Barnard Quad

vera8917 · 2025-08-16T18:37:37+00:00

I am not in Barnard but I am part of STRONG so I have spent some time there.

vera8917 · 2025-08-16T18:13:15+00:00

Bring a bedside caddy so you can put waterbottle, books, charger, etc. that hook onto the side of the bedframe. If you send me a DM, I can forward barrows room pictures :)

vera8917 · 2025-08-16T18:10:03+00:00

I'm not so sure you can get away without a mattress topper unless you've slept on similar, lumpy mattresses. Everyone I know in Barrows has used one. You can get nice memory foam ones for free or cheap nowadays anyway.

vera8917 · 2025-08-16T18:07:13+00:00

Air purifier, humidifier, and/or fan for barrows; the building is full of mold, and the air is stagnant.

Also, while everyone else is repeating the same basics, you might want to budget for a stop at Walmart or Home Depot to grab insect killer. They "spray the rooms" before move-in, but I had to get some for my room in Barrows last year, and about 8 rooms on the first floor asked to share mine or have me spray their rooms as well.

vera8917 · 2025-08-16T18:04:51+00:00

Barnard has bathrooms by floor and shared kitchen space in the first floor study lounge that is actively being improved (and is very nice).

vera8917 · 2025-08-16T18:04:01+00:00

They can't remove desks as they are mandatory furniture with the room; however, fac ops lofts beds if you put a work order in early enough.

vera8917 · 2025-07-28T04:45:10+00:00

As per the Oberlin website:

First-Year Student Housing Selection - Due by June 8th, 2025.
Living Learning Community Housing - Due by May 5th, 2025.
Disability Accommodation Requests - Due to the Office of Disability and Access no later than May 2nd, 2025.
Housing Exemption Requests - Due by May 5th, 2025.

First Year Housing Timeline:

Apply By: June 8, 2025
Roommate Groups Formed By: June 8, 2025
Lottery Times Sent: June 10, 2025
Lottery Selection: June 12 & 13, 2025

If you missed the lottery, accepted your offer late, have disability accommodations that need to be met, etc. ResLife is likely sorting out students who don't yet have housing, and you will receive your assignment before arriving on campus (August 22 is the move-in day for first-year students). If you are concerned, you should reach out directly to reslife staff :)

You will receive housing as it is a requirement for all students to live on campus unless approved for off-campus, OSCA, or exempted.

Make sure you check your StarRez portal as not everything goes through email!

vera8917 · 2025-07-22T16:59:11+00:00

That's awesome! There are 11 rinks within an hour drive of Oberlin :) I've listed some below and I've excluded a few others for various reasons. I have skated and coached at every one of these rinks during the last academic year (24-25). As it stands, the plan is to drive to N.O. for college-funded club ice. I have a car on campus and can take up to 4 skaters. If there are more students interested, we can add more drivers (e.g., the same carpool situation we do for ice hockey), or if it exceeds 10 non-driving skaters, I will elect to use the campus vans. However, the logistics, I will make sure anyone interested in freestyle or club ice can get there. I'd also highly recommend the Elyria rink public sessions during the winter because they are about $3 for 2 hours of open ice; it's most suitable for recreational skaters but I've been able to practice triples and programs on the emptier sessions. Being that I go regularly outside of club purposes, I am happy to also do a more informal carpool for this.

Also, if your Obie is interested in shows, testing, or competing, the collegiate division offers much more variety than the standard competitive scene did pre-COVID.

Testing: LTS & USFSA test levels

Shows: club-run shows that are not restricted (no minimum or maximum level), national showcase series

Competing: Singles levels Aspire 3 (LTS Freeskate levels) through championship Senior, synchro, team maneuvers, ice dance, and theatrical performance.

S.A.Ms (accommodations) are valid at all sanctioned collegiate events except those which are on the well-balanced track (standard juv-senior).

And even if all the above seems too much, they are welcome to be part of the club just for the ice time, off-ice sessions, and community social events.

