Ohio SLACs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My class of '24 daughter applied to all 4 last year. Strong GPA (4.8 something? I forget), tons of APs, good activities. Test optional.

Here are her merit aid results:

Wooster - $40k/year
Denison - $25k/year
Kenyon- $25k/year
Oberlin - $35k/year

In a nutshell, this is the main attraction to the Ohio LACs; a solid education at a discounted price.

OP: You are approaching this in a wise manner by seeking comments and visiting each school. Interests & impressions can, and often do, differ.

In the end, for most it comes down to price and options. Few would turn down Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, or other top ranked LACs to attend Kenyon, Denison, Oberlin, or Wooster, but many would turn down other mediocre/modestly ranked LACs to attend one of these Ohio LACs.

An important issue for many will be whether or not apply binding ED to one of these Ohio schools without knowing one's other options. Competition for college admissions peaked this year so there is reduced pressure to ED to any non-top choice school. Both domestic and international competition should be lessened this year and in the following years hereafter.

My DC did in fact turn down one of those named elite schools to attend one of the other named Ohio schools, because we could not afford to pay for the higher ranked LC. DC is now in grad school at HYP. It all worked out well.

It's about the student, not about the institution.

[Anonymous]

*LAC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My class of '24 daughter applied to all 4 last year. Strong GPA (4.8 something? I forget), tons of APs, good activities. Test optional.

Here are her merit aid results:

Wooster - $40k/year
Denison - $25k/year
Kenyon- $25k/year
Oberlin - $35k/year

In a nutshell, this is the main attraction to the Ohio LACs; a solid education at a discounted price.

OP: You are approaching this in a wise manner by seeking comments and visiting each school. Interests & impressions can, and often do, differ.

In the end, for most it comes down to price and options. Few would turn down Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, or other top ranked LACs to attend Kenyon, Denison, Oberlin, or Wooster, but many would turn down other mediocre/modestly ranked LACs to attend one of these Ohio LACs.

An important issue for many will be whether or not apply binding ED to one of these Ohio schools without knowing one's other options. Competition for college admissions peaked this year so there is reduced pressure to ED to any non-top choice school. Both domestic and international competition should be lessened this year and in the following years hereafter.

My DC did in fact turn down one of those named elite schools to attend one of the other named Ohio schools, because we could not afford to pay for the higher ranked LC. DC is now in grad school at HYP. It all worked out well.

It's about the student, not about the institution.

While possible, if true, you would have named the specific schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My class of '24 daughter applied to all 4 last year. Strong GPA (4.8 something? I forget), tons of APs, good activities. Test optional.

Here are her merit aid results:

Wooster - $40k/year
Denison - $25k/year
Kenyon- $25k/year
Oberlin - $35k/year

In a nutshell, this is the main attraction to the Ohio LACs; a solid education at a discounted price.

OP: You are approaching this in a wise manner by seeking comments and visiting each school. Interests & impressions can, and often do, differ.

In the end, for most it comes down to price and options. Few would turn down Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, or other top ranked LACs to attend Kenyon, Denison, Oberlin, or Wooster, but many would turn down other mediocre/modestly ranked LACs to attend one of these Ohio LACs.

An important issue for many will be whether or not apply binding ED to one of these Ohio schools without knowing one's other options. Competition for college admissions peaked this year so there is reduced pressure to ED to any non-top choice school. Both domestic and international competition should be lessened this year and in the following years hereafter.

My DC did in fact turn down one of those named elite schools to attend one of the other named Ohio schools, because we could not afford to pay for the higher ranked LC. DC is now in grad school at HYP. It all worked out well.

It's about the student, not about the institution.

While possible, if true, you would have named the specific schools.

DP but that’s nobody’s business and is such a stupid comment.

[Anonymous]

A parent of a current Oberlin athlete has complained about a divide between athletes and non-athletes at this school. Not unusual however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a bunch of hippy progressives, it is interesting that they have new majors in Business and Communications.

Don’t worry, they also added Musical Theater!

Well yes. It’s has a conservatory. What’s you’re point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a bunch of hippy progressives, it is interesting that they have new majors in Business and Communications.

Don’t worry, they also added Musical Theater!

Well yes. It’s has a conservatory. What’s your point?

Someone was suggestion Oberlin was somehow straying from its ethos by offering a business degree. I was pointing out that it’s still very much committed to the arts and conservatory with new offerings there too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon is the best one though Denison is making a run with its larger endowment. But Kenyon has raised a lot of money in recent years and is upgrading dorms. DS is there and thriving. Isolation is overstated. The community and culture is very strong. Student body draws heavily from both coasts.

Glad to hear Kenyon is upgrading its dorms. They sure appear to need it!

[Anonymous]

We know kids who are very happy at Oberlin but it has a very artsy alternative vibe that made my kid run in the other direction. So make sure it's the right fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an anti-Trump Dem. And I think Oberlin is a woke, virtue-signaling progressive commune. Read about the bakery incident - they will deny it but when I read about it I was just nodding my head because that is exactly what Oberlin is.

Though it isn't 100% that way - there is a decent number of more normal kids who end up there for whatever reason.

Denison is great. Kenyon is also a nice school.

