<p>okay, so my original point wasn’t exactly like the OP’s, because Oberlin’s tactics weren’t to get more applications, but maybe to encourage high yield, and on this point, as I said, the materials we got from Oberlin were NOTHING like any other college: and between the two of my kids they applied to alot of colleges. </p>
<p>For example, post-application, my S got a personal letter from a Dean of the College (not a dean of admissions), but my daughter did not. So, wouldn’t this lead one to believe that perhaps my son’s file was of interest… especially since he had super-high SAT scores (as did my daughter). She got letters from professors in her areas of interest. They both got an email right after their scores were sent saying something about how glad they were to get scores like that (or something to that effect). Both got an email from their admissions rep, but this was actually nice, I thought, because it encouraged them to come with questions; this one I didn’t see as “stringing along,” but as helpful. </p>
<p>In the thread I referenced from someone’s experience applying in '09, the OP talked about how much personal contact she got from her admissions rep who pointed out things she liked in the application, and then that person got WL. Another school’s admissions rep emailed my D and told her what a great application she had – and followed this up not only with an acceptance, but a huge scholarship offer (my D declined, but made sure to send a personal reply to this admissions officer).</p>
<p>If Oberlin wants to be that cavalier with its prospective students, then let them. This is not a case of blanket marketing or typical college tactics.</p>
<p>For the record, I still think Oberlin is a great school, and it would have made my son’s decision more difficult than it already was once all his acceptances came in (my D loved it, too, but it would not have remained in top contention with her other acceptances). </p>
<p>My kids are happily settled at schools that are perfect for them, so this is not sour grapes about not getting in; it’s really more about a process that I thought was misleading on Oberlin’s part. </p>
<p>Macalester was a school that sent information about the school ad nauseum, but these were not personal letters, they were newsletters; in our minds, it negated their view of being so environmentally sensitive…and again, for the record, still a school we loved, but got annoyed at…</p>