<p>So Oberlin just sent me an email, but I'm really not sure if I stack up against the average student admitted. </p>
<p>U/W GPA: 3.4
W GPA: 3.6
ACT: 30 (but I'm going to be retaking it in the fall)
APUSH, AP Lang, AP Stats, AP Environmental, and AP Literature.
Extracurriculars: Theater (tech and acting), Started my own Film Club, Junior Statesman of America, and Human Rights Club.</p>
<p>My GPA is probably going to rise quite a bit, because I have a very strong senior year schedule. My hopes are that my GPA will be around</p>
<p>GPA is a little low; ACT is good but not great; ECs appear a little lean. What was your role with the Human Rights Club? I don’t need to know, but you should make your role clear, especially you were in a leadership position. What you and the club actually accomplished, etc. Obviously I’m not on adcom, but my sense is that Oberlin is the kind of college that would be more impressed by what you did to help other people than what you did for yourself. Acting in theater sounds like something you did for yourself (I could be wrong, of course). Ditto starting “your own” film club. I have no idea what Junior Statesman of America means. Human Rights Club sounds like something you did to make life better for others, either helping to eliminate discrimination against others in school or in the community. That’s why I asked about it.</p>
<p>Plainsman is wrong about the extracurriculars: Oberlin deeply values participation in the arts, so theater and cinema activities are as valuable as any other. The admissions office is not looking for a long list of activities, of whatever sort, but rather for significant involvement and contribution to activities outside the classroom.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t presume to try to assess your chances. If Oberlin seems like a good fit for you, then by all means apply and see what happens.</p>
<p>^
You have a solid ACT, swbice, so you should apply. Dave72 is correct when he said anything can happen. However, while you have a chance, people with better stats and ECs have been rejected. That was my only point when I very briefly critiqued your ECs, before Dave72 slapped me down. There has to be something to make you stand out from the pack. Even adcom members are human beings. They can be swayed. But when you’re in the middle of the pack, you need something to make them think: this person belongs at Oberlin. That applies to any college that rejects many more people than they accept. Write some terrific essays. Best of luck, and I hope you get in.</p>