^^^I think the mailers are for the parents
^^ As a recent alumnus who received a barrage of UChicago mail not so many years ago, I’d offer that direct mail in the context of college admissions may be surprisingly effective and cannot be compared to mail of other kinds. I hardly ever check my physical mailbox and automatically throw away most promotional mail. But that’s because I don’t care about the organizations mailing me.
In the case of colleges, I did. Even if the mail was from a school I had no interest in attending, it still felt good to be reached out to. Intellectually, I knew that it was pure marketing, that they likely had no idea who I was. But it still made me feel special to be targeted by a college. Papa John’s coupons don’t make me feel special in the same way, unless the discounts are shockingly attractive.
On the topic that young people prefer to get their (our) information digitally: yes, but there’s a place for paper correspondence. It’s why hand-written letters are more romantic than e-cards.
The fact that so many people are making a fuss about UChicago’s mailing campaigns indicates that it’s at least attracting attention, which is more than can be said for most direct mail.
I second what @windseclib said.
I think direct mail works better than other media because nobody makes college decisions based on a 30-second TV spot or a digital ad. Or at least, nobody in UChicago’s target audience. That’s why DeVry advertises on Facebook and Yale doesn’t.
When people do unimportant stuff like buy laundry detergent or elect U.S. senators, many will go with the option that ran a funny or memorable TV spot. Not so with college, for most families considering UChicago. So I’m sure an impression via direct mail costs more, but you actually get acquisitions that way - something that can’t be said of TV or digital ads.
I’ll third that, I’m from the rural midwest and (a) read virtually all of my college mail from good universities and (b) likely wouldn’t have been aware of uchicago much or applied to it as my top choice without the mail
I think one needs to remember that Admissions at selective universities like the University of Chicago are pretty good at what they do. I suspect that if direct mailings were not effective at doing what they want it to do, they wouldn’t do it. I do know that my sons quickly sorted the ones that were interesting to them and skimmed the information. They read these communications far more than they did emails or self searches on the internet.
As much as people complain about mailers, there is a certain psychological affect that you get from receiving multiple mailers which includes the idea that some college wants you (to apply).