The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Prospie Season

Visiting Oberlin 

One of the best pieces of advice I received when I was looking at colleges was to visit the area I wanted to go to school in. Granted, I was looking at schools that were pretty far away so I didn’t get the chance to visit too many, but my visit to Oberlin definitely opened my eyes. I had applied to the Multicultural Visit Program early in my senior year of high school and had been accepted, which meant that Oberlin would be paying for my visit! Coming from Texas, a flight to Ohio, especially for a school I wasn’t yet sure about, was a hard sell to my parents, so the fact that Oberlin paid for everything definitely helped. As a prospective student (or just prospie) I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I felt about possibly going to school for the next four years in Ohio. Late Fall semester and early Spring semester is when most college visits tend to occur, so come early November, I flew out to Cleveland and met many other prospective students from various parts of the country. Though none of these students had committed to Oberlin yet, it was nice to get an idea of the type of students Oberlin attracted and how I would interact with them. As I got to campus I also got to meet my host as well as plenty of other students who were already attending Oberlin. I felt so welcomed as soon as I started to converse with the people who would become my peers and we talked about topics that would break the status quo back home. I knew this was the kind of culture I wanted to be immersed in and it definitely helped me make my decision. 

Attending Oberlin

Fast forward one year, I’ve gone through the admissions process, decided on Oberlin, and now I go to school here! Every few weekends, I see prospies walking with their hosts back to their dorms and I can’t help but feel excited for them. I like getting to know prospies and see what they want to give to the world. If you’re considering Oberlin, it’s for a reason. The college admissions process may seem daunting when you’re in high school, but I’m a true believer that you’ll end up where you’re meant to be, even if it’s not what you expected. If you had asked me a little over a year ago whether I thought I would be attending a small school in Ohio, I probably would’ve said no -- but here I am, and I’m grateful to have made that choice every day. As hard as it may seem sometimes, it’s important to go somewhere where people think differently than you so you can open your eyes and learn to appreciate these differences. 

Come Visit

So, to any prospies reading this, come visit Oberlin and see in action what everyone is writing about. You might be surprised at what you think once you’ve seen this beautiful town in person. If you have absolutely no idea what you’d do in a small town in the Midwest, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

1. Come to Ginko’s and pet some cute kittens!
2. See the Allen Memorial Art Museum
3. Take a walk around Tappan Square
4. If you’re from a hot state like me, enjoy the cold and possibly some snow
5. Try out the different restaurants in town
6. Take a walk to the Arb and take some photos
7. Eat a pastry or drink a chai tea latte from Azariah’s (they’re definitely better than Starbucks)
8. Sit in on a class you’d want to take
9. Go to a concert, they’re always happening
10. Look through some books in every level of Mudd Library

No matter what you choose to do while you’re here, I promise we’ll be glad to have you on our campus.