<p>Does anyone else feel like they were strung along all year by Oberlin just to get rejected in the end? During all the phone call, interviews, campus visits etc, they were all so interested in you and keep saying they hope you choose their school. Then in the end they just reject you without any explanation. Is this to make the money off the applications or other reason? Guidance counselor says they want to keep their US News and World report looking good with the highest SAT scores and highest number of applications.</p>
<p>scubaguy, what you just said would apply to virtually every other college in America including Harvard. Someone like you, a hopeful applicant, has had the exact same “experience” as an applicant to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, or Appalachian State, etc. Some Oberlin admitted students had the same experience with other schools. </p>
<p>I’m sorry things did not work out for you. I’m sure you were admitted to other fine schools and will be so happy at one of them, in a few months, you’ll barely recall what it felt like to be rejected by Oberlin.</p>
<p>(1) The SAT scores of students who are not admitted do not figure into the US News tabulation.
(2) It costs Oberlin more in staff time to evaluate each application than you paid in an application fee. Believe me, colleges do <em>not</em> profit from the application fees.</p>
<p>I too am sorry things didn’t work out for you. As one of the most selective colleges in the country, Oberlin finds itself in the position of turning down many highly qualified applicants–but remember that, until all the applications come in, the staff has no solid way of predicting who will be admitted and who won’t. I’m sure the encouragement you received was sincere.</p>
<p>Certainly valid points so far. Scuba, any school will benefit from receiving more applications because they can admit more qualified applicants, while lowering their acceptance rate, and increasing average test scores. This would theoretically help increase their rank, which would theoretically lead to an increase in applications and so on…</p>
<p>I think Oberlin is like most colleges with holistic admissions processes in that, save for a possible interview with an admission officer, no admission officers have even begun to look at your file in a critical way until all elements of the file are complete and the application fee is paid. So any encouragement offered up front, by any colleges that operate in that way, is made in only a generic fashion. There might be some loose tailoring of an encouraging message – perhaps on the basis of PSAT scores or your expression of interest in a particular academic discipline or athletic offering – but the interactions are not as personal or specific to you as your post seems to imply. Well, okay, I’m sure that the receptionist who greets you with a smile might genuinely think you’re swell. But as far as interactions on the part of the decision making team are concerned, the encouraging signals you received were not made after decision makers made some sort of preliminary assessment of your chances for admission.</p>
<p>Your post shines some much-needed light on the converse point to the age-old adage, “You can’t get accepted if you don’t apply” – and that’s “You can get rejected if you do apply.” I’m sure all along the way you heard the former advice…but who says the converse? It’s true, but it’s a downer of a message. So it’s not surprising that you feel surprised at this point.</p>
<p>That said, I think admission departments across the nation, from student interns to deans, are sincere in extending that sort of “big tent” greeting. And it’s not some disingenuous “come on” because – until the file is complete and they sit down with it for the holistic review – they’re sincerely hoping that your file will be the magical one that draws an immediate consensus of approval. And they just won’t know if it is or if it isn’t unless you apply. </p>
<p>I don’t think I’m reaching too far to surmise that they hope you’ll be a rock star in one or more ways. And that’s the raw deal for the schools that didn’t accept you: by not accepting you, it’s impossible for them to know whether they passed over a rock star. The decision not to admit you was not a determination of whether you’re a rock star. And, because the admission process does not define you or rate you, this applies equally to accepted, wait-listed and rejected applicants. Remember, being accepted to a college doesn’t mean you’re a rock star either. In your case, it will be up to some college that’s not Oberlin to draw out your inner rock star and, more immediately, it’s now up to you to decide which college community will be the one that gets to share that with you.</p>
<p>Anyone know what the acceptance rate actually is this year?</p>
<p>And scubaguy, it’s ok 
I felt the exact same thing with many other colleges, and when i didn’t get in ED and when I didn’t get in my top choices on RD, I grew to love the place that did actually accept me and not all the bigger fancy stuff that used to draw my attention. In the end as Plainsman said, a few weeks into freshman year you’ll totally have forgotten what your top choice was :D</p>
<p>Also bear in mind that the decision may have had nothing to do with the merit of your application,but many other factors that you may not have control over.Maybe they had too many musicians and wanted atheletes,or too many political scientists whereas they desperately needed a chemist,too many women or too many men,too many kids from your region,etc etc.They are in the business of creating a class:a delicate process that requires some tricky balancing acts which may have resulted in your rejection.This year in particular they were under-enrolling and gave out fewer acceptances.Demographics also come into it,they need to create space for different types of kids from the US and around the world.They need a Texan and a New Yorker and an Armenian and a Ugandan and a Singaporean etc etc.It s a complex process.</p>
<p>I thought that Oberlin did more than any other school AFTER the applications were in to string students along. There was a thread about this last year, and I was glad I had read it, because there was so much PERSONAL attention paid to my kids that really made it sound like the school was interested in them, and then they were waitlisted. </p>
