<p>I’m guessing here but maybe Oberlin only does this with boarding school/private school kids as part of their relationship with the school (because they hope the kids will tell their schools Oberlin is “courting” them)? Maybe one or two “special” publics too, where there is a relationship? And maybe it is random in the sense that it is not an organized campaign by the admissions office, but left up to professors, who send when the mood strikes or they have time, so prospies with near identical stats receive different levels of mail and sometimes not even from their departmental major? That is what I suspect from all of your responses. It’s not organized. It’s a list of prospies with strong stats who attend choice secondary schools. And all the “letter/email” writers get the same list, and most choose to write only to those who are candidates for their department but others deviate from that plan. Perhaps college profs, including department heads, are like police officers–they each have a “quota” of letters they agree to send out (like cops have to write so many tickets to help produce department revenue) and it doesn’t matter to whom. Or maybe your student would be coming from a location that has produced few Oberlin applicants or enrollees. Perhaps other colleges do exactly the same thing.</p>
<p>My child did not attend a private school or a boarding school or a public with a pipeline to Oberlin. She attended a nothing special suburban public in a contiguous state. She applied RD. Oberlin sent her NOTHING. No emails, no brochures, no postcards, no letters, nothing. I guess she was a “ho-hum” dime-a-dozen candidate. Not a word from Oberlin for several months until the admission envelope showed up. Only AFTER being admitted did she receive a “love note.” Why didn’t she get them when others did, including some who were not admitted or waitlisted? Maybe Oberlin deep down didn’t care much if she went elsewhere–before they admitted her. I don’t know.</p>
<p>Of course Elizabeth Houston will post a response and blow my guesswork all to bits, but it is as good a theory as any that I’ve heard up to this point. :)</p>