Oberlin College and Conservatory | Campus, rankings, and more

Oberlin College and Conservatory | An institute with infinite possibilities

The college-conservatory synergy at Oberlin College and Conservatory believes in deep connections between intellectual and artistic exploration, theory and practice, creative freedom, and professional discipline. Oberlin is a place for those looking for a rigorous education with integrity and purpose. The main objective for the design of its study programs is to make a global impact.

With its longstanding commitment to access, diversity, and inclusion, Oberlin is the ideal laboratory for studying and designing the world you want. Students always feel like they belong here, and that the university accepts them exactly as they are. Oberlin is a place where individual flourishing is a collaborative effort.

Oberlin College and Conservatory | A brief overview

Established in 1833, Oberlin College and Conservatory is a private college that has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,942 students (fall 2021). Set in a suburb, Oberlin has a campus the size of 440 acres. It follows a 4-1-4 academic calendar. Oberlin College and Conservatory has the #39th rank in National Liberal Arts Colleges in the ‘Best Colleges 2022-2023’ edition. Its tuition and fees are $61,965.

Oberlin College and Conservatory is located 35 miles southwest of Cleveland in Oberlin, Ohio. The Student Senate, Oberlin Film Series, and Swing Dance are among the 150 or so student organizations. Athletics also play an important role in student life, with Oberlin fielding more than 20 NCAA Division III athletic teams known as the Yeomen. Bowling, 4-on-4 basketball, frisbee, and cycling are examples of intramural sports. All students must live in College housing or an Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA). OSCA, Oberlin’s largest student organization, provides an alternative to the College’s housing and dining facilities.

The College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music comprises Oberlin College and Conservatory, which offers Bachelor of Music degrees and a number of master’s programs and is one of the best undergraduate music schools in the country. Students can pursue a specific topic through an individual or group project during the four-week winter term in January. Oberlin’s previous projects include traveling to India to study Gandhi and an intensive group course on electronic music. Oberlin also has the Experimental College, which offers for-credit courses taught by students, administrators, town people, and faculty on nontraditional subjects such as rock climbing fundamentals or community organizing. Through the Art Rental program, students can rent up to two works of art by Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec for a semester for $5 each.

Campus

Oberlin is a high-energy, creative environment built on academic, artistic, and musical excellence. It is a top-ranked liberal arts college, a world-class conservatory, and a first-rate art museum all on a single campus. The 440-acre campus of Oberlin lies in the southwest direction of Cleveland, Ohio. Oberlin is a prestigious liberal arts college that offers the bachelor of arts degrees, a world-class conservatory that offers preprofessional music training leading to a bachelor of music degree, and an internationally acclaimed academic art museum.

The rare presence of such powerful educational assets on one campus provides students with a wealth of opportunities to immerse themselves in an effective learning experience in an environment infused with intellectual and creative energy.

The conservatory has exceptional facilities, including nine concert halls, 150 practice rooms, over 240 Steinway pianos, and an incredible 32 practice and performance organs. Students have access to significant instrument collections, seven electronic music studios, and one of the nation’s top conservatory libraries, which includes Special Collections, which are prized by music researchers worldwide and play an important role in teaching and learning at Oberlin.

Courses

The graduates leave Oberlin as innovative, interdisciplinary thinkers, engaged citizens of their communities and countries, and leaders in their chosen fields of endeavor. Its graduates work in a variety of fields, including education, health care, law, business and management, fine and performing arts, writing, government, and public service, and many continue to work for social justice throughout their lives.

Study areas that Oberlin teaches-

• Africana studies
• Anthropology
• Archaeological studies
• Art history
• Arts administration and leadership
• Astronomy
• Biochemistry
• Biology
• Book studies
• Business
• Chemistry
• Cinema studies
• Classics
• Cognitive sciences
• Comparative American studies
• Comparative literature
• Computer science
• Creative writing
• Dance
• Data science
• East Asian studies
• Economics
• Education studies
• Engineering
• English
• Environmental studies
• French and Italian
• Gender, sexuality, and feminist studies
• Geosciences
• German language and literature
• Global health
• Hispanic studies
• History
• International affairs
• Jewish studies
• Journalism
• Latin American studies
• Law and society
• Linguistics
• Literary translation
• Mathematics
• Middle East and North Africa studies
• Musical pathways
• Musical studies
• Neuroscience
• Peace and conflict studies
• Philosophy
• Physics
• Politics
• Pre-law
• Pre-medical
• Psychology
• Public humanities
• Religion
• Russian and east European studies
• Russian language, literature, and culture
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Statistical modeling
• Studio art
• Theater
• Writing and communication

Rankings

• National Liberal Arts Colleges- 39
• Best Undergraduate Teaching- 41
• Best Value Schools- 78

Alumni

Notable alumni-

Nobel laureate-

• Joshua Angrist, Nobel laureate, shared with David Card and Guido W. Imbens won the Nobel ‘for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships.’
• Stanley Cohen, Nobel (Physiology and Medicine, 1986), won the Nobel for ‘discoveries of growth factors.’
• Robert Millikan, a Nobel laureate, won the Nobel ‘for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect.’
• Roger Wolcott Sperry, a neurobiologist who studied split-brain research and Nobel laureate, won the Nobel for his discoveries concerning the functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres’

Award winners-

• Montana Levi Blanco, costume designer, recipient of a Tony Award for The Skin of Our Teeth 
• Mark Boal, screenwriter, recipient of two Academy Awards Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for The Hurt Locker.
• James Burrows, the producer, and creator of Cheers and Emmy award-winning director of Will & Grace, Wings, News Radio.
• Francois S. Clemmons, sang the role of Sportin’ Life in Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess, recipient of a company Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
• Marc Cohn, singer-songwriter, recipient of a Grammy Award (1991, Best New Artist).
• Lena Dunham, recipient of the 2013 Golden Globe Awards for Best TV Series – Music or Comedy, and Best Actress in a TV Series, the HBO series Girls.

Key takeaways

• Established in 1833, Oberlin College and Conservatory is a private educational institute with a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,942 students in the fall of 2021. Set in a suburb and its campus size is 440 acres. 
• Oberlin is a high-ranking liberal arts college, a world-class conservatory, and a first-rate art museum all on one single campus. Its 440-acre campus lies in the southwest direction of Cleveland, Ohio. 
• Oberlin’s graduates work in various fields, including education, health care, law, business and management, fine and performing arts, writing, government, public service, and so on.

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FAQs

Q1. Is it difficult to get accepted into Oberlin College and Conservatory?

Ans- The selection process of Oberlin College and Conservatory is average, with a 34% acceptance rate. Half of the applicants admitted to Oberlin College and Conservatory have SAT scores ranging from 1338 to 1460 or ACT scores ranging from 30 to 34.

Q2. What is the GPA requirement for getting admission to Oberlin?

Ans- Oberlin’s average GPA is 3.57. Hence, Oberlin is highly competitive in terms of GPA.

Q3. Does Oberlin College offer full-ride scholarships to international students?

Ans- To meet all the financial needs of students, Oberlin offers grants, scholarships, loans, and on-campus employment to international students.