To not acknowledge the significant challenges oberlin faces is idiotic if you’re evaluating college options. Just do a cursory search and you’ll find lawsuits, budgetary shortfalls, administration misadventures, student hysteria.....not isolated incidents. If that’s the environment you seek then by all means apply but go in with open eyes and don’t listen to some random alums in denial.

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Anonymous wrote:Oberlin average test scores for admitted freshmen appear to be in decline, at least per the CDS they report. Admit rates also going up. Make of that what you will.

++1000
Also its ranked #30 in US News for liberal Arts schools not 5-10. Its rankings have been falling for years. about two years ago it was at 23... those are the facts

..........................2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
Oberlin College OH 24 23 23 25 26 25 23 22 20 20 22 23 23 24 23 22 23 25 24 22 24

Such a plummet in USNWR! What an embarrassment!

PP was it ever in the top 5-10???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin average test scores for admitted freshmen appear to be in decline, at least per the CDS they report. Admit rates also going up. Make of that what you will.

++1000
Also its ranked #30 in US News for liberal Arts schools not 5-10. Its rankings have been falling for years. about two years ago it was at 23... those are the facts

..........................2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997
Oberlin College OH 24 23 23 25 26 25 23 22 20 20 22 23 23 24 23 22 23 25 24 22 24

Such a plummet in USNWR! What an embarrassment!

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin average test scores for admitted freshmen appear to be in decline, at least per the CDS they report. Admit rates also going up. Make of that what you will.

ACT scores:

2013 28-32
2017 28-33
2018 (admitted students) 30-34

Yep, totally going down!

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Anonymous wrote:Oberlin average test scores for admitted freshmen appear to be in decline, at least per the CDS they report. Admit rates also going up. Make of that what you will.

++1000
Also its ranked #30 in US News for liberal Arts schools not 5-10. Its rankings have been falling for years. about two years ago it was at 23... those are the facts

Love all you stats-obsessed, US News fixated posters. If a school has the program and faculty a student wants and the school is the right one for that particular kid, but it's not ranked in the top 10 or whatever, by a magazine, well--that makes the school unfit. God forbid your kids should want a school ranked too low or--shock!--not ranked at all, because some schools won't participate in US News ranking.

Do you know how to judge programs for yourselves, beyond average test scores or admit rates or rankings? Thought not.

I suspect you tell your kids where to apply and what majors to pursue.

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin average test scores for admitted freshmen appear to be in decline, at least per the CDS they report. Admit rates also going up. Make of that what you will.

I have no horse in this race, but when I look at the Oberlin data what I'm most struck by is the consistency of their average SAT--for the College of A&S (not conservatory) the past 20 years the average verbal SAT each year has ranged between 671-700; with variations within that small range up and down over the course of the data. That's a tight range. The average math SAT has been 632-682, with the highest score the most recent entry. The conservatory has slightly lower averages, but similar consistency (dual degrees are included in both). The surface story this data suggests to me (and I read data for my living) is primarily one of consistency over long periods with regard to average SAT scores. There seems to be an upward trend in SAT scores if you look farther out to 30-50 years but I think that's more due to overall SAT score increases since the 1980s and 1990s in many selective colleges.

Especially in a small college--and moreover one with a unique population like separate conservatory-- you can't take small year to year fluctuations in numbers as "trends" -- small samples like this are going to have far more variation than a larger place university, but I'm struck by strong consistency, with maybe if anything a slight upward trend in average math SAT scores. The fall 2018 data isn't listed on this doc, but it tells a similar story.

http://www2.oberlin.edu/instres/irhome/admissions.pdf

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin average test scores for admitted freshmen appear to be in decline, at least per the CDS they report. Admit rates also going up. Make of that what you will.

++1000
Also its ranked #30 in US News for liberal Arts schools not 5-10. Its rankings have been falling for years. about two years ago it was at 23... those are the facts

Oberlin average test scores for admitted freshmen appear to be in decline, at least per the CDS they report. Admit rates also going up. Make of that what you will.

Anonymous wrote:Those of you saying Oberlin is on the decline... where do you get your crack? I could use some of that stuff.

