All Roads to begin next week

For first time, event will be a week

Next week hordes of prospectives will descend upon Oberlin for the Office of Admission's most massive recruiting drive, All Roads Lead to Oberlin. All Roads is a time when newly admitted students are invited to visit and attend activities and informational sessions held specifically for their benefit.

This year All Roads will last for a week, from April 17-23. Traditionally, All Roads has been held for two days.

The length change is the result of the increasing number of visitors the event attracts each year, according to Debra Chermonte, director of admissions. By hosting nearly 600 visitors over the course of two days, "[The Office of Admissions] lost out in opportunities to be as personal," Chermonte said, and so the event was extended to a week.

This year, Admissions expects to have as many visitors as last year. The All Roads length change is not the only alteration that has been made to make Oberlin appear more personal to visitors.

Included with the packet each prospective receives upon arrival will be a personalized letter from the staff member responsible for their application. The letter will suggest particular classes and activities to the prospective based on the staff member's knowledge of him or her.

This information, Chermonte said, "will help the student to tailor their visit."

Around 50 percent of the prospectives who visit campus choose to attend Oberlin.

Only about 10-12 Conservatory prospectives will probably visit Oberlin during All Roads, projects Michael Manderen, Director of Conservatory admissions. Manderen attributes the small numbers to the fact that by this time most Conservatory applicants have already visited campus once or twice for auditions.

The Conservatory experienced its second record year in terms of the number of applications - 1,040 - received. Last year, 1,020 applications were received.

Departments where applications were "way up," according to Manderen, are bassoon, French horn, percussion and violin. Every department except composition and electronic and computer music experienced application increases. "We will still continue to enroll good classes [in those departments]," Manderen said, adding that quality is tough to quantify.

Manderen said that the students who apply to the Conservatory are overlapping more with the students who apply to the top music schools in the world, such as Curtis and Juilliard.

This year the Conservatory admitted about a third of all applicants, as it did last year. Manderen projects that the yield, or percentage of admitted students who enroll will be around 44 percent. Manderen said that pricing is an issue for many students who apply to Oberlin. He said that the Conservatory's top competitors are all cheaper than Oberlin. "It's a tough decision to enroll," Manderen said.

The Conservatory expects to enroll an incoming class of 135.

This year, for the second time in the past six years, applications for the college topped 4,000. Sixty-seven and a half percent of all applicants were accepted, a figure down five percentage points from last year. The number of applications received rose about 3.4 percent.

The number of applications received from students of color was 18 percent of the total applicant pool - the same percentage as last year. The number of applications received from African Americans, about 236, and Asian Americans, about 306, is exactly the same as last year.

The number of applications received from Latino students increased by 15 points.

The College expects to enroll 615 first-years, 50 transfers and 40 double-degree students.

Chermonte said that the goal for the yield is to improve it by at least a point. "We feel that is obtainable given the restructuring of the financial aid budget," Chermonte said.

Those accepted must notify the College of their decision to enroll by May 1.