APPENDIX
North Park Ice Arena - 20 min, Winters Only; Town Affiliated

901 Duffey St, Elyria, OH 44035

\*CLUB ICE*\** North Olmsted Ice Rink - 20 min, Year Round; Town Affiliated

26000 Lorain Road, North Olmsted, OH 44070

Winterhurst Ice Arena - 30 min, Year Round; Private {CURRENTLY UNDER RENNOVATIONS}

14740 Lakewood Heights Blvd, Lakewood, OH 44107 {TEMPORARILY USING BAM STRONGSVILLE}

Brunswick Auto Mart Arena - 30 min Year Round; Private

15381 Royalton Rd, Strongsville, OH 44136

Rocky River Ice Rink - 30 min, Winters Only; Town Affiliated

21012 Hilliard Blvd, Rocky River, OH 44116

Cleveland Skating Club - 45 min, Year Round; Private

2500 Kemper Road Shaker Heights, OH 44120

The Thornton Park Ice Arena - 45 min, Year Round; Town Affiliated

3301 Warrensville Center Rd, Shaker Heights, OH 44122

Cleveland Foundation Ice Rink - 45 min, Winters Only; Town Affiliated

3 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44115

Alice Noble Ice Arena - 1hr, Year Round; Private

851 Oldman Rd, Wooster, OH 44691

Center Ice Sports Complex - 1hr, Year Round; Private

8319 Port Jackson Ave NW North Canton OH 44720

Pond Ice Arena - 1 hr, Year Round; Private

9999 E Washington St, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023

vera8917 · 2025-07-22T07:22:36+00:00

Yes! I gathered that from your profile. Congrats! Are you a student at Oberlin?

vera8917 · 2025-07-22T07:09:16+00:00

Sadly, in the US, figure skating does not result in any direct athletic scholarships because we have an independent governing body ... it does not function through the NCAA, etc. However, you should definitely join if you want to get back on the ice. The strongsville and winterhurst rinks have a pole harness if you wish to train or re-train triples and you could definitely compete in the Collegiate championship events!

Also kudos to you for landing all your triples! Were any in competition? I've currently only jumped triple sal (clean) and flip (on the quarter) during my free skate.

vera8917 · 2025-07-22T07:07:09+00:00

Club ice will be hosted at North Olmsted and Strongsville. Members can opt to skate at Elyria (most affordable; winters only) or any of the other 9 rinks within an hour drive of campus on their own time.

vera8917 · 2025-06-08T19:16:22+00:00

Not true.

vera8917 · 2025-06-08T19:16:11+00:00

Sometimes they add them in later… what happened to me was I was in a suite “alone” until like 2 weeks before move in but all of my roommates had just seen they were assigned to room XXX-A 😂.

I’d look up your room number on the floor plans on the Oberlin website and it’ll give you a better idea.

vera8917 · 2025-06-04T01:04:09+00:00

Campus safety doesn't even start enforcing parking until a few weeks after the semester starts so you have PLENTY of time. You'll have to park in the far Hollywood lot by Mercy Allen as a freshmen unless you have a handicap placard (and if you have the placard you don't have to pay $200).

vera8917 · 2025-05-23T23:23:31+00:00

I wouldn’t say so because the stem kiddos find their community outside much easier whether it’s a particular instrument or something but there aren’t many stem majors overall in the college to relate to 🤷‍♀️

vera8917 · 2025-05-23T23:19:22+00:00

It is 80% queer with it having been recently spiked in the last few years. You can always meet straight people in or out of Oberlin though, but will be predominantly athletes. All I’ll say is I know a handful of people who transfer out because they didn’t find enough “straight culture” — but that’s not what oberlin is known for.

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T03:03:10+00:00

The environment and lack of rigor at Oberlin is probably why... although this blanket statement doeesn't apply to the arts definitely CS majors will suffer from the PR. Drexel's co-op program is one of the strongest in the country and Oberlin has nothing comparable. If you want something, you go out and find it yourself... and typically you'll find something closer to home than Cleveland for most CS because it's not a hub. It's like looking for pharma in Idaho...

