<p>its weird, i was interested in oberlin in the beginning of the year, yet when cutting down my college list oberlin got lost somewhere
now, when i thought it was too late, oberlin sends me its viewbook and tells me that they're pushing their deadline to jan. 31 so i can apply!
needless to say i think its a sign from god that i should apply
but i was wondering is this odd- and why would they do this? i don't think i've ever contacted the school so they would hardly know me</p>
<p>really? that's very odd. Was it a written letter, or did an admission officer say that to you personally? did they say the same thing to anyone that you know? Because I didn't hear that from Oberlin and I'm super stressed right now since I haven't finished the supplemental essay.</p>
<p>If this is true, well, I'm happy for you personally, but disappointed at the admissions. It's either too few kids applied or they want a bigger incoming class in this already slightly overloaded, understaffed school.</p>
<p>Impsuit, neither of your hypotheses is true. Applications are at an all-time high. And next year's first-year class will be smaller than this year's, not larger.</p>
<p>last year there was a bigger yield than expected, hence the larger class; the overall plan is to reduce the size of the student body by a couple hundred students. Impsuit has apparently never visited Oberlin -- when he/she gets there, he'll/she'll find that it hardly seems understaffed!</p>
<p>We can find no corroboration of Oberlin extending its deadline, but its site is not accepting our son's supplemental application even though his essay is under the character limit.</p>
<p>I assume Oberlin has not extended its deadline.</p>
<p>Could you send a paper version, postmarked by the deadline?</p>
<p>He fixed it. Cut four words, and got it to 500, and it worked. But it was already under the character limit.</p>
<p>I've submitted my supplement on commonapp; however it shows Oberlin doesn't download it</p>
<p>I hope someone would list the new deadlines of all schools, since it seems common(WU in St. louis has extended financial aid deadline to Feb 15)</p>
<p>Why did they extend the deadline?</p>
<p>They didn't.</p>
<p><em>head explodes</em></p>
<p>I got an email (below) also saying the deadline was pushed back. I'm assuming they didn't get as many applications as they expected, as most LACs are having this issue this year.</p>
<p>"We are pleased that you have begun the process of applying to Oberlin's College
of Arts and Sciences via the Common Application website. We wanted to let you
know that we will still accept your application if you submit both the Common
Application and Oberlin's Supplement by January 31. If you've already sent us a
hard copy of these materials, please disregard this message.</p>
<p>If you haven't already done so, please also download all school-related forms
(such as the Secondary School Report, Teacher Evaluations, Mid-year School
Report, etc.) directly from the Common Application website and distribute them.</p>
<p>We appreciate your interest in Oberlin and look forward to receiving your
completed application and to learning more about you. In the meantime, please
contact us if you have any questions."</p>
<p>Maybe they only sent it to certain applicants? Because I didn't submit until late on Jan. 15 and I never got an email like that.</p>
<p>I don't think that they sent such e-mails to certain applicants. Rather, Oberlin, like many other colleges, has received fewer applications than it had hoped for. And therefore it wants to woo as many applicants into applying as it can in these few days. For example, I received a similar letter from middlebury few days ago, although its deadline was Dec 15. I started its premilinary application a long time ago, and then decided not to apply. (Number of applications to mid is down by 12%). The point to note is that these letters don't even ask for explanations for late submissions, as would be expected if it were just their policy to accept applications of people who apply late due to some unavoidable circumstances.</p>
<p>I also think that it came as a setback for many colleges when Regular apps were down drastically after increase in early decision applicants. I suppose some colleges might have been more selective in the ed process this year because they expected increase in rd applicants too! It is just my idea, though. Therefore, I think Oberlin has indeed seen a drop in regular decision applications, even though it has not acknowledged it yet.</p>
<p>I would trust dave72's account, that it isn't the number of applications or any sign of desperation -- instead, it is more likely a policy directed at applicants who filled out part one and didn't complete the application, as a courtesy and also to expand the pool of applicants to be inclusive of those who have expressed an interest.</p>
<p>My son has received several such letters and/or emails -- some offering extended deadlines and some offering last-minute free application. In all cases, they were colleges that he showed some interest in, either by filling out the "send more information please" thing on which he included things like test scores, gpa, ECs, etc, or by visiting, or like BB012, by beginning the application online but then changing his mind and never finishing it. He and I assumed that, based on what he had revealed so far to the schools, they thought he might be a good match for them, just as he thought they were a good match for him (until he had to winnow down his list). I'm guessing that this college knows a little about you already, from something you revealed in previous exchanges, and thinks you (simply by what data they have on you so far -- not personally) might be another good, prospective candidate. Of course, they'd like to find as many good candidates to choose from as we would like many good schools to choose from. Son and I have just assumed it was that simple. Nothing really personal -- but maybe something computerized that recognizes qualified apps and generates the mail? An assumption.</p>
<p>I don't think it is a sign of desperation. The colleges are being more lenient about deadlines this year because they have received fewer applications than they had hoped for. If Oberlin had a 10-12 % increase in apps., it might have been more strict about the deadline. Just a few days ago, I read Kenyon's Director of Admissions say that for the last few years they received applications from more qualified applicants than they could admit, so fewer applicants (and probably fewer qualified applicants) this year is just fine.</p>
<p>I agree... no sign of desperation at all. Just the colleges doing their best to increase their pool of well-qualified applicants in order to end up with the very best applicants, with the best fit, in the end.</p>