How can this affect me as a student looking to enrol here? Are things improving? What exactly is happening?
@inanebabbler I wouldn’t be worried because overall Oberlin is very solid. They missed enrollment numbers last year but I don’t think it’s anything to get too worried about because it’s not a trend. The new president, who started last summer, already seems to be makings strides in helping to turn things around. The only thing that I will say seems to impact students is the required freshman meal plan, which makes all first year students buy the full 21 meals per week - some people are unhappy with this cost. The other thing that has been happening across Oberlin is that some buildings and dorms are not as well kept as I have seen at peer institutions - so the dorms need new carpet or paint. That being said, there is a new Dean of Students who has been incredibly responsive to any issues raised by students and parents -sometimes going to a dorm herself to see what needs to be done. My daughter is still very happy to be at Oberlin, despite the lack of plush dorms and sort of laughs all of it. My advice is not to worry about it but if you have questions you might want to set up time to talk to the administration because they should be able to address more specific things.
I agree overall Oberlin is very solid and on a rebound with its endowment at approximately 850 million. Most notably, despite the recent budget shortfall, Oberlin has not backed away from its commitment to students. I remember when touring Pomona College, it has its share of dilapidated buildings. When faced with campus renovation issues, Pomona made a conscious decision to use its limited funds to support its students. Oberlin is not unique. All indications are that it has made a conscious decision to use its limited funds to make college more accessible and affordable for students.
Oberlin’s endowment is 4x that of Kenyon, and equal to Carleton, so it is more than capable of weathering any current problems. Oberlin likely needs a more competent admissions staff, maybe some better people running day-to-day operations (mentioned above), but should be fine unless they start running into problems for the next five years in a row. They probably need to play the USNWR “game” a bit more and better utilize the wait list to drive down admit rate and bring up yield. That stinks, but is how the game now seems to be played.
Oh I see! Thank you so much!
Btw, I got a update on the dorm situation and it seems they are doing an overhaul of many dorms this summer. The new/acting dean of students is amazing and has been so committed to making things better at Oberlin!