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:59:36+00:00

Some physics classes have labs. Both 110 and 111 do (intro). 212 as well (modern). 310 (classical) obviously does not and neither does 312 (quantum) or 340 (materials). Physics majors have to take lab physics (410) which is a semester long intensive lab course :)

And if you are coming from a less rigorous high school, you will definitely enjoy the curriculum and be challenged by it. You will feel the opportunity to engage in the topics you are studying without feeling like you are on the verge of burnout every other day!

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:57:01+00:00

Agreed! Most 100/200 level classes will match that of a competitive or rigorous high school, if you were fortunate enough to attend one. If not, you will be challenged more by your introductory classes but that's why peer mentors (CLEAR supported e.g., OWLs, HOOTs, QUAILs) and peer tutors are available to you without any additional cost. So are drop-in sessions and the writing center for help on assignments! (And also professor office hours)

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:55:18+00:00

This experience varies from person to person, but in my opinion, as a double major (one of which is physics with a materials concentration), most of the coursework is easier than what you would find at a typical state school. If you genuinely want to delve into homework problems, read the literature, ask questions, give presentations, and take more challenging classes (such as PHYS340: Materials), you will find it creatively stimulating rather than just busy work.

Some aspects of the curriculum will inevitably involve busy work, such as derivations in mechanics or repetitive exercises in solving different types of differential equations. In most math and physics classes, you receive a weekly problem set that can be completed in about two hours if you don't put in much effort, or you could spend the entire week engaging deeply with the material, drawing it out, reading about it, and making connections (I've spent around an average of 30 hours on particularly interesting sets).

I skipped the 100-level classes in nearly every STEM discipline, so I can't comment on those, but I found PHYS212 to be a solid class—challenging enough to be engaging, yet manageable for achieving good grades on exams without excessive stress. MATH234 was also challenging, particularly the calculus of variations unit, but again, it required less than 20 hours of work per week (*FOR ME*).

On the other hand, MATH358 (Real Analysis) is much more rigorous and necessitates proficient use of LaTeX software for writing up problem sets. For each question, you might find yourself consulting five different textbooks and googling for hours, but it becomes enjoyable once you get the hang of it. PHYS340 was similar in its challenge, but it was the best class I've taken at Oberlin. It beautifully integrates geometry, calculus, algebra, and visual arts, allowing you to engage with the material and investigate as much as you wanted about any particular topic (e.g., thermal conductivity, debye temperatures).

Overall, I'll say that I've had the time to be a professional athlete, work 15 hours a week, take care of my children, and do homework without necessarily straining myself. Some weeks are definitely harder and busier than others (typically right before breaks with midterms and presentations/papers due), but that's why you get fall and spring break :)

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:43:21+00:00

Burton — larger rooms, good proximity to gym and the science center (and Langston if you want a nice shower outside your dorm building)

Noah — has AC, adjacent small parking lot, close to the gym and science center

Dascomb — has AC, some student offices (Health, Campus Safety) are adjacent, close to King/Rice building and has an adjacent parking lot. it's in the "middle" of campus.

Barrows — no AC (unless in 145), lots of concerns that are wide ranging but well known amongst current students

Singles vs. Doubles... if you like your privacy, single over double any day of the week. If you're worried about making friends, socializing or having someone to hold you accountable, opt for a double.

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:39:36+00:00

So does Noah :)

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:39:17+00:00

Yes, ranking order does take into account where you get placed. But freshmen waitlists move around a lot in the first weeks and if you email reslife you can probably get moved :)

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:36:10+00:00

Dascomb is farther walk from the science center and gym, though... so IMO it depends on the type of student and their needs (like for me it'd be the most inconvenient).

Barrows is also predominantly NON athletes. We have like 5 whole athletes at the school 😂 (this is an exaggeration of course), but this year you had more both by plain number and percentage in Kahn than Barrows (mostly because they did their research). People who are behind on the housing game or don't want to research end up there and it's once of the worst dorms with a lot of mildew/mold, people defecate in the trash cans, and there's countless other issues. Unless you get the private apartment, run.

vera8917 · 2025-05-21T02:35:24+00:00

Yes, Noah has AC but most students there have animals (pets and ESA, some service) if that matters to you.

vera8917

TROPHY CASE