But the suggestion above is that it would have happened had they applied RD? I have to agree with @DeepBlue86, the is not logical reason why applying RD @ Oberlin should get you an acceptance when ED would not. If the school doesn’t want to commit without seeing all of the applicants for a year, then deferral makes sense.
Rejecting kids and then saying “if they had applied RD some would have gotten in” sounds wrong. If it was said in an information session, it feels like there would have been context that might explain a particular situation. Also…information session presenters are not always correct.
The only other reason I can think of is they have some statistical basis for believing that deferred EA/ED kids have a lower yield rate in RD. Once a kid professes their love for a school that isn’t returned with an ED acceptance, maybe those schools find the kids turn elsewhere and fall in love with another. RD kids have less time to make up their minds. Just a theory.