“In terms of Oberlin, while it’s a great school, it’s selectivity is not on par with other well known LACs. This initially surprised me.”
Oberlin is an east coast school located in the midwest. It is an ultra-liberal private college located in Ohio, a financially strapped relatively conservative swing state. Only 7% of Oberlin’s students come from Ohio; only 20% are from the entire midwest. It is drivable from the east coast, but it is a long drive. Stick Oberlin in Massachusetts and its selectivity profile would look a lot different.
Selectivity of the midwest LACs has always suffered somewhat. But Grinnell got rich (Intel & Berkshire Hathaway stock) & became more competition. Carleton became more competition too, but I’m too lazy to look up how it happened.