<p>Does anyone know what the target SAT range is that Oberlin admissions are looking for? I'd just like to know so I can have something to compare my scores with. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>-timeway</p>
<p>Target? I don’t know if they have a “target.” Check out the college guides for the middle 50% range. That’ll help.</p>
<p>For Fall 2009 Enrolls, the mean SAT (Verbal, Math, Writing) scores were (700, 676, 690) in the college and (631, 618, 642) in the Conservatory. Source: <a href=“http://oberlin.edu/instres/irhome/www/sche25/[/url]”>http://oberlin.edu/instres/irhome/www/sche25/</a></p>
<p>College board reports 25th to 75th percentile spreads as follows:
Verbal 640-740
Math 620-710
Writing 640-730</p>
<p>^ Interesting BassDad. Nothing bizarre there. The most bizarre spread I’ve seen is Lehigh University. A couple of years ago the mean verbal was in the high 500s but the mean math was in mid-700s</p>
<p>Considering over half of Lehigh’s students major in either engineering or business, that is not all that bizarre.</p>
<p>When we visited Lehigh, we were told the most popular (fastest growing) majors are now in the liberal arts, that they are no longer an “engineering” school despite public perceptions. Maybe the gap in their verbal and math scores will start to close. </p>
<p>Anyway, my D declined their offer more for cultural reasons than anything else. LU’s student body was just too conservative, and in some ways racist, for her taste. The administration has tried to change that but have two things working against them: 1. They keep admitting the same kind of kids from the same high schools in the same “less diverse and tolerant” geographic locations; and 2. Heavy Greek culture, to a fault. </p>
<p>If Lehigh closed their frats and sororities, or somehow sharply downscaled their influence on campus social life, they could attract a different kind of mindset. I think someone once said the definition of insanity was met if you keep doing the same things the same way and expect a different result.</p>
<p>And my company’s CEO once said, very astutely, I might add: “If you can’t change the people, change the people.” And he did it too.</p>
<p>It’s a shame because it’s a really good and very selective university, relatively small in size for a U (maybe 6,000 students) and only 30 minutes from our house (instead of 7 hours like Oberlin). My D would’ve loved that kind of convenient set up, if not for the school’s repugnant culture.</p>
<p>Interesting. They still show up on the College Board website as 31% business/marketing majors, 26% engineering majors and no other single major with more than 6%. Perhaps they were including Business as a “liberal art”.</p>
<p>The one thing I do not miss about Oberlin now that my daughter has graduated is spending all day on Rt. 80 to get there.</p>
<p>Dear Plainsman:</p>
<p>I would venture that most students who apply to Lehigh don’t also apply to Oberlin, Vassar, Brown, Bard, Wesleyan, etc. The cultural differences between the latter 5 and Lehigh are profound.</p>
<p>BassDad, yes, they were including Business. It was engineering vs. non-engineering. </p>
<p>SwatGrad, I totally agree. Oberlin (and the other schools you listed) and Lehigh are cultural opposites. But as newcomers to the East, we didn’t know much about Lehigh until we made a couple of visits and spoke with some students there. Located only 35 minutes from our home made it even more attractive. Lehigh is the closest highly selective school. </p>
<p>Once we realized what the Lehigh campus environment/culture was like, my D said “no way.” That Oberlin had zero Greek life, among other differences, was hugely attractive.</p>