My now college daughter somehow got onto a mailing list in 9th grade although she didn’t take SATs/PSATs until 11th grade. We laughed at many of the mailings - some were from for profit places and some were for top schools like ivy league schools. U Chicago sent tons of mail all 4 years. Very few were actually looked at since the novelty wore off fast.
My daughter’s friend, however fell for the marketing. She isn’t a great student by any means and most of you would be horrified by her test results - her SAT was under 1000. Her grades were not always honor roll level. She applied to U Chicago and Harvard. Her belief was they would want her because she offered diversity since she attended a religious school. She was surprised to get rejected by both. I asked her parents why they didn’t discourage her from applying to save time and application fees Her mother was like well I figured she would stand out from other people applying so get in that way.