Either that or your reactionary political nature does not permit you objectivity.

I'll go with the "crack" theory though.

+1

As a parent with a kid who looked seriously at Oberlin (visit, interview, the works), I agree with you, PP. Our DC chose another LAC but Oberlin would have been a great option too. I figure the basher above knows nothing about the school in real life.

OP, you and your kid need to visit Oberlin and NYU, not go by what you see on DCUM.

Those of you saying Oberlin is on the decline... where do you get your crack? I could use some of that stuff.

Either that or your reactionary political nature does not permit you objectivity.

I'll go with the "crack" theory though.

OP, I'm not going to slog through all the debates by PPs over how good NYU is or isn't, and I'm not going to get caught up in your son's stats compared to others....My question: Has your son visited both campuses? If not, he really needs to do so. Visiting may actually make a decision for him. These schools are in very different types of locations and have very different "feels" about them. If they truly are his top two schools he needs to visit. Shoot for the day-long events (often held in spring) where schools host not just a generic "tour and info session" but also let prospective students attend a class, hear from a panel of students, eat in dining halls, tour specific departments, etc. Not sure if NYU does those but Oberlin does. If you already posted earlier that he has visited both, sorry, moot point, but if he hasn't, he does need to see both in person.

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Anonymous wrote:DS accepted to both. No SAT - 30 ACT with 3.6 UW GPA.

Was this early decision admit, pp? Curious because I have a ds who wants to attend NYU with 1390 sat and 3.7 uw gpa but can’t do early decision.

Yes - ED to NYU (Tisch). Unfortunately had to decline due to finances - their package was all loans. Things worked out as he is happy where he landed. Good luck to you and your son.

URM?

No.

NP: Tisch is for the performing and media arts. URM or not, if they want you for your talents, they want you.

NYU is looking for full-students. If you are a full pay, they want you.

Oberlin is for artistic/musical students who are also academically talented. They want you for your talent. Oberlin is more willing to invest in their students.

PP last year Oberlin could not fill its class. Many full pay DC kids were shocked to get rejected by NYU. Its fine to say all this based in 5 year old information but make sure that your kid does not end up in the shocked and disappointed by relying on dated information. This area has a ton of full pay kids with A averages from public and private who apply. Its not so easy to be in the 19%.

What are you talking about? Oberlin slightly under enrollment in 2017 and overenrolled last year.

https://oberlinreview.org/16469/news/college-passes-enrollment-goal-for-class-of-2022/

With a small class, getting the exact right number is tough.

Oberlin just extended its application deadline to increase its applicant pool. It also admitted 125 applicants of its waitlist for the class of 2022. As a PP stated it does not look good at all!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/oberlin-university-of-chicago-and-other-elite-colleges-extend-application-deadlines-11548766801

Meh, if you read the headline alone, elite schools such as Oberlin, UChicago, WashU all have extended. This could be simple as one school extending and others following suit so as not to disadvantage itself among peer institutions. I recall for the class of 2022, Oberlin's stats were squarely within top 5-10 SLACs in the country.

No, they weren't.

+1 simple google search will show that the school is in decline

Simple google search will show that Oberlin stats are as good as top 5-10 SLACs in the country.

In the old days when I applied, students were applying to 3 or 4 colleges. Nowadays, applying to 10+ colleges is not unusual. With colleges increasing application volume but still rejecting plenty of qualified candidates, the problem for colleges is to predict who wants to actually enroll.

Oberlin isn't alone in extending the deadline. Simple google search will show that UChicago, WashU have extended their deadlines. Universities like Duke and Columbia had their RD deadlines extended in the past because of common app glitches. This is a math problem, not an indication that the schools are in decline.

As a parent of two DC who recently went through the college application process my sense is that Oberlin is indeed a school on the decline. The repeated incidents of misguided student activism paint it closer to evergreen state than Denison. The administration also seems to regularly makes unwise decisions.

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Anonymous wrote:DS accepted to both. No SAT - 30 ACT with 3.6 UW GPA.

Was this early decision admit, pp? Curious because I have a ds who wants to attend NYU with 1390 sat and 3.7 uw gpa but can’t do early decision.

