Another waitlist thread...

<p>So, I was honestly pretty surprised to be waitlisted at Oberlin. It's one of my top two schools (the other one being Hampshire,) and I had thought that my interview went pretty well. (I'm a reserved person, I don't exactly sparkle in interviews, but I'd certainly had interviews that went far worse.) I know that there's only so much that can be gleaned from statistics, but I would appreciate anyone's input on whether my resume just wasn't up to par, if it might be a demographics issue, or whether being waitlisted was just an anomaly. Additionally, if anyone has any advice on getting off the waitlist, that would be fantastic. I've heard contradictory things--some people say don't flood them with new information and recommendations, others say keep your name on their radar. So far I'm planning on getting one or two additional teacher recs and writing a personal statement (any advice on that one? I feel like my "personal statement bank" is totally drained from months of college and scholarship applications), and considering contacting an Oberlin alumnus who I babysat for in the past for another recommendation. (Is that last one overkill?)</p>

<p>Basic stats:
White female, NY
SAT-CR: 800
SAT-M: 740
SAT-W: 730
GPA: 3.77 unweighted
ECs: Good. Lots of miscellaneous volunteering, three years of tutoring 3rd graders, work on school garden, school GSA, school diversity discussion club, participation in athletics, president of school environmental sustainability club, member of two faculty-student school committees on environmental sustainability, part-time job at a CSA, 2 years CTY, 1 year CTY-Civic Leadership Academy (i.e. a bunch of very Oberlin stuff)
Good teacher/counselor recs, as far as I know
My essay topic was on the guilt I have over leaving an inner-city high school to attend a private suburban school. Definitely well-written, but maybe too much of a downer?
"Why Oberlin" essay was, looking back, less than sparkling. I'm just not very good at enthusiasm.</p>

<p>Anyway, I know that they use a "holistic review process," it's impossible to pinpoint why you didn't get in, blah blah blah. But was anybody with a similar or better resume have a story about being waitlisted? I know they take a very small percentage of people off the waitlist, but do I have a shot?</p>

<p>Thanks so much.</p>

<p>Well,you have to remain positive.Your stats were definetely in the ballpark,and I can’t tell you why you were waitlisted.But ElizabethHouston(adcom) did say it was the most competitive year ever in Oberlin admissions,and they are aiming to under enroll this year(Which means they are likely to take more people off of the waitlist).So,do update them additional recs,achievements and perhaps a more polished’Why Oberlin’ essay.Try not to inundate them with stuff though.An e-mail with your essay+recs should do it.Show passion for Oberlin as far as you can.good luck.</p>

<p>“But was anybody with a similar or better resume have a story about being waitlisted?”</p>

<p>How about out and out rejected, would that work? Or maybe he was wailisted, I don’t recall. Either way, do a CC search on Andison, his story is legendary on CC.</p>

<p>Ok it’s a little hard to find,it turns out, so I found it for you:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/47867-were-picking-up-pieces-but-what-went-wrong.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/47867-were-picking-up-pieces-but-what-went-wrong.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My D1 was accepted at Oberlin, but was waitlisted at a couple other schools where she seemed about equally qualified,and her stats were higher than yours are. And this was back several years ago when admisisions was less competitive. These selective colleges are not merely going by stats, there is a holistic process and some people manage to make an impression on a particular set of readers that they belong at their college, more than others, based on the totality of what is before them to evaluate. For the very highest stats people they probably want to see evidence that they belong there and want to be there, I’m guessing.</p>

<p>It’s a highly subjective and imprecise process, there’s no use getting all worked up about it. Just put yourself on the waitlist, maybe send them a note re-affirming your interest and why you should be there, and then move on.</p>

<p>Speaking as an Oberlin alumna who was originally wait-listed and as a former employee of the Oberlin Admissions office, monydad is completely right in saying that “it’s a highly subjective and imprecise process.” Who knows why you were wait-listed. Perhaps a ton of students apply with similar stats from your area. Maybe your reserved manner left Oberlin wondering whether they’re just another school for you rather than a place you could really see yourself being happy. You don’t seem to have done anything <em>wrong</em> from what I can tell, so you shouldn’t be worrying about that. </p>

<p>Just add your name to the wait-list, and send in the information they request. A strong recommendation e-mail from an Oberlin alum might be a benefit, but a few strong supplemental things are infinitely better than a load of just-okay letters, essays, and recommendations. And, of course, here is Elizabeth’s post on the subject… [Oberlin</a> Blogs | Blog Entry: “A Word to the Waitlisted”](<a href=“http://blogs.oberlin.edu/applying/applying/a_word_to_the_w.shtml]Oberlin”>http://blogs.oberlin.edu/applying/applying/a_word_to_the_w.shtml)</p>

<p>Thanks all for the replies! Bferrebee, thanks for pointing me to the blog post by Elizabeth Houston. I had only seen her post from a few years back, which offered very slim hope for getting off the waitlist. It’s so frustrating having to extend the wait beyond April 1st–Swarthmore and Vassar both waitlisted me as well. I’m a little bit unsure about requesting a rec from the Oberlin alum; I wasn’t a long-term babysitter for her, and she’s since moved out of state. I guess it can’t hurt, though!</p>

<p>Monydad, the post you pointed me to was definitely sobering…definitely speaks to the necessity of safety schools. Thankfully, I do have other good options, I just wasn’t expecting Oberlin to be as competitive as I guess it was.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if asking my GC to call would be a good idea? Thanks again!</p>