I can't imagine why anyone would choose Oberlin after the bakery incident.

old news. yawn. no one cares.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Example: diversity is a great thing - I am supportive. But when schools like Michigan go overboard and require diversity statements for everyone applying for a job, and have grossly bloated DEI infrastructures that cost millions and are more divisive then helpful, casting all white people as the enemy, it is going overboard. Personally, I don't think this merits supporting a crazy man like Trump, but for some people, this was a bridge too far and pushed them over the edge. I know those people because despite living in a very blue area, I try to understand what makes other people tick. You likely live in a very blue echo chamber and don't get it.

I am a lot closer to you than more than 50% of America. I despise Trump. But I am also a realist. And I also want to beat Trump in 2028 (if there is an election then, and yes, he will be running). So be more careful about picking your spots.

I don't appreciate the childish bullying comment. So much more to say but I will take the high road.

Blaming a DMV mom and Oberlin parent (and VA public college parent of a different kid a Fed coping with Elon a and community volunteer and so much else) for Trump, and not, your know, Trump voters? Not the high road you think it is.

You’ve clearly never read or written a diversity statement and don’t have a sense of what universities are actually requiring/expecting. I’ve sat on many hiring committees for faculty and postdoc roles, and people don’t rant about how terrible white people are. Some focus on how they structure teaching to accommodate students with different learning styles. Some talk about volunteering at camps or doing youth engagement with underserved communities (which also included rural and low income white kids). Some have worked with library staff to expand multilingual collections of books and archives. Or advocated for more affordable childcare or other support on campus for student parents. Faculty who provide expert testimony in asylum cases sometimes include that in the diversity statements too. The diversity statements are just a way to demonstrate how, in your own way, you have and will work to expand the range of perspectives and maximize opportunities for as many students as possible. If you’re serious about debate you should probably understand what the statements are actually about. For most candidates, the statement is a way of highlighting aspects of public engagement, advising, impact, etc. that doesn’t fit into the research and teaching statement. FWIW I’m not a fan of the mandatory diversity statements for all positions, but they have a place in some cases.

I know very well what a diversity statement is. It is all in semantics. Different schools can use it different ways. Some are using it as you stated, to demonstrate teaching skills. Others are using it to weed out political philosophy and for extreme virtue signaling.

It is tone deaf in this day and age to have something like this that is applied universally. As with so many things these days, it is taking something where intentions might have been good and is often used appropriately and taking it to extremes.

Read the NYT article from a few weeks ago about DEI at Michigan. It was craziness. And again, I am someone who is a Democrat who is more supportive of DEI than most of America. So if I think it is nuts, guess what they think? I'm not saying we should constantly be rolling over and giving them what they want - that is an awful idea. Especially because they are highly unlikely to reciprocate. But we should occasionally moderate our more extreme tendencies on certain things where it won't kill us to do so.

Then why use Michigans DEI statements to blame Oberlin for what shows up on Fox News? Have Oberlin’s DEI faculty hire requirements been a culture war flashpoint? Been shown to be absolutely outrageous? If this is something that can be used appropriately, and no one is pointing to evidence that Oberlin didn’t apply it moderately, why are you dunking on Oberlin parents and kids over this issue?

Fine. The bakery incident at Oberlin. It made national news. It was ridiculous. You can write it off as "old news" but it happened and was not good.

I will stop now. Because I don't think Oberlin is truly that bad and I know there are plenty of much more mainstream kids there. I am using it as an example of things happening nationally. For a certain kid it is a good place and these people are definitely not inherently bad people at all - their intentions are good and I will take them over a Trumper any day. But people just need to be aware of what they are getting into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My class of '24 daughter applied to all 4 last year. Strong GPA (4.8 something? I forget), tons of APs, good activities. Test optional.

Here are her merit aid results:

Wooster - $40k/year
Denison - $25k/year
Kenyon- $25k/year
Oberlin - $35k/year

In a nutshell, this is the main attraction to the Ohio LACs; a solid education at a discounted price.

OP: You are approaching this in a wise manner by seeking comments and visiting each school. Interests & impressions can, and often do, differ.

In the end, for most it comes down to price and options. Few would turn down Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, or other top ranked LACs to attend Kenyon, Denison, Oberlin, or Wooster, but many would turn down other mediocre/modestly ranked LACs to attend one of these Ohio LACs.

An important issue for many will be whether or not apply binding ED to one of these Ohio schools without knowing one's other options. Competition for college admissions peaked this year so there is reduced pressure to ED to any non-top choice school. Both domestic and international competition should be lessened this year and in the following years hereafter.

My DC did in fact turn down one of those named elite schools to attend one of the other named Ohio schools, because we could not afford to pay for the higher ranked LC. DC is now in grad school at HYP. It all worked out well.

It's about the student, not about the institution.

While possible, if true, you would have named the specific schools.

Are you saying I am lying? Why would I?

I will not out myself to satisfy your curiosity.

[Anonymous]

turned down carleton for oberlin due to cost. it happens- 4.3 1440 sat (humanities major)

[Anonymous]

My kid turned down Williams for a merit aid LAC. Didn’t look back.

[Anonymous]

We visited Oberlin last year. My kid was admitted early in December (3.7/4.1, 1510) and offered a 36K/yr scholarship). Did not end up going because Oberlin did not have the major that my kid wanted but both of us loved it.