<p>My first choice LAC acceptance came in an elaborate folder in a thick envelope, another acceptance came in a big colorful envelope that said "Congratulations" very visibly, and a small state college acceptance came on a single sheet of paper in a standard envelope. A week later, more comprehensive materials from this college arrived. </p>
<p>Unless you know exactly what kind of letters the college you're expecting to hear from sends out, then you just cannot tell what those little letters will say. (The big envelopes are a little safer bet, though.)</p>
<p>D has 3 LAC acceptances to date. One came in a large, heavy envelope; it was in a heavy school folder with littel confetti stars. Another was in a large glossy envelope that actually looked like another marketing piece; it had an acceptance letter, a scholarship letter, and a nice certificate of congratulations for the scholarship. The 3rd was in a regular, thin envelope. SO, if you get a thin envelope, take a deep breath ... and open it, for heaven's sake!</p>
<p>My acceptance to Northland College came in a cardboard cylinder with Northland written all over it. It turns out it had a water bottle and a scholarship for 24k in it, not my mention my acceptance. I was pretty happy, but it's not my first choice by a long shot.</p>
<p>One of the big things that went on for the Columbia students was calling Fedex (or DHL this year) to see if they had a package coming for them. If Columbia shipped it through a third party, it was an acceptance letter but regular mail through USPS was a rejection/deferral.</p>
<p>Well, Vissanik said exactly what I was going to share with you all... but my great big fat "Congratulations"-emblazoned envelope was no surprise to me anyway because Stanford made admissions decisions available via internet the Friday before the envelope came. </p>