Prospie

Short for "prospective student", these are (usually) high school juniors or seniors who are on the prowl for good colleges to attend. Prospies often stay a night or two with a first-year or sophomore prospie host and sit in on a class to get a basic idea of what Oberlin (and college in general, I suppose) is like.

The Admissions office pays Oberlin students $10 for hosting a prospie for a night. This payment is contingent on you writing them a postcard after their stay and while on campus, giving your prospie a place to sleep, not getting them too high or drunk (disciplinary sanctions could result), and generally not losing them. If you request payment for prospies that you did no more for than point in the direction of your room and inform that you would be back before sunrise they will kindly inform you that your performance was not up to expectations.

Recently, Admissions has decided to not place prospies with hosts living in Harkness unless the prospie specifically requests to stay there because of a few complaints from worried parents, and because on the few occasions a few years ago that the lady in charge of the prospie program visited Harkness, the co-op was in a state of disarray. However, if you don't tell them you live in Harkness they will probably not notice it and let you have the prospie anyway.

Are you a prospie? You might be interested to look through Information and Advice for First-Year Students.