So how do we make sense of need blind admissions? Well, let's take 100 potential applicants. The first 95 get in based on standardized test scores, high school achievement, recommendations, and that change the world essay. The final 5 get in based on their standardized test scores, high school achievement, recommendations, that "change the world" essay and how much money their parents can give the college. That's basically what the eradication of need blind admissions boils down to. If you're in that last 5 percent and your folks make a lot of money, that's fine. You'll get one of the best educations money can and will buy. But, if you're in that last 5 percent and your folks can't pay, the cloest you'll get to Oberlin might be reading about it in Rolling Stone or US News and World Reports. With all this said, it must be understood that need blind admissions is only part of the cloudy ambiguity in the admissions process. A thorough explanation of Oberlin's admissions process is needed. How much do SAT's and ACT's really play in one's admittance and completion of Oberlin? How much weight does the high school thespian society pull? Are student-athletes provided with lower admission standards? Who reads those "change the world" essays and what are they looking for? In addition to the intricacies of need blind admissions, students need these questions answered.
When the College axed need blind admission in 1994, advocates of the need blind policy contended that the change would adversely affect the racial and class diversity of student body. With two years of need blind admissions underway, the results are fairly clear. Because 5 percent are admitted on merit and how much money their parents make, the packages for those whose parents don't make that much have gotten better, as the College can now meet every student's determined financial need. This was but a dream before the end of need blind admissions as Oberlin was unable to meet many admitted student's financial need. So, did the end of need blind admissions change the world? Yes, some students' worlds ... Oberlin is an extremely expensive competitive college. Students who apply to extremely expensive competitive colleges are usually students who do well in school and on standardized tests. And whether it's just or not, parent's socio-economic status is a good indicator of one's high school success. So what? So, a nice portion of that 95 admitted solely on their merit can pay the whole chunk anyway. And while the eradication of need blind admissions could possibly slightly lessen the diversity of an incoming class, it could ameliorate minority retention, which is so many times dictated by the inability to pay for 4 years of Oberlin. And if more money is given to those who historically have not been able to pay for Oberlin, the end of need blind admissions might have been a tiny hop in the right direction.
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