<p>First of all, I don’t think your chances at Oberlin RD are that bad. But only the admissions committee can say that for sure.</p>
<p>The things that you list as important considerations are probably about par at both Oberlin and Grinnell. Both schools are left-of-center, have pretty minimal athletic culture, get blasted with Midwestern winter, and have excellent records of sending students to top grad schools. Oberlin’s programs in art history and politics are excellent; I don’t know Grinnell’s strengths, but can’t imagine that you’d find their academics weak. In other words, forget the list. In all of the areas that are most significant to you, you won’t have a hugely different experience at either school … so you can relax a little knowing that no matter which college you choose, it won’t be the “wrong” one.</p>
<p>So, some other things to think about:
- Have you had a chance to visit each school? Was there a campus where you felt more at home – where you had an instant gut feeling that you could see yourself living there?
- Do you have a secret preference? If you were to flip a coin and it came up with Oberlin, would you wish deep down that it had come up with Grinnell? If you opened an acceptance letter from Grinnell, would you feel a pang of regret at never getting to experience Oberlin?
- Which school is farther from home? This may not seem like a big deal now, but in four years you may feel differently.
- When you talk to the people who know you best, where do they think you should go?</p>
<p>As a side note… I definitely understand wanting to get the process over with, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea to apply somewhere ED with that motive. Other people on CC will disagree with this, but in order to apply ED I don’t think it’s essential to be 100% certain that the place you’re applying ED is the one, and that it’s head and tails above every other school you’re considering, and that you could never be fully satisfied anywhere else. If you’ve got two equally great options, and you’re confident that you would be just as happy and do just as well at either school, and at the end of the day you can’t find anything that’s pulling you toward one over the other, and yet you really want to apply ED … then fill out both applications, close your eyes, stick one in the mailbox, and tear the other one in half. If you really think that both schools are equally right for you, and you’ve done your research and are being honest with yourself about what you really want, then no matter which one you pick or how you pick it, you’ll end up at a school where you’ll do fine.</p>