<p>my D is applying ED to a small liberal arts college. yesterday she got an email from a student (current junior at the college) who works in the admissions office and also graduated from my D's high school. the email said that she had heard from an admissions officer that my D was applying ED and that she was very happy, since no one from their h.s. had applied in the last 2 years. she told my D to email her with any questions and that they could get together over thanksgiving break when she is home from college...</p>
<p>the only way that this student could have gotten my D's email address was from the admissions officer (or someone in the admissions office) since this was an email acc't that was set up only for college admissions.</p>
<p>is this a good sign that my D is likely to be accepted?</p>
<p>Well, at a guess : It's definitely not a BAD sign!</p>
<p>My son got an "Early Write" from Carleton. ("Hello there, we like you so much that we're letting you know of your acceptance before the April notification date...blah, blah.") I think that a number of LACs have this "early write" approach, as it may help them to compete with the larger schools. (Makes the applicant feel special; allows for possible negotiation time re:financial aid.) I THINK that at the point that he received the Early-Write letter, some people outside the admisisons office knew that he was accepted. Obviously, this was RD (given the April notification date).</p>
<p>My son also had a friend who was a Carleton freshman, who actually worked IN the admisisons office. She told us about the extreme measures taken (at least by Carleton) to ensure applicants' confidentiality... But I had the impression that the only teensy lapses in that vigilance may have occurred when happy things happened (e.g., the "early-write" letters).</p>
<p>So... Maybe your daughter's e-mail contact is good. Best case would be that the LAC tries to promote ties among home-town-"mates," and that your daughter's e-mail was a direct or indirect form of recruiting.</p>
<p>Again, very hard to see how it would be a bad sign. I do think that the good LACs are very protective of their admissions info -- especially if an applicant is likely to be disappointed.</p>
<p>(BTW -- DS did not end up at Carleton, but I always thought that he should have!)</p>
<p>thanks piglette and johnleemk... i've got my fingers crossed. if it doesn't work out, then i will be very disappointed that this type of "leak" happened...</p>
<p>Just as another viewpoint, my d received a few e-mails from alumni of her high school who were at schools she was considering, asking for questions, etc., before she even submitted her applications. This could be nothing more than a "touchy-feely" type of contact. So while I agree it's not a bad sign, it may be nothing more than the normal marketing contact.</p>
<p>I wouldn't take it all too seriously.</p>
<p>But I do wish your d the absolute best of luck (and hope I'm wrong!)</p>
<p>i thought of that possibility, but my D already submitted her app... why market now? and it's binding ED... so it's not like she could back out, right?</p>
<p>One other possibility did occur to me : Perhaps the hometown friend heard about your daughter's application from mutual friends/townspeople. She may have decided on her own to contact your daughter. But if the friend did not know your DD's e-mail address, then perhaps the easiest thing for the friend to do was to tap into the e-mail address database in the admissions office. (Access to addresses would probably not be limited and super-secret, as many routine contacts are made with applicants via e-mail.)</p>
<p>That would explain why the friend contacted your daughter through an e-mail address that would normally have been specific to the LAC.</p>
<p>Just a thought.</p>
<p>Well.. Good luck no matter what! Not so very long before ED decisions come out.</p>
<p>yeah, we'll know soon enough... but the email to my D said that she had heard from an admissions officer that my D had applied ED... so i'm hoping that it is a type of "early write" that you mentioned above! i just wonder why they would do that? it's binding ED, so what's the point? </p>
<p>over thanksgiving break my D is planning to meet the college student who emailed her, so maybe she'll get a wink, wink... (or not)...</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but I still think you may be reading too much into this e-mail. The schools don't necessarily take kids' names off their "interested" list just because they've applied ED; they don't have the time to compare & purge lists. For example, my d has gotten "Please apply" e-mails from schools that have already acknowledged receipt of her application. The school may just have a policy of forwarding e-mail addresses from certain high schools to their student admissions workers. And even if it is binding ED, they may still want kids who are excited and so continue with the "warm fuzzy" e-mails. Most "likely" letters I've heard about aren't cryptic - they tell you what they want you to know up front.</p>
<p>I'd suggest just taking it as it comes, neither reading good or bad into any of the "signals" until you get a decision. Maybe it's the cynic in me, but why set yourself up for a fall?</p>
<p>i agree. you are right. it is best not to build up false expectations... i have not discussed my thoughts with my D other than to say that i thought it was very nice that she got an email...</p>
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my d has gotten "Please apply" e-mails from schools that..
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<p>lol...
I applied to a school about 3 weeks ago. The application is complete except for the first term grades. Then this week I got a letter from the admissions office with an offer of fee waiver to induce me to apply! They got the name from College Board. Too bad I already paid the application fee.</p>