火爆社区

The 鈥渞ich academic courses and extensive resources鈥� at Oberlin College, as well as its prestigious conservatory of music, make it 鈥渢he ideal place to be passionate about a subject.鈥� The school鈥檚 liberal arts curriculum and interdisciplinary emphasis give students maximum flexibility, and many 鈥減ick up double majors and multiple minors just by taking classes they enjoy.鈥� With this support, there are 鈥渟o many different paths students can follow to pursue one or more degrees, and [the school is] fully prepared to help you meet your academic goals.鈥� Furthermore, the college has a roster of established programs like the Experimental College (ExCo), 鈥渁n accredited organization in which students can teach for-credit classes to students, faculty, and community members,鈥� and Winter Term, when students can 鈥減ursue short-term internships, intensive classes, individual projects, or study abroad programs.鈥� Professors 鈥渁re active contributors to their fields and are eager to engage with the student body.鈥� Many classes set aside time for discussion, which helps 鈥渟olidify learning and understanding over simply memorization.鈥� Others incorporate community-based learning elements or innovative approaches to the specific material, such as an archaeology class where students recall 鈥渦sing traditional carving techniques to create real bone tools.鈥� With the backing of a school that 鈥渟upports you as you discover your place in the world,鈥� it鈥檚 said that 鈥測ou can become a big fish in a small pond, if you wish.鈥� One student says, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a general understanding that although it will be difficult, anyone can do well here. There鈥檚 like one million student resources to back that up.鈥�

Oberlin is 鈥渁 unique space where people regularly have multiple interests simultaneously,鈥� and 鈥渋t is very common to see people double majoring in very distinct fields.鈥� Obies tend to be 鈥渆xpressive, quirky, and unapologetically themselves,鈥� and with everyone putting it all out in the open, 鈥測ou can definitely find people who share your鈥�niche interests.鈥� Each student 鈥渟hows up to do the best they can, and the atmosphere鈥�is not one of competition but of collaboration,鈥� as people see one another as 鈥渁 resource for everyone else to learn from and work with on interesting projects.鈥� Most here are 鈥済enerally very creative and artistic,鈥� as well as being 鈥渃urious and over-booked鈥� with activities stemming from their many interests. They 鈥渁re super into the things that they are into and really driven by innate interest in the topics they study, not by academic competition or prestige.鈥� 鈥淜indness and understanding [are] above all else at Oberlin,鈥� and people are 鈥済rateful for a student body that never wanes in its desire to explore ideas and talk about them deeply.鈥�

The cooperative association at Oberlin 鈥渉olds together a strong community,鈥� providing at-cost dining and housing to student members who put in hours to keep the co-op running. Those who participate tout the affordability and community offered, with one saying it 鈥渉as allowed me to build relationships with my peers, learn new skills, and eat nutritious meals.鈥� Another adds, 鈥淛oining OSCA [Oberlin Student Cooperative Association] is the best decision I made at Oberlin, and it has taught me so much about democracy, working with people, cooking, and nonprofits.鈥� Even with academic credit in play, the ExCos become pastimes unto themselves, and help 鈥渂uild third-space communities around students鈥� hobbies, interests, and passions.鈥� There are 鈥渟o many opportunities to get involved with the arts鈥� at this creative college, which means 鈥渓ots of musical performances for free all the time,鈥� and 鈥渢here is always a lunchtime talk or lecture by a visiting alum or lecturer.鈥� There are also 鈥渁 lot of volunteering opportunities and natural resources, like the Arboretum and bike trail.鈥� One student puts it simply: 鈥淔olks here are always busy.鈥�

Oberlin offers abundant opportunities for students to gain experience that may be valuable to future employers. The Career Center, for example, coordinates Winter Term internships in various fields (past sites have included the Smithsonian Institution, Global Green, and Discovery Communications), usually sponsored by Oberlin alumni. Oberlin's recruiting database, ObieOpps, makes the sometimes daunting search for internships and jobs a simple process. The Office of Undergraduate Research provides support for students interested in faculty-mentored research, and OSU has special scholars programs in areas like law, business, and entrepreneurship for undergraduates who wish to hone their skills. To draw upon the experience of Oberlin graduates, students can visit TAPPAN, an online directory with thousands of alumni career profiles. Finally, there are frequent information sessions about anything you might be interested in pursuing after graduation from Google to grad school. Oberlin graduates who visited PayScale.com reported an average starting salary of about $49,400.