<p>Compared to last year: 136 more applications came in the door this year; 133 fewer were accepted. Stick with the wait list if it’s your top choice. Let them know that.</p>

<p>Be forewarned: The rest of this is pure speculation as to what’s going on in the admission office. It’s just my guess as to what’s happening and how you might react if I’ve made some accurate wild guesses.</p>

<p>Since they intentionally underenrolled, they presumably have a stack ready to go with the waitlist offers that they know they will be making. I’m not sure they’ll need extra meetings to review the merits of applications they’ve already reviewed. My guess is that the real attractiveness will come in the form of being committed to Oberlin. One of the drawbacks of intentionally underenrolling is that people they’d otherwise accept are bleeding off, making plans with the colleges that showed them the love. The faster they can wrap up the process of filling out the class, the less bleeding off they’ll have from that pile of wait list applicants they’re itching to send acceptance letters to. If you’re anywhere in that stack, I think you do yourself the biggest favor by letting them know your intentions. That means they can fill a spot and not have to wait X days for you to reply, etc.</p>

<p>Wow, those are definitely some encouraging statistics. Given that they over-enrolled by about 50 students last year, that might mean that we can expect more than 50 admittances off the waitlist. Phew, I might have a shot. However, what I understand is that they wait to go over waitlisted applicants until after May 1st, when they know how many spots they have to fill.</p>

<p>You’ve probably did nothing wrong other than to be placed in an extremely competitive applicant pool and possibly fitting demographic and educational background profiles common among most Oberlin applicants. </p>

<p>If you’re really keen on going to Oberlin, definitely ask to be put on the waitlist and give them noteworthy updates periodically so they have more to consider and to show you’re still interested.</p>

<p>The most competitive subgroup for all these highly competitive schools is to be a non-URM, female, over represented region, college educated parents, not wanting to major in math or science. If you’re in that group, you can take the overall admit rate and reduce by a large percentage and gauge chances accordingly. This is how students like the OP are denied or waitlisted at schools where they seem to be qualified or even overly-qualified. It’s simply a numbers game. An exceptional Why Oberlin or Common App essay can make a huge difference where so many applicants are essentially the same.</p>

<p>By the way, I learned of this situation from the college counselor at my daughter’s school. It was not news I particularly relished hearing, but that is just the way it is out there now. This is why my daughter was advised strongly to apply to one or two “eye level” schools to which she would be excited to attend. They’ve even discontinued using the “safety” label because it attaches a negative connotation to what might be a student’s only or best choice.</p>

<p>@D’yer Maker - your speculations are a bit off. We don’t have a ranked waitlist, or a stack of offers ready to go. What we’ll do is wait until about mid-May to see what our final results are in terms of number of deposits and who has decided to stay on the waitlist. Then we really will look at everyone who chose to stay on the waitlist, giving special attention to anyone who has let us know that they’re particularly interested (by making some effort beyond just sending in the card asking to stay on the list).</p>

<p>Wow…that’s some seriously “bookmarkable” information for WL applicants!</p>

<p>I’m a “Seven Habits/touch paper once” person and really think you should have gone ahead, while you had the information in front of you and everything was fresh, and set aside the first 50 or so seeing as you’re pretty much certain you’re going to tap the WL. :)</p>

<p>To D’yer Maker: I think you underestimate the subtleties in the process. They are putting together a mosaic. They first have to see who accepts, so they know what type of slots are available. Do they need female English majors from California? Male Math majors from Florida? One more point guard? A goalie? They can’t just bull through the process as you suggest.</p>

<p>To SwatGrad: I think you underestimated my smiley face.</p>

<p>Oberlin left a message for my S at the end of the day today, saying they had some “news” and to call tomorrow. Sounds like–could it be–the waitlist decisions have begun? S was denied at Wesleyan, Vassar and Carleton, but Oberlin was in his top 4! He was accepted at Occidental and waitlisted at Macalester and Colorado College as well. He is going to be thrilled if he gets off the waitlist, although we have grown very fond of Oxy, the only school that accepted him, and offered him full tuition scholarship as well! I hope Oberlin can match that!</p>

<p>EMMA! This is too funny! I guess we’re both scoping out the cc boards for insight. I still don’t know what went wrong for you… you seemed like a shoe-in in my eyes.</p>

<p>Anyway, I got some good news yesterday so I’m hoping you did too. Please keep me posted!!</p>

<p>Hey, I got waitlisted too. Oberlin and Reed are my tops at the moment, but I’ve also gotten into Macalester and Smith. Rejected from UChicago. I heard a rumor from someone who knows someone who works in admissions; apparently Oberlin waitlists kids that they think applied there as a safety school. My friend who got accepted to Vassar and UChicago was waitlisted at Oberlin, and when I did my visit there I met a girl who got accepted from the waitlist with astronomical SATs, like yours. She might have had two 800s, actually. My scores are 800 CR, 640 M, and 720 W, if anyone is curious.
Anyway, I asked my interviewer about it just now via email, so I’ll report back what he says. I have no idea how credible this rumor is…</p>

<p>Here’s the follow up from the admissions guy: “Our perception of a student’s level of interest in OC is certainly a factor, but one of soooooo many. I’d never say there’s a pattern of that kind of decision-making. Myth busted!”
Guess it isn’t credible after all. Hmmm… Good luck! haha.</p>