La Tica Brava ([info]bluegoddess88) wrote in [info]oberlin,
@ 2006-03-08 22:43:00
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A couple random questions...
1) Does Oberlin have a Mock Trial team?

2) How good is the Psychology department? If I were to decide between, say, Psych and (insert other major related to people and/or books here), what would I want to do? Any particular teachers/classes to get or avoid within the department?

3) When is the best time to come visit between now and the end of the year?

4) If I bring my car, where do I park it?

Thanks!

- Lauren (ED2 class of 2010!)

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[info]talmidi_orha
2006-03-09 03:50 am UTC (link)
1) No, not that I know of, but I'm sure you could get one going and an advisor from the Law & Society professors.

2) It's fairly good from what I understand but notoriously boring and powerpoint-centric. I hated my class with Steve Mayer. Buyer beware.

3) Come during 4:20 or during Drag Ball to get the fuul Oberlin effect.

4) Cars are parked in the gym parking lot at the corner of Woodland and Union Sts. on North Campus.

See you soon?

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[info]bluegoddess88
2006-03-09 04:14 am UTC (link)
When's Drag Ball?

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[info]faeriez
2006-03-09 06:17 pm UTC (link)
Usually the first weekend after spring break, I think?

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[info]kkgal42
2006-03-09 03:55 am UTC (link)
As for number 2, avoid Karen Sutton at all costs. Porterfield is supposed to be good, but hard. I was thinking about being a psych major until I took two classes (100 and Personality Psych) my freshman year. I decided instead to be a Law & Society and Sociology major, and I've loved just about all the classes I've taken for both.

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[info]bluegoddess88
2006-03-09 04:13 am UTC (link)
I'm taking AP Psych this year, and probably going to get a 4 or 5 on the AP (judging by my practice tests and class performance). If I pass out of 100, what upper level class should I take? Research methods seems to be the next logical step?

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[info]bukukuchoo
2006-03-09 07:24 am UTC (link)
If you think that you are interested in Psych, you should also consider the neuroscience major. True, it is more science based, but the department is fabulous and you can tailor the major towards a more behaviorial focus, if that's what you're interested in.

As far as visiting, Oberlin runs a program called All Roads in April when they invite all of the admitted students to come to campus. If you can't make it for drag ball (which is usually the week after spring break), I suggest coming then.

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[info]bluegoddess88
2006-04-02 05:11 pm UTC (link)
Hey, I have another question about Neuroscience now, after seeing the course catalogue...it says something about having to take Bio 118 in order to take intro Neuro classes, unless you are a sophomore. How necessary is it to do that?

As a totally non-science oriented person, would I die in Bio 118?

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[info]bukukuchoo
2006-04-05 12:23 am UTC (link)
I actually ended up testing out of Bio 118, so I'm not entirely sure exactly how difficult it is, although I have heard from friends that it is tough.
As far as how necessary it is to take for intro Neuro, I'd say, it's not absolutely necessary, you can definately get by without it. However, at the beginning of the class, some basic biology as far as cell structure and function and some DNA stuff is covered in a relatively short amount of time, so if you've never had it before, that might be kinda rough, but definately not needed for successful completing of the course.
I don't know much about it, but there's also a lower level neuro class called animal behavior that is supposed to be very good and I don't think it has a heavy science requirement.

Hope that helps!

And if you have a whole lot more questions, feel free to shoot me an email. rebecca dot kreipke at oberlin dot edu.

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[info]getpeached
2006-03-09 04:11 am UTC (link)
There are like, 6 lots on campus where you can park your car. However, you don't have assigned spots so you do have to troll to get a good one if you live, say, in Dascomb.

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[info]bluegoddess88
2006-03-09 04:27 am UTC (link)
I don't mind parking far away from the dorm, as I'll only be driving home on holidays and rare occations. Can my car have a home with a roof? She gets rather fickle in the cold and snow (ie, her doors freeze rendering her utterly useless).

Is it worth having a car just to use to get to and from school? I guess I could take trips to Cleaveland too, if I get the random desire...would I?

Wow, I have a lot of questions.

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[info]bluegoddess88
2006-03-09 04:28 am UTC (link)
I should probably spell Cleveland right if I've going to be living thereish.

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[info]getpeached
2006-03-09 04:39 am UTC (link)
There's nowhere to park with a roof that I know of, which is sad. Ohio winters can be pretty devastating on cars.

I had a car to get to and from school until I wrecked it. It was the best decision ever. Oberlin is ridiculous isolating and that's one of the reasons I transferred. However, having a car made things a million times easier. I'd suggest it, for sure.

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[info]plaidpolkadots
2006-03-09 05:08 am UTC (link)
they just built something on elm street. i don't know whether it's for students or not, but it's covered and the top has solar panels for the environmental building. i think.