<p>I totally understand the holistic aspect of admissions, and never expected admits everywhere for my kids, but Oberlin sent so many personalized letters to woo the students in the period between when applications were due and when decisions were announced. I wrote about this last year, and it still grates on me so much, that I’m glad to have the chance to second the OP on this thread!</p>
<p>I should add that I had twins that applied, so I could see that the letters they were getting were different and from different people and were not routine mailings of college literature sent to everyone.</p>
<p>What I meant in the post above, a student had posted about how they were strung along, with alot of encouraging personal contact and then waitlisted, in the year prior to my kids’ applications. So, in our year, I was glad that I was forewarned.</p>
<p>I think that’s a valid point, SDonCC. Still…I don’t think it’s unique to Oberlin.</p>
<p>My son (accepted) didn’t get those letters – but maybe that’s because we’re overseas and they chose to save on postage. I don’t think he got ONE mailed letter from Oberlin from the application date to decision date. But I did see some from other colleges. And I do know that other college forums here on CC had threads started by hopeful applicants inquiring if the correspondence they received was a “likely” letter or if it signaled good news in some way. And for people who aren’t regular consumers of this web site (or, maybe, similar web sites), I absolutely, positively agree that it is easy to get sucked in and assume that there’s something special that they see in you (or your favorite applicant).</p>
<p>Here I need to point out that you’re speaking to post-application correspondence…and that makes me wonder: what “sucking in” is going on in the case of people who have already completed (and paid for) their application? Yes, I can see that hopes are raised and optimism abounds…making it cruel to have it then dashed away with a WL or rejection decision. But piles of post-application communications, regardless of how high they’re stacked, lend zero weight to the OP’s theory (and the one his/her guidance counselor proffered) that it’s all part of the numbers racket to bolster standing in the various rankings and to increase revenues from applications.</p>
<p>If anything, with the revenues already in, they’d all want to minimize their post-application communications (apparently, in Oberlin’s case, starting with cutting off the overseas mailings! (I jest.))</p>
<p>But it’s true that most people who don’t have savvy guidance counselors and/or aren’t paying close attention to this web site are ill-equipped to interpret these broadly tailored communications that colleges send out. There’s a tendency on the part of hopeful applicants to read between the lines and possibly get more invested in a particular college than is warranted. There were several forums where applicants asked for input as to whether a letter from the college signaled an impending admission decision…and the bottom line answer is that if you have to ask, it’s all just marketing. But that doesn’t stop applicants from trying to divine what’s going on in the various admission offices by interpreting other communications (or lack of communications), such as whether they were offered (or not offered) alumni interviews, whether the financial aid department asked for more information (acceptance?) or said the file was sufficiently complete even though a W-2 was missing (rejection?), and how fast they posted the application file status (for those colleges with on-line systems). All of this speaks to the vulnerability and general “antsyness” of applicants counting down the days until April 1. In fact, many of the boarding schools have a “black out” for communications during this window because it’s such a great time to let these extremely vulnerable applicants develop a connection that could pay off in terms of higher yield if the applicant should be accepted. But those are mostly 8th graders. I’m not sure that high school seniors warrant that kind of insulation.</p>
<p>As a parent myself, I know that it can hurt to find out the hard way that it was all part of the marketing and selling of the college and not a specific, personal statement of affinity…but this won’t be the last time that happens in their lives. And unless someone was so convinced by the marketing that they turned down an actual offer of acceptance in anticipation of an Oberlin offer of acceptance or they bought nonrefundable plane tickets for the accepted students weekend, I’m not so sure that this wasn’t one of the easiest possible ways to learn some lessons about the power of direct marketing. For example, just wait until the credit card companies start showing some love to the twins…and the problem there is that they WILL be accepted!</p>
<p>No school courted my son the way Oberlin did. He were bombarded with promotional material because he listed music as a possible major on his PSAT’s and was a semifinalist.</p>
<p>I too am overseas and have never received in the mail something from Oberlin except their viewbook/poster and the acceptance letter :P</p>
<p>I actually didn’t count on getting into Oberlin at all, in fact it absolutely slipped my mind when late March/early April came because I was totally counting on acceptances elsewhere, and since I did not get any contact with Oberlin at all, I actually thought it was a sign that they weren’t interested in me. They actually sent me an e-mail to tell me about the major I’m interested in. Which was not history, as the e-mail was about, lol xD</p>
<p>But it’s ok, I feel in love with Oberlin AFTER I got accepted, and totally got over my other choices (which in retrospect is not as cool as Oberlin at all :P)</p>
<p>Oberlin did not send me ANY promotional material before the app process,save for ONE and I mean ONE brochure.Colgate,otoh,bombarded me with materials constantly and e-mails every other time I blinked.I got so inundated with their stuff that it put me off and I didn’t apply.I think sometimes the “courting” can actually repel applicants.Anyhow,I completely understand what an unexpected shock it can be for a college that showed interest to suddenly just reject someone.</p>
