oberlin college premed

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:help:Oberlin college for premed? Anyone know anything about it?
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I don't know why in the hell anyone would spend 50k/year on an undergrad degree, especially if they're considering another 200k for four years of medical school.
 
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It may not be cheap, but from what I hear it is a very, very good school. Most in Ohio think highly of it. Not sure about what the perception is on a national level.
 
If you want to live with weird, gross hippies, and be completely broke after you graduate, then by all means, go to Oberlin
 
DrHart said:
It may not be cheap, but from what I hear it is a very, very good school. Most in Ohio think highly of it. Not sure about what the perception is on a national level.
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I'm an Illinoisian, so not too far away from Ohio, but it has an excellent reputation around here. Thus, I would assume it does on a national level.
 
I went to a small liberal arts college for undergrad. I feel Oberlin is probably very similar to my school. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone to a state school.

Research opportunities are minimal and competitive to obtain, volunteer positions are the same. Plus, you will be stuck with the same hippy "premeds" in every class, and if you don't like them there is no way to avoid them. At a state school there is much better access to research and volunteering, and you are able to isolate yourself from the other annoying premeds if you want to. The only disadvantage of a state school is you will have to really try to get to know a few professors in order to obtain decent LOR's, but it's not all that much easier to do at a small school imo. Plus, as people have already mentioned, there's no reason to dump 50k a year into an undergrad education when you are planning to go to medical school later.
 
FindMeOnTheLinks said:
I went to a small liberal arts college for undergrad. I feel Oberlin is probably very similar to my school. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone to a state school.

Research opportunities are minimal and competitive to obtain, volunteer positions are the same. Plus, you will be stuck with the same hippy "premeds" in every class, and if you don't like them there is no way to avoid them. At a state school there is much better access to research and volunteering, and you are able to isolate yourself from the other annoying premeds if you want to. The only disadvantage of a state school is you will have to really try to get to know a few professors in order to obtain decent LOR's, but it's not all that much easier to do at a small school imo. Plus, as people have already mentioned, there's no reason to dump 50k a year into an undergrad education when you are planning to go to medical school later.
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Especially in a state like Ohio where you have a handful of medical schools at their state public schools or near by: Ohio State, Cinninati, UToledo, Wright State, Ohio University, Bowling Green (20 minutes from UToledo)
 
DrHart said:
I'll add this just as a spot of support - although I am biased being an Ohioan and a Buckeye >;P

OSU med school class entering in 2014 - undergrad institutions:
Oberlin: 1 student
Ohio State: 48 students
source: http://medicine.osu.edu/pdfs/admissions/Entering Class Profile.pdf

That isn't to say that you can't do it. And obviously other medical schools may value a liberal arts education (more so than a big state school education). But if your hopes are to apply to state medical schools... I mean... the numbers don't lie
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Likewise 🙂
 
GroverPsychMD said:
Cost for this person is not a problem.
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Still wouldn't go for the other reasons mentioned: access to research opportunities, volunteer opportunities, possible medical center on campus at other schools, and quite frankly there's a lot more to do (ie. have fun) at a bigger university.
 
It is a small school that prides itself on being "liberal arts". It is more renowned for it's music department than anything else. I think it isn't really greatest choice in the area for preparation for premed, OSU would be a better choice due to the medical school right there. Volunteering and research would be easier to find at OSU. It is limited in the sciences, it would be difficult to get involved in substantial research I believe. I believe it is outrageously expensive for what it is, you can get as good if not better education at OSU or Capital. Case up north would probably provide a much better liberal arts degree.
 
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DrHart said:
I'll add this just as a spot of support - although I am biased being an Ohioan and a Buckeye >;P

OSU med school class entering in 2014 - undergrad institutions:
Oberlin: 1 student
Ohio State: 48 students
source: http://medicine.osu.edu/pdfs/admissions/Entering Class Profile.pdf

That isn't to say that you can't do it. And obviously other medical schools may value a liberal arts education (more so than a big state school education). But if your hopes are to apply to state medical schools... I mean... the numbers don't lie
Click to expand...
Eh, I wouldn't really hang my hat on this. There are probably more premeds in the freshman class at OSU than the entire student body at Oberlin three times over.

It is much easier to get involved with research and volunteering as an undergrad given the hospital is right there.
 
