The secondary school serving local and boarding students continued as a department of the college.

[4][5][6] Public high schools were uncommon at the time; as a result, many colleges found that their incoming students were poorly prepared for academic studies.

[7] Oberlin Institute faced opposition from conservative Whites in Ohio who opposed its admittance of African Americans.

[8] The undergraduate education program continued afterwards as a preparatory school sometimes referred to as "prep".

[9] Sarah Watson, the first African American woman to attend Oberlin, enrolled in the Preparatory Department in 1842.

[13] His daughter, Emily Peck, tutored Latin and Greek at the preparatory department and was an artist who depicted fellow Oberlin alums in sculpture.

[4] In January 1910, the Oberlin Alumni Magazine published an entry on the school, its significance, and the need for continued support of it.