When I first committed to Oberlin, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride. I knew I was fortunate enough to be attending not only one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country, but also a school that had been a pioneer in social justice. As a gay student, Oberlin felt like the perfect place for me to openly be myself around everyone I met for the first time in my life. I knew that I could do anything I set my mind to at Oberlin and that I would leave college a smarter and better person than I was before I started college.
Most of those thoughts proved to be true. Oberlin is a safe haven for queer people in the Midwest and helped me flourish in my identity. I’m a part of multiple groups on campus: I’m a studdent-athlete and my team’s representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, I’m the Sports Editor at the Review, and I’m a co-chair of Oberlin’s Queer Student Athlete Group. Oberlin has provided me the space to grow and develop as a person while taking advantage of numerous opportunities and possibilities, both in and outside of athletics.
No matter how great my Oberlin experience has been thus far, I have always questioned if I made the right choice. I applied early decision to Oberlin, so I didn’t have the option to apply anywhere else. I’ve wondered if I could’ve gotten into an even more prestigious school and if that school would have helped me and my career more than Oberlin. In the same vein, I’ve wondered if my experience itself would be better outside of Oberlin, too.
National college rankings have occasionally made me feel better about my choice since Oberlin is consistently in the top 40 on different lists. However, U.S. News and World Report recently released their 2024 rankings for their National Liberal Arts Colleges category, and Oberlin’s ranking fell dramatically. Last year, Oberlin was ranked #39; this year, it dropped all the way down to #51, the same ranking as Centre College, Principia College, St. Olaf College, and the University of the South. When I first saw the new ranking, my heart sank and my anxiety skyrocketed. When I committed to Oberlin in 2021, I was content with its ranking and hoped that it would continue to rise. Oberlin has a longstanding reputation of being a top liberal arts college, and I really thought that Oberlin could rise up into the top 25 of colleges before I graduated. Seeing it go in the opposite direction was incredibly disheartening and made me question if I made the right choice.
President Carmen Twillie Ambar released a statement on the updated U.S. News rankings to calm the anxious feelings Obies and prospective students were feeling after the rankings came out. She was right when she said the main reason that Oberlin fell 12 spots in the rankings was a widespread shift in the rankings’ methodology. The new system places a greater emphasis on how much money graduates make after college, which instantly harms Oberlin’s ranking due to our world-class Conservatory. Conservatory students are arguably the most talented and hard-working students on our campus but are going into a field that is incredibly challenging to make a living out of, even at the highest level. Their skills and expertise become a drawback in the new system, which is disrespectful to their abilities and discredits one of Oberlin’s best attributes.
Also, even if the new rankings were completely perfect, Oberlin’s ranking isn’t everything; its legacy and continued excellence are far more important. As an Oberlin student, I’ve grown accustomed to telling people I meet that I go to Oberlin and getting a response along the lines of, “Wow, that’s such a great school. Your parents must be so proud.” And honestly, they’re not wrong. Despite its issues, Oberlin is still a prestigious institution. It remains one of the best liberal arts schools in the Midwest and is an ideal spot for students like me who are searching for a high-level liberal arts education outside of the East Coast.
But in all honesty, the rankings do make me question how proud I am of my school. Knowing that thousands and thousands of students are attending better institutions is an incredibly uncomfortable thought. As someone who strives to excel at everything I do, the new rankings had me wondering if Oberlin is the right school for me and my career. Does a degree from Oberlin carry the weight that it did 10, 20, 30 years ago? Or will I be starting off my professional career on the wrong foot because I didn’t go to a better school.
These are scary questions to be asking, and the answer is yes, a degree from an Ivy League school would carry more weight than one from Oberlin. But I would also be nowhere near as happy at an Ivy League school as I am here. Oberlin’s small environment can feel suffocating at times, but it’s helped me to make countless good friends and know a friendly face in every environment I am in. I would never have met and formed a lifelong connection with my three best friends anywhere else, and I genuinely cannot imagine my life without them now. I wouldn’t be on a college tennis team in an Ivy League. As a second-year, I likely wouldn’t be able to be the sports editor at an established, reputable school newspaper that is celebrating its 150-year anniversary this school year. I wouldn’t be in small classes that promote discussion among all students and help create bonds with professors. I wouldn’t be able to be a part of an organization that focuses on creating space and opportunities for queer athletes.
My happiness, well-being, and quality of life is better at Oberlin than it would be at nearly any other school in the country, and for me, that means much more than any ranking.