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[info]getpeached
2006-03-09 05:10 am UTC (link)
Oohh neat! I don't think there is any student parking back there, though. If there is, that would be amazing.

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(Anonymous)
2006-03-09 07:03 am UTC (link)
No, it's just faculty for the ENVS buildings.

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[info]violety6
2006-03-09 12:45 pm UTC (link)
sometimes people in town rent out garage space for the winter. on the online classified board under "students," sometimes notices pop up come november or so.

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(Anonymous)
2006-03-09 04:40 am UTC (link)
I liked being a psych major. One thing about the department at Oberlin is that it is much more focused on research than clinical practice, which can be good or bad depending on what your interests are. Some of the professors are fantastic and others not so much. I avoided Karen Sutton completely because I had her for part of elementary and was not at all interested in taking an entire class taught by her. Bill Friedman is nice but his lectures are dry. Cindy Frantz, Joy Hanna, and Al Porterfield were my favorites. Research methods is a good step after elementary, especially if you're planning on being a major, because it's a prerequisite for other classes--however, since it's mostly a stats class, some people dislike it. I think it depends on who is teaching and how you feel about stats and computers. I wasn't looking forward to the class but actually enjoyed it. Cognitive was good, I didn't like social or developmental as much as I thought I would.

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[info]erf_
2006-03-09 05:11 am UTC (link)
Seconded about Cindy Frantz--she is amazing.

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(Anonymous)
2006-03-09 05:26 am UTC (link)
I personally don't like the Psych department as much as other departments here, and I think it could be better. The only professors I actually like and can stand in the department are Al Porterfield and Cindy Frantz. Also, instead of Research Methods I, you could take Developmental or Social Psych, if you want to get some semi-required courses out of the way.

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(Anonymous)
2006-03-09 05:28 am UTC (link)
1) One of my friends is trying to start a mock trial team, and hopefully have it up and competing by next year.

4) There are some open parking lots that you can park in. If you want something covered, in October or November, there are usually some posts on the classifieds (which are on the oberlin website) by people in town who have garages that can be rented out for the winter. I think it costs ~$30/month to rent a garage for your car.

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[info]flordecatalunia
2006-03-09 06:02 am UTC (link)
1) Yes, there will be a mock trial team starting next year. There will be opportunities to be a part of this team (you can contact krowland or bklebanof AT oberlin DOT edu, or the sponsoring professor is rkahn AT the same.). Ben has written the charter and a memo describing mock trial, and we're in the editing stages.

OCMTT (Oberlin Colleg Mock Trial Team) is in the process of getting chartered with SFC/Student Senate/etc, but it should be up and running next year. We will not be competing in the American Mock Trial Association's tournament for another year, though, as opposed to what Anonymous poster above has heard. We'll be performing only internally, and perhaps to help raise funds for the program with an alumni audience.

Eventually, Oberlin's Mock Trial team will be part of a program called the Griswold scholars. This will be a program of 12 Oberlin sophomores and juniors who participate in Mock Trial, among other things including high-profile speakers and a stipend to work in an unpaid, law-related internship. Nancy Dye, College President, is in the process of raising funds for this. The program should launch in 2008, your second year here.
Other people will still be able to participate in OCMTT, though we're working on refining the details.

If you want more information on the team, please don't hesistate to contact me. I'm happy to talk with you about other things as well.

3) Not during the last two weeks of March, as those are midterms and spring break, and not late May (finals). Other than that, any time is good.

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[info]dj_polysemy
2006-03-09 03:42 pm UTC (link)
i'm a junior psych major and my experiences in the department have ranged from mildly unpleasant to wonderful. research methods 1 and 2 are required for the major. methods 1 covers basic experimental design and ethics and statistics, and methods 2 is all statistics. if you're not interested in research design and statistics, you won't like the class. i would also second the nod to cindy frantz, who has been my favorite professor at oberlin. steve mayer is great in small seminars but not so good in larger lecture classes (like social psych). al porterfield and joy hanna are also really good professors, and nobody else is particularly awful, although karen sutton has her moments.

for a small school, it's a really big department, with a ton of professors and classes, and it is a fairly small major that will let you do a lot in the way of research (as an assistant to a professor or another student, or doing your own research) if you are interested. i too would recommend anything in the neuroscience department if you are at all interested, because they rock. if you have any other questions about the department, you can email at mlitfin at oberlin dot edu

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[info]chanzi
2006-03-09 07:57 pm UTC (link)
Yep, the research opportunities at Oberlin are great and give you lots of good preparation if you want to continue in the field. The same thing can be said of the stats background Oberlin provides. I'm in grad school for psych now, and you could email me too if you have other questions. cheyenne dot munson at gmail dot com.

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