My friends at state school have to fight to get summer research jobs. My small LAC gives me free room and board in the summer and pays me a stipend. I never have to compete with graduate students for work and I began doing things in my major and minor departments as a freshman. Also, my financial aid was better at my college than at my state school and my premed advisor gives me the same or better advice than I have received on SDN. Oberlin is a great school, though they don't seem to produce a ton of doctors, but they do produce a ton of PhDs.
Volunteering may be easier too since you don't have dozens of premeds fighting for clinical spots.
 
tiedyeddog said:
Eh, I wouldn't really hang my hat on this. There are probably more premeds in the freshman class at OSU than the entire student body at Oberlin three times over.

It is much easier to get involved with research and volunteering as an undergrad given the hospital is right there.
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You're right. I suppose this shows how bad my bias is towards OSU >.< Although it is also possible that the reason there are more matriculating students from OSU undergrad is the fact that such a plethora of opportunities are available to those students, leading to a more attractive application. (Obviously just speculation but possible nonetheless)

Case Western took 3 kids from Oberlin and 7 from OSU in 2014 <- in terms of proportion, I would be willing to bet Oberlin students were favored more
Cincy took 19 kids from OSU in 2013, only 4 from Case. <- interestingly, more OSU students (19) than Cincy students (16)
I suppose my point was that state med schools seem to take a good number of kids from similar state schools. And for the OP: some med schools pick more from a certain litter (regardless of what that reason is). If that would play into choosing an undergrad college, so be it. If not, cool brobeans.
 
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First, comparing Oberlin to OSU in terms of admission to Ohio medical schools has a major flaw: Oberlin is a well-regarded "elite" private school while OSU is a state school. OSU is mostly filled with Ohio residents and thus OSU students will most likely apply to and be favored by Ohio med schools while Oberlin is filled with competitive students from all over the country. Only 9% of Oberlin students are in-state so it's not surprising that they don't feed too many students into Ohio schools (http://new.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/at-a-glance.dot).

Second, I went to a private liberal arts school for undergrad and although tuition was astronomical, my financial aid package was unreal making the private school much cheaper than my state schools. You can't just look at the price of tuition and assume that's what you're going to pay.

The perks of a well-regarded LAC (at least from my experience):
- Super small class sizes even in really popular classes like the prerequisites. This makes forming relationships with professors extremely easy and gives you many options when seeking recommendations.
- No competition for research opportunities with grad students. At my school professors were required to publish every year so they are all very motivated to get students involved in research.
- Highly motivated student body. Almost everyone is a good student making classes really collaborative.
 
GroverPsychMD said:
:help:Oberlin college for premed? Anyone know anything about it?
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I live very close to Oberlin, it's a very liberal area and the schooling is expensive but it is universally respected. I know someone that goes there that interviewed at 3 top 15 med schools this year.
 
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CharmanderMD said:
First, comparing Oberlin to OSU in terms of admission to Ohio medical schools has a major flaw: Oberlin is a well-regarded "elite" private school while OSU is a state school. OSU is mostly filled with Ohio residents and thus OSU students will most likely apply to and be favored by Ohio med schools while Oberlin is filled with competitive students from all over the country. Only 9% of Oberlin students are in-state so it's not surprising that they don't feed too many students into Ohio schools (http://new.oberlin.edu/arts-and-sciences/at-a-glance.dot).

Second, I went to a private liberal arts school for undergrad and although tuition was astronomical, my financial aid package was unreal making the private school much cheaper than my state schools. You can't just look at the price of tuition and assume that's what you're going to pay.

The perks of a well-regarded LAC (at least from my experience):
- Super small class sizes even in really popular classes like the prerequisites. This makes forming relationships with professors extremely easy and gives you many options when seeking recommendations.
- No competition for research opportunities with grad students. At my school professors were required to publish every year so they are all very motivated to get students involved in research.
- Highly motivated student body. Almost everyone is a good student making classes really collaborative.
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Don't want to turn this into a private vs state debate but I also went to a LAC and with financial aid had a cost of attendance comparable to a state school with all the benefits of a private school. Don't rule anything out yet until you see what the school can offer you.
 
Eppur Si Muove said:
I live very close to Oberlin, it's a very liberal area and the schooling is expensive but it is universally respected. I know someone that goes there that interviewed at 3 top 15 med schools this year.
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I also live very close to Oberlin and know three people who failed out of premed while attending. You can find successful applicants at any school.
 
Oberlin is a good school with a national reputation. Somebody who was a successful student there wouldn't have any trouble getting into medical school.
 
