Increased selectivity for 2003

While complaints of over-enrollment buzz throughout the campus, the class of 2003 cannot be held responsible.

Six hundred students make up the class in the College of Arts and Sciences. This number was just five above the target number of 595. The Conservatory boasts the largest class ever enrolled, with 169 first-years. Double-degree students were close to the target number of 40 with 36 enrolling. These numbers are not, however, the cause of the housing shortage.

While students who came back to Oberlin after taking leave are partially the cause, the office of admissions did note that 68 transfer students were enrolled this fall. This figure is much larger than the expected 45.

"We have not been able to link it to anything," said Deborah Chermonte, director of admissions.

Of the first-year class, 44 of the 50 states are represented as well as 18 foreign countries. As it has been in the past, New York, Ohio, California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania were the top five states represented.

The average SAT scores increased 20 points in the College of Arts and Sciences to a 1329 mean and the average unweighted GPA was 3.6. These scores reflect the increased improvement of admissions.

Improvements can also be shown in the number of students who were accepted to the college. Of those who applied, the college only accepted 58 percent, down from two years ago when acceptance was 65 percent.

In the Conservatory, a record number of students applied, up six percent from last year. One third of the students who applied were accepted and half of those enrolled, a total of 169. This, too, was a record- breaking number for the Conservatory.

"We are a bit over-enrolled," said Mike Manderen, director of Conservatory admissions.

Of the class of 2003, only 124 are students of color in the college, with a drop in the number of African Americans and Asian Americans compared with past years.

Approximately 65 percent of the incoming class is receiving some type of need-based financial aid. This is roughly the same as in years past.

"This class is as well rounded a class as we've had in recent history," said Chermonte.

Both the college and Conservatory are also looking forward to using common applications. The college application will now consist of two parts, a general information portion and a second part that can be taken from the Common Application or from the Oberlin application. The Common Application is used by many other schools nationwide.

The Conservatory will now be a part of a common application for conservatory students. The application will be used for eight premiere conservatories around the nation.