would shine through this pandemic, struggle, or fail was discussed on this board. I can't remember the author but I'm sure if you google financial health of colleges and impact on them by
Covid, you could find it. Oxy was listed as one of those the author thought would struggle.


https://connect.oberlin.edu/portal/consortium_student?id=84f913c0-e2c8-43e5-b1f9-4927e7181dd8&utm_campaign=counselor&utm_source=as_admissions&utm_medium=email

Yep. I’m really not enthused about Any school that calls itself Oxy. Although my kid would view loss of a football team as a plus. I’m hoping this does a natural death.

Oxy has been Oxy since at least the early 80s when my friend went there. Some people sure know how to focus on the wrong things.

[Anonymous]

My DD is a senior at Oberlin and I totally echo the sentiments of earlier posters. She and her friends are very interesting, hard working and kind. She will miss the community next year but I expect she will keep in close contact with many throughout her life and I’m excited to see the great things they do!

Oh and she also showers quite regularly and has her original hair color too!

[Anonymous]

Any college with a non-traditional academic structure. Brown, Hampshire, Bennington, St. John, etc. Hampshire has the benefit of being able to take advantage of the other schools in the five college consortium, including Amherst and UMass.