Flashfan said:
My friends at state school have to fight to get summer research jobs. My small LAC gives me free room and board in the summer and pays me a stipend. I never have to compete with graduate students for work and I began doing things in my major and minor departments as a freshman. Also, my financial aid was better at my college than at my state school and my premed advisor gives me the same or better advice than I have received on SDN. Oberlin is a great school, though they don't seem to produce a ton of doctors, but they do produce a ton of PhDs.
Volunteering may be easier too since you don't have dozens of premeds fighting for clinical spots.
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+1 to this experience at my small LAC. But I also chose it partially because it was cheaper than a state school after fin aid for me. I saw a couple Oberlin grads on the interview trail this year at top 25 schools.
 
DrHart said:
I'll add this just as a spot of support - although I am biased being an Ohioan and a Buckeye >;P

OSU med school class entering in 2014 - undergrad institutions:
Oberlin: 1 student
Ohio State: 48 students
source: http://medicine.osu.edu/pdfs/admissions/Entering Class Profile.pdf

That isn't to say that you can't do it. And obviously other medical schools may value a liberal arts education (more so than a big state school education). But if your hopes are to apply to state medical schools... I mean... the numbers don't lie
Click to expand...

If your grasp of how to interpret numbers is that poor, perhaps a liberal arts education would do you some good.
 
WingedOx said:
If your grasp of how to interpret numbers is that poor, perhaps a liberal arts education would do you some good.
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Flame on brobeans. If you read the thread you'd have seen I admitted that interpretation was poor.
Being a resident trolling premed SDN forums? Sounds like a life would do you some good.
 
DrHart said:
Flame on brobeans. If you read the thread you'd have seen I admitted that interpretation was poor.
Being a resident trolling premed SDN forums? Sounds like a life would do you some good.
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Meh, I get to snark on OSU enough in my family. They get to brag about football and I get to mock them for having Maurice Clarett as a representative example of the typical OSU student. Don't even get me started on the ones who went SEC.

As for the @GroverPsychMD point, Oberlin is a good school, and I work with graduates from there... they have a rather distinct personality to put it mildly. They all had good access to undergraduate research either on campus or connections at larger schools nearby and absolutely raved about the teaching.

Though FWIW, if an interested student has the chops to get into Oberlin, they can probably command really good scholarship offers from the other very good LACs in the Midwest that would make undergrad significantly cheaper than attending OSU, some of which have absolutely stacked science programs.... without the many unshaved armpits you're going to see at Oberlin.
 
Since the OP is from Illinois it makes even more sense to go to Oberlin. U of I is expensive and often difficult to navigate. Oberlin attracts a certain free-spirit type, but maybe that also fits the OP for now.
 
Visited a friend there while in Ohio !

She was premed. School has a very unique perspective, reminds me of New College in Sarasota, FL.

During winter break they offer unique 2 week classes, like canning vegetables and other stuff - very uncanny place. Some of the people were living on zero carbon emission, a major goal of some of the people I got to interact with. People came from all over it seemed. However, it is smaller than a state school and lots of people were familiar. Typical stroll down the street had you greeting all your residents. She loved it so far into junior year and ended up matriculating to a state medical school (not Ohio), but she loved and valued her experience. I think if money is not an option, I would say yes do it. I would have went if given a chance. Left me with an impression of “I wish my school had that”.

I think it’s also well known for people who play instruments, or has a strong musical program, if that helps any. Surrounding area has opportunity to serve the underprivileged. Area around school seemed to me to be isolated, drive up was great.

The residents also look highly upon it. Was visiting a native family member who has lived there for 50 years of her life and she had nothing but high regard for the school (went on an excursion to see my friend while there)

Plus, I cant think of any better way to relax and derail stress during the weekend than Cedar Point :horns:
 
WingedOx said:
Meh, I get to snark on OSU enough in my family. They get to brag about football and I get to mock them for having Maurice Clarett as a representative example of the typical OSU student. Don't even get me started on the ones who went SEC.

As for the @GroverPsychMD point, Oberlin is a good school, and I work with graduates from there... they have a rather distinct personality to put it mildly. They all had good access to undergraduate research either on campus or connections at larger schools nearby and absolutely raved about the teaching.

Though FWIW, if an interested student has the chops to get into Oberlin, they can probably command really good scholarship offers from the other very good LACs in the Midwest that would make undergrad significantly cheaper than attending OSU, some of which have absolutely stacked science programs.... without the many unshaved armpits you're going to see at Oberlin.
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LOLOL Hate us cause you ain't us...

Satire5Texul said:
Plus, I cant think of any better way to relax and derail stress during the weekend than Cedar Point :horns:
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I know i'm part of the minority, but Cedar Point = :vomit::vomit::vomit:
 
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