Oberlin acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Oberlin admitted 3,873 of 11,732 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 33.0%. Every number below comes from the college’s own Common Data Set, each year linked to its document; a figure the college leaves blank says “Not published”, and the notes at the foot of the page say where a total is the sum of rows the college printed.
What did admitted applicants have? How to get into Oberlin counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
Oberlin acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 11,732 | 3,873 | 33.0% | 768 | 19.8% |
| 2024-25 | 10,529 | 3,597 | 34.2% | 704 | 19.6% |
| 2023-24 | 11,039 | 3,641 | 33.0% | 779 | 21.4% |
Acceptance rate is admitted divided by applied; yield is enrolled divided by admitted. Both are computed by Aristo Scholars from the two counts printed beside them.
Early decision at Oberlin
Oberlin waitlist
Oberlin SAT and ACT scores
What Oberlin says matters in admission
In section C7 each college rates its own admission factors as Very Important, Important, Considered or Not Considered. These are the factors Oberlin rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA
- Important: Application essay, Recommendations, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities
- 2024-25
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA
- Important: Recommendations, Application essay, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities
- 2023-24
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Academic GPA
- Important: Recommendations, Application essay, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities
Oberlin testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test-optional. Applicants may submit SAT and/or ACT scores (self-reported on the application, with official reports only if they enroll), but scores are not required.
From Oberlin’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
In the 2023-24 document Oberlin reports a waitlist but the three C2 counts are blank.
Oberlin acceptance rate questions
- What is the Oberlin acceptance rate?
- Oberlin's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 11,732 first-year applicants and 3,873 admitted, an acceptance rate of 33.0%. It was 34.2% in 2024-25 and 33.0% in 2023-24.
- What is the Oberlin early decision acceptance rate?
- In 2025-26, 263 of 668 early decision applicants were admitted (39.4%), against 33.0% of all applicants. Early decision applicants are a different pool who commit to enroll, so the two rates are not a like-for-like comparison.
- What SAT scores do Oberlin students have?
- In 2025-26, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 1370 to 1480, and ACT submitters scored 30 to 33. 34.0% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- How many students get off the Oberlin waitlist?
- In 2025-26, Oberlin offered 968 applicants a place on the waitlist; 460 accepted one, and 33 were admitted from it.
- Does Oberlin require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test-optional. Applicants may submit SAT and/or ACT scores (self-reported on the application, with official reports only if they enroll), but scores are not required.
Applying to Oberlin?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what Oberlin says it weighs.
Source: Oberlin Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with Oberlin. All official acceptance rates