<p>So does anyone know what the waitlist situation is this year? I'm guessing they probably waitlisted more people than usual but does anyone know what they yield is looking like so far? Do you think they are going to take many off of the waitlist?</p>
<p>I don’t think they even know, until they see the responses to their offers of admission.</p>
<p>Like many others, my D probably won’t make up her mind until she visits a second time–this coming weekend.</p>
<p>I visited this past weekend and an adcom that was in charge of the info session said that they didn’t know anything yet, which i believe, but i’ve been freaked out ever since looking at the middlebury board (i’m waitlisted there as well and it is my second choice after oberlin). someone was saying that they had talked to their college counselor and that they had said that middlebury had a huge waiting list this year and that they were only going to take something like 10 people off. I really hope that doesn’t happen at oberlin. I understand they are obviously two different schools but i am just so nervous. oberlin really means a lot to me.</p>
<p>Any updates, anyone? I’ve heard from an adcom that this year Oberlin has had more admitted students visit than ever before. Don’t know what that’s going to mean in regards to their yield.</p>
<p>Well, I’m attending. But if I get off of my waitlist, that’ll be a spot opened up…and I know a few other future Obies that are doing the same. The overwhelming waitlisting by all schools this year will probably have an impact through the summer. But that’s just a guess.</p>
<p>Any more updates as to how the wait list is looking this year?</p>
<p>Going by the trend over the past several years, the outlook for getting off the waiting list is not all that good.</p>
<p>year - # offered waitlist / # on waitlist / # accepted from waitlist</p>
<p>2003 - 890 / 545 / 125
2004 - 791 / 274 / 63
2005 - 891 / 640 / 33
2006 - 846 / 600 / 33
2007 - 906 / 666 / 18
2008 - 934 / 354 / 8</p>
<p>These numbers come from the Oberlin Common Data Set, available at [url=<a href=“http://oberlin.edu/instres/irhome/www/cds/cds_explain.html]Untitled[/url”>http://oberlin.edu/instres/irhome/www/cds/cds_explain.html]Untitled[/url</a>]</p>
<p>This year may be different because of the economy, but I think in general the odds are very long. My son is at Oberlin, but the school wait-listed his sister, who had pretty much the same h.s. record as he did. She visited the school, wrote letters and otherwise lobbied to gain admission–with no luck whatsoever. (I’m still bitter!)</p>
<p>^ Getting into Oberlin now is probably slightly harder than in years past. Sorry to hear that your daughter wasn’t lucky enough. ):</p>
<p>Good luck to you guys asking for financial aid. I was accepted, but then Oberlin couldn’t meet my new lowered EFC; said budget constraints meant they couldn’t offer me more. So I’m not attending.</p>
<p>“the school wait-listed his sister, who had pretty much the same h.s. record as he did”</p>
<p>A couple of things possibly going on here: LACs that want to keep their male/female ratio within shouting distance of even will be an easier admit for a young man than they would for a young woman. If need-based financial aid is a consideration, it usually works out that you need more aid by the time the second one applies, whether or not they happen to overlap. Oberlin is not need blind, so the bar can be higher when more financial aid is needed, particularly in a year when the school’s endowment fund has taken a big hit in the stock market.</p>
<p>Bassdad and everyone, do you have any info on the conservatory wait list? Or should I be asking on the Music major forum? The conservatory contacted a flutist I know to ask if there was still interest in attending. At this late date I would have to assume that they need flutists from their wait list or they would not be asking (otherwise it would be cruel to ask!)</p>
<p>Sorry, I have no inside info on waitlists for the Con either overall or for particular instruments. It surprises me that they would be going to a waitlist for flute, given the strength of the program there. Are you sure the other flutist was on the waitlist, or were they looking for a repsonse from someone who had been accepted and had not yet responded. They sometimes do that when a financial aid appeal is made by another accepted student. If they are certain that someone else is not coming, then they may be able to release some money that had been promised elsewhere.</p>
<p>tHANKS FOR THE QUICK REPLY, bASSdAD.
i JUST HEARD THAT tHE WAITLISTED FLUTIST i KNOW HAS NOW BEEN ACCEPTED AND IS AWAITING fINANCIAL AWARD.</p>
<p>Wow. Bassdad you almost scared the crap out of me (message #11). I guess I’m lucky my D was admitted. I had no idea Oberlin was not need blind. Had we known that, my D might’ve been scared off from applying. Her original Fin. aid award fell short of my EFC, so, after visiting Fin Aid office in person and feeling them out, I appealed. I even asked what types of things would be most and least effective in an appeal given our family’s situation and the counselor actually told me. So I went home and started writing. Our appeal was successful. D received a revised fin. aid award letter. </p>
<p>Birdhouse, you’ve got to craft a very strong appeal letter. Mine was two, single-spaced full pages. I even prepared a chart with numbers. You’ve got to provide detail of every family circumstance, even things going on with other kids in the family that are not covered by insurance, etc. Your narrative should be very methodical, linear and conclude exactly where you said you wanted to go in the first paragraph. And don’t forget to remind them how badly your kid wants to go Oberlin.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent. I’m just a kid who gets very little help from her parents about anything college-related.</p>
<p>The fin. aid officer already told me flat out that they had offered me only 3k because while they were willing to TRY to win me, they didn’t want to go over budget. They already knew my mother lost some of her unemployment benefits; they already considered my lowered EFC, but chose not to meet it. I don’t see any more arguments as to why I should get more grant money. As much as I like the idea of attending Oberlin, my family just can’t afford it and I’m going to have to send the reply card back saying I won’t enroll next year.</p>
<p>Important: Oberlin <em>IS</em> need-blind for the great majority of its applicants. There is a cap on the financial aid budget, so that once the aid available for the year is exhausted, then need begins to play a part in decisions. Normally this only happens if and when they need to turn to the waiting list. Need also plays a part in the consideration of international students (since the average cost of their attendance is so much higher). But otherwise, most students are evaluated for admission on a need-blind basis.</p>
<p>dave, I am glad to hear that clarification, and I hope things will remain that way in light of the beating that Oberlin’s endowment fund has taken in the past couple of years. Given the small number of people that this apparently influences, there seemed to be quite a bit of debate on campus concerning the need to increase tuition revenue per the current master plan vs. the desire to return to completely need-blind admissions that was the official policy until 1994. Such are the politics of academia, I suppose.</p>
<p>Birdhouse, I’m really sorry to hear about your predicament. I find it unacceptable that a parent won’t do everything they can to at least petition on their child’s behalf. I don’t understand them not going to the mat for you, to appeal tirelessly for funds to meet the need indicated by the new EFC. That’s a real shame. Unfortunately, the college’s hands are probably tied because this appears to be a family challenge.</p>
<p>What about loans? Have you been offered loans?</p>
<p>I’ve now talked with an admissions officer, and I think I need to amend what I posted before. Oberlin’s admissions process is more need-aware than I had understood. When you think about it, it’s clear that it has to be, given that the financial aid budget is finite; if, for example, every admitted student had no ability to pay, the college could not afford to fund that bill. So care is taken in selecting incoming classes to ensure that they do not exceed the financial aid funds that are available. It’s still true that, for a majority of students, financial need does not alter admissions decisions.</p>
<p>What’s important to stress is that the college makes financial aid a priority in budgeting (i.e., despite the recession, next year’s financial aid budget has gone up, not down), and that Oberlin is committed to meeting the full financial need of every admitted student.</p>
<p>I hope that clarifies things.</p>