<p>I got close to nothing, if nothing at all.</p>
<p>okay, so my original point wasn’t exactly like the OP’s, because Oberlin’s tactics weren’t to get more applications, but maybe to encourage high yield, and on this point, as I said, the materials we got from Oberlin were NOTHING like any other college: and between the two of my kids they applied to alot of colleges. </p>
<p>For example, post-application, my S got a personal letter from a Dean of the College (not a dean of admissions), but my daughter did not. So, wouldn’t this lead one to believe that perhaps my son’s file was of interest… especially since he had super-high SAT scores (as did my daughter). She got letters from professors in her areas of interest. They both got an email right after their scores were sent saying something about how glad they were to get scores like that (or something to that effect). Both got an email from their admissions rep, but this was actually nice, I thought, because it encouraged them to come with questions; this one I didn’t see as “stringing along,” but as helpful. </p>
<p>In the thread I referenced from someone’s experience applying in '09, the OP talked about how much personal contact she got from her admissions rep who pointed out things she liked in the application, and then that person got WL. Another school’s admissions rep emailed my D and told her what a great application she had – and followed this up not only with an acceptance, but a huge scholarship offer (my D declined, but made sure to send a personal reply to this admissions officer).</p>
<p>If Oberlin wants to be that cavalier with its prospective students, then let them. This is not a case of blanket marketing or typical college tactics.</p>
<p>For the record, I still think Oberlin is a great school, and it would have made my son’s decision more difficult than it already was once all his acceptances came in (my D loved it, too, but it would not have remained in top contention with her other acceptances). </p>
<p>My kids are happily settled at schools that are perfect for them, so this is not sour grapes about not getting in; it’s really more about a process that I thought was misleading on Oberlin’s part. </p>
<p>Macalester was a school that sent information about the school ad nauseum, but these were not personal letters, they were newsletters; in our minds, it negated their view of being so environmentally sensitive…and again, for the record, still a school we loved, but got annoyed at…</p>
<p>Oddly enough, the reports of applicants getting nothing (or close to nothing), when juxtaposed against other reports of applicants who receive prolific targeted mailings, suggests there is some sort of intelligent decision making that comes into play in which some applicants get marketed and others don’t.</p>
<p>If a college sends copious mailings to everyone who has ever interacted with the admission office or if a college has an across-the-board policy of minimal marketing, it’s easier to avoid getting sucked in by uniform policies…compared to a college that sends waves of materials to only some of the prospective students. </p>
<p>Still, in the world of competitive college admissions, parents and guidance counselors (if not the applicants themselves) should have the experience and sense to know that it’s a mistake to read between the lines and interpret the volume of mailings and even the somewhat personalized nature of mailings as a reliable or credible indicator of an admission decision that has not, in fact, been made. If a mailing doesn’t make it plain, on its face, that the college intends to accept you (or your loved one), it’s just wrong to assume it’s something other than marketing. When a college wants to convey that message, they’ll be perfectly clear about it.</p>
<p>So, again, if it’s a communication before the application is complete, it can’t be an indicator of a future result where the admission process is holistic. And, by definition, communications sent after the application is complete can’t be luring in applicants. So, as to whether the post-submission mailings needlessly or recklessly raise the hopes of applicants, there needs to be some level-headed counseling from trusted adults if they see that college marketing materials are putting a little space between an applicant’s shoe leather and terra firma.</p>
<p>We never looked at these letters as confirmation that an admissions offer was coming! But, these schools are taking on our children at a highly sensitive and pressured time in their lives that is unique in all ways and they should be mindful of that.</p>
<p>I agree…because at some point I think it can cross a line and seem downright predatory. It’s not a money-making scam…like all those “Who’s Who” opportunities that require students to pay cash money to receive recognition and affirmation, but you’re correct in noting that it still impacts young people who are vulnerable. That’s why many boarding schools agree to a “time out” which removes the pressure to market heavily to 8th-graders just to keep up with the other schools.</p>
<p>Still, I submit that learning this lesson about feeling sucked in, in this way, is a very low-impact lesson. It’s far easier to go through this than learning about the perils of direct-marketing when the pre-approved credit card applications hit the campus mailbox or the payday lender is offering instant “opportunity” right across the street. For most applicants, there are adults around throughout the application process who understand that marketing can be dressed up in personally-signed letters. Later on, if they haven’t yet learned this lesson – which has an incredibly soft-landing – things can get pretty rough if they learn it the hard way. So I’m not convinced that colleges really need to do nearly as much about this as the guidance counselors and parents.</p>
<p>[Edit: FWIW, my post #17, above, was in reply to #15. And this post is in reply to #16 and #18.]</p>
<p>It’s not just Oberlin that sends e-mails that seem to suggest or imply an acceptance on the horizon.Most of the schools I looked at did this to high hell(Read:Colgate and Grinnell).UChicago also sent copious amounts of e-mail.I eventually learned to not interpret too much into something that could be as well be a routine mass e-mail.</p>