- You visited campus over the summer. It was beautiful (if a bit windy), but you didn't get to speak to any current students.
- A family friend went to Oberlin and says you have to check it out, but you haven't yet made plans to come to campus.
- A friend from high school is a current Obie and has told you all about the experience, and you want to hear other voices.
- You're not able to visit campus, but talking to an admissions officer whetted your appetite.
- You're applying from overseas and won't be able to make it to campus before submitting your application, and you have tons of questions and want to learn everything ever about Oberlin.
For these and tons of other reasons, we're hosting a series of virtual student panels! Obies are a passionate, gregarious, interesting bunch of students and we want you to learn directly from them what it means to be an Oberlin student.
We hosted three panels last April for admitted students, and they were superb. This year, we wanted to open the conversation about Oberlin earlier, so that you can ask your questions before you submit your applications and get real, immediate perspectives on the Oberlin experience.
So this fall we're hosting four separate virtual panels.
Because we're doing so many, we've decided to address different issues in each one. While all questions are welcome at all panels, each will have a particular theme. Two will have a focus on international students, one will be a general discussion of life at Oberlin, and the final one will be about Oberlin life for students who identify as being part of a minority community. We expect to discuss many topics of general interest during each session as well, and we invite you to watch as many of the panels as you can.
This year's virtual panels, which will be shared and housed on YouTube, will be livestreamed right HERE, on this blog, at the following dates and times:
Saturday, October 4th, 10am EDT (international focus)
Saturday, October 11th, 12pm EDT (international focus)
Wednesday, October 29th, 9:30pm EDT (general focus)
Tuesday, December 9th, 9:30pm EST (minority life focus)
We hope you will be able to join us for one or all of these panels. We will share the link to the panels on the Admissions Facebook page, and we'll be able to respond to your questions either on this blog or on the Facebook feed.
Happy watching!
Our first panel aired at 10AM EDT, October 4th and is archived here:
Many thanks to our panelists, Peter, Mariko, and Weelic!
Over the course of the panel, we discussed:
:45 Introductions and why we chose Oberlin 6:25 Talk about some of the connections you've made with Oberlin professors 14:20 Tell us about the international community at Oberlin and what kind of support exists for international students. 24:10 How did you adjust to life at Oberlin? 33:01 Tell us about your winter term projects. 45:15 Tell us about housing and food on campus. 54:02 Final thoughts: any final advice for your past self about the college process.
Our second panel aired at 12PM EDT, October 11th and is archived here:
Thank you, Josh, Mariko, Simba, Thanisa, and Sue!
Over the course of the panel, we discussed:
:52 Introductions 5:30 Why did you choose to attend Oberlin? What surprised you about Oberlin? 16:35 How did you transition into the Oberlin experience, and who helped you with that transition? 32:37 Describe a unique Oberlin experience you've had. 39:00 ExCos at Oberlin. 40:55 Study abroad. 44:20 OSCA. 49:00 On the helpfulness of Oberlin people. 50:20 Winter term at Oberlin. 51:20 On summer internship experiences. 52:05 What do you wish you'd known as an applicant or first year at Oberlin?
Our third panel aired at 9:30PM EDT, October 29th:
Thank you to Aaron, Alejandro, Alyssa, and Pablo!
Over the course of the panel, we discussed:
:35 Introductions 2:56 Why I chose Oberlin 7:50 The most surprising thing about Oberlin 11:40 What have interactions with your professors like? Who has been on your side and supportive of you so far? 16:00 Non-academic forms of support at Oberlin 20:25 The dynamic nature of Oberlin College and the town of Oberlin. 24:28 ExCos at Oberlin — have you taken or taught them? 29:40 What kind of experiences have you had for winter term and how did you set it up? 35:41 How accessible are research opportunities? Who can do research? When can you start? 39:43 What's an underutilized resource or a secret awesome thing you wish more people knew about at Oberlin? 43:15 Oberlin's a small town. How did you adjust? What do you do on weekends? 49:30 How easy is it to get involved with music if you're not in the conservatory? 54:53 What do you wish you could tell your applying to college/first year self?
Our final panel was held on December 9th at 9:30PM, and focused on minority life at Oberlin.
Many, many thanks to Alejandro, Alex, Chul, Linda, and Tiffany for joining us.
Over the course of the panel, we discussed:
:45 Intros 2:36 Why Oberlin? How did you find Oberlin? 6:53 How do you find community on campus? What spaces have become your homes? 14:35 Can you speak about a strong relationship with a faculty mentor? What has this relationship allowed you to do/achieve on campus? 23:48 What are you planning to do for Winter Term? 29:10 How easy is it to get a job on campus? What sorts of jobs are there? What has been helpful to you in managing your time around jobs and everything else you're doing on campus? 38:19 Are there many international students at Oberlin? Would you say that Oberlin is generally more accepting of minorities? (Shoutout to Julia for asking this question!) 45:58 What have you learned about yourself since beginning at Oberlin? 48:38 How strong is the LGBT community? Is there a presence? (Audience question) 51:42 What is one resource you've found that you wish more Obies were aware of? 55:40 What are some projects/conversations that you've been involved in that you hope to continue and develop outside of Oberlin? (Original audience question was: Do any of the other panelists know what may be on the horizon after Oberlin, which we shifted so that our four panelists who aren't seniors could answer.) 57:45 What advice would you give to senior-year-you going through the college application process?
