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hi, i would just like to know my chances of getting into Oberlin although my SATs are rather low, i really would like to go and id appreciate some feedback on the school, i am also looking into Bard, Skidmore, Pitzer, and Beloit...

GPA: 4.833 / 4.0 (weighted), 3.875 (unweighted)
Class Rank: 8 / 645
SAT I: 1220
600 M / 620 V

AP ClassesJunior Year: Biology, Statistics,History
Senior Year: English, Psychology, Chemistry

Academic
Awards/Honors
High Honor Roll: 9th –11th
Athlete/Scholar Award: 10th-11th
Governor’s School on the Environment Scholar
Girl’s State-Nominee

Extracurricular
Activities
Math and Science Appreciation (MASA): President and Co-Founder-11th – 12th
Key Club: Member-10th, Executive Board/Chairperson -11th Vice President-12th
Key Club International Convention: 6/3-7/6 2003
Key Club District Convention: Delegate 4/4-4/7 2004
National Honor Society (NHS): Member 11th, Secretary/Treasurer-12th
Junior Statesmen of America (JSA): Advisory Council-11th , Vice President-12th
Science National Honor Society: Member 11th-12th
Math League: 9th-10th
Student Council: Member-9th-10th
Environmental Club: Member-9th

Volunteer
Services
Service and Appreciation in the Library (SAIL): Summer 2004 (20 hours)
Jackson Day Volunteer:10th-12th
Campus/Beach Clean-up: 9th and 11th

Athletic
Activities
Varsity Cross-Country: 9th-11th
Varsity Indoor Track: 9th-12th
Varsity Outdoor Track: 9th-12th

Employment
Experience
McDonald’s Restaurant, Millstone, NJ: Summer 2002
Jay Vending, Six Flags Great Adventure: Summer 2003
ShopRite, Jackson, NJ: Summer 2004-present

Thank you!

By Hpnmath4life (Hpnmath4life) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 07:16 pm: Edit

i heard the school was stuck in the 60s and its practically illegal to be a non-vegan, is this true?

By Dave72 (Dave72) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 03:45 pm: Edit

No, it's not true.

To the OP: your SATs are on the low side, so you should definitely think of Oberlin as a reach. But your high school record is good, and you have solid ECs, so it's definitely worth applying. A lot will depend on your essays and recommendations. Good luck!

By Hpnmath4life (Hpnmath4life) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 01:00 pm: Edit

Thank you very much, and how much would you say my chances would go up if i applied ED?

By Alexandre (Alexandre) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 01:26 pm: Edit

I really recommend you retake your SAT, if you think you can raise it by a few points. As it stands, the mid 50% range is 1240-1440, so you are in the bottom 20%. I would say your chances are pretty slim, even if you apply ED. By the way, the acceptance rate for ED applicants to Oberlin is 70% (compared to 30% for regular decision applicants). So your odds are obviously better if you apply ED. But you had better be 110% sure that's where you want to go. Judging from your comment above, about Oberlin being stuck in the 60s, I would say you need to do some serious research on the school before applying ED. ED is not a joke. It is a promise on your part that you will enroll if accepted.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 02:13 pm: Edit

Oberlin looks at more than just SATs - the first and most important thing they will consider is your GPA and curriculum. Looks like you've done well there. Yes, your SATs are on the low side, but I'd say you still have a good shot at Oberlin, especially if you apply ED. It's still a reach, but a very realistic one.

Bard and Pitzer are solid matches. (Check the Pitzer web site carefully. I believe that they don't even look at SATs if you have above a certain GPA). Skidmore is in the same range as Oberlin - I'd recommend you consider it a reach, especially if you are female.

Beloit is a match/safety. You probably could use one more solid safety that you would be happy to attend. How about: Goucher, Earlham, or Hendrix? All similiar in feel to Beloit, Bard, Skidmore, OBerlin.

Good luck with your college search!

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 02:15 pm: Edit

Alexandre has a very good point - Oberlin is NOT for everyone. If you're not sure it's right for you, do NOT apply ED. At the very least, visit and spend some time on campus so you see if it's a fit.

By Joev (Joev) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 06:13 pm: Edit

Be sure to quit eating meat, grow your hair really long, and vote for nothing but ultra liberal canidates at Oberlin, or you will be frowned upon. Also if you go to Oberlin high school, you get free tuition at Oberlin College.

By A2a2 (A2a2) on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 11:14 pm: Edit

You've got a very good chance, but Oberlin is competitive, so get your scores up if you can. It's nice to be at least comfortably in the middle.

Just a hint...if you think you will participate in track or cross country in college, make sure to get in touch with the coach. Like every other LAC, they have to fill their teams. When my son applied - and made it clear that he wanted to continue his sport - the coach was very persistent in calling to recruit him for the team. I'd be very surprised if he didn't make a call to the admissions office to put in a good word.

Oberlin is a fantastic school - you'll get an amazing education there. I was very impressed with the students we met. Yes, it's a left-leaning/PC place - more so than most - but it's also a place for serious academic work and creativity. Excellent sciences, music, fine art/art history, creative writing - many strong departments. One thing that is very apparent is that Oberlin can offer a little more than smaller LACs - because it's on the high end of LAC enrollments.

By Yattaspoonpower (Yattaspoonpower) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 04:40 pm: Edit

looks as if you took little honors/AP classes since your weighted GPA is only a little more than your unweighted. On the basis it makes your achademic load look low. However, I'm assuming your weighted GPA is adding a point to classes which are honors/AP. Correct me if i'm wrong. I don't know alot about oberline, but i recommend taking some SAT2s and SAT1 again if you can. Your athletics are impressive though. I wasn't help at all, heh.

By Hpnmath4life (Hpnmath4life) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 09:31 pm: Edit

all of my courses have been made up of honors classes and i have taken a total of 6 aps...our school adds .5 per higher level class, so is say my course load was on the heavy side. I plan on taking the SAT IIs and i hope top bring up my SAT Is....thanks everyone for your help, i plan on visiting and doing an overnight in the extremely near future...thanks again!

By Hpnmath4life (Hpnmath4life) on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 09:32 pm: Edit

Also, i was wondering about the comment pertaining to xc and track, i had never planned to continue running in college but if it would increase my chances than i would be very inetersted, any comments on this?