Yes - ED to NYU (Tisch). Unfortunately had to decline due to finances - their package was all loans. Things worked out as he is happy where he landed. Good luck to you and your son.

URM?

No.

NP: Tisch is for the performing and media arts. URM or not, if they want you for your talents, they want you.

NYU is looking for full-students. If you are a full pay, they want you.

Oberlin is for artistic/musical students who are also academically talented. They want you for your talent. Oberlin is more willing to invest in their students.

PP last year Oberlin could not fill its class. Many full pay DC kids were shocked to get rejected by NYU. Its fine to say all this based in 5 year old information but make sure that your kid does not end up in the shocked and disappointed by relying on dated information. This area has a ton of full pay kids with A averages from public and private who apply. Its not so easy to be in the 19%.

What are you talking about? Oberlin slightly under enrollment in 2017 and overenrolled last year.

https://oberlinreview.org/16469/news/college-passes-enrollment-goal-for-class-of-2022/

With a small class, getting the exact right number is tough.

Oberlin just extended its application deadline to increase its applicant pool. It also admitted 125 applicants of its waitlist for the class of 2022. As a PP stated it does not look good at all!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/oberlin-university-of-chicago-and-other-elite-colleges-extend-application-deadlines-11548766801

Meh, if you read the headline alone, elite schools such as Oberlin, UChicago, WashU all have extended. This could be simple as one school extending and others following suit so as not to disadvantage itself among peer institutions. I recall for the class of 2022, Oberlin's stats were squarely within top 5-10 SLACs in the country.

No, they weren't.

+1 simple google search will show that the school is in decline

Simple google search will show that Oberlin stats are as good as top 5-10 SLACs in the country.

In the old days when I applied, students were applying to 3 or 4 colleges. Nowadays, applying to 10+ colleges is not unusual. With colleges increasing application volume but still rejecting plenty of qualified candidates, the problem for colleges is to predict who wants to actually enroll.

Oberlin isn't alone in extending the deadline. Simple google search will show that UChicago, WashU have extended their deadlines. Universities like Duke and Columbia had their RD deadlines extended in the past because of common app glitches. This is a math problem, not an indication that the schools are in decline.

He could get In to NYUs class of 86 maybe. But that isn’t an available choice.

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Anonymous wrote:DS accepted to both. No SAT - 30 ACT with 3.6 UW GPA.

Was this early decision admit, pp? Curious because I have a ds who wants to attend NYU with 1390 sat and 3.7 uw gpa but can’t do early decision.

Yes - ED to NYU (Tisch). Unfortunately had to decline due to finances - their package was all loans. Things worked out as he is happy where he landed. Good luck to you and your son.

URM?

No.

NP: Tisch is for the performing and media arts. URM or not, if they want you for your talents, they want you.

NYU is looking for full-students. If you are a full pay, they want you.

Oberlin is for artistic/musical students who are also academically talented. They want you for your talent. Oberlin is more willing to invest in their students.

PP last year Oberlin could not fill its class. Many full pay DC kids were shocked to get rejected by NYU. Its fine to say all this based in 5 year old information but make sure that your kid does not end up in the shocked and disappointed by relying on dated information. This area has a ton of full pay kids with A averages from public and private who apply. Its not so easy to be in the 19%.

What are you talking about? Oberlin slightly under enrollment in 2017 and overenrolled last year.

https://oberlinreview.org/16469/news/college-passes-enrollment-goal-for-class-of-2022/

With a small class, getting the exact right number is tough.

Oberlin just extended its application deadline to increase its applicant pool. It also admitted 125 applicants of its waitlist for the class of 2022. As a PP stated it does not look good at all!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/oberlin-university-of-chicago-and-other-elite-colleges-extend-application-deadlines-11548766801

Meh, if you read the headline alone, elite schools such as Oberlin, UChicago, WashU all have extended. This could be simple as one school extending and others following suit so as not to disadvantage itself among peer institutions. I recall for the class of 2022, Oberlin's stats were squarely within top 5-10 SLACs in the country.

No, they weren't.

+1 simple google search will show that the school is in decline