<p>I realized that there were quite a bit of cars that bore some college bumper stickers (UPenn, Dartmouth, to name the schools I actually visited, but I saw other bumper stickers, like Vanderbilt, Columbia, Princeton, on the road) on my lab visits.</p>
<p>There have been multiple mentions to bumper stickers on parenting articles that pertain to raising high school-aged kids through the college admissions process. I suppose one would not purchase a college bumper sticker without first either being admitted him/herself or having a kid that attends the school on the sticker.</p>
<p>So I wonder why one would put a bumper sticker with a college name on it?</p>
<p>I don’t understand your question. I don’t have one, but lots of people put bumper stickers on their cars for the colleges they or their kids attend. School pride, etc. We got a couple of bumper stickers in the mail from colleges my D2 was admitted to after her acceptance. Heck, we parents even got t-shirts from one school (and I wear it even though my kid didn’t decide to attend because it is comfy and I like the color!).</p>
<p>Because every time I am loading the groceries in the back of my station wagon it reminds me of my far-away child. Because I am happy to send him and my money to the school named on the decal, and would be happy to discuss it with anyone who asks why it is special.</p>
<p>@intparent You said that you received trinkets like bumper stickers, window decals and even a T-shirt for your D2’s undergraduate acceptances; do schools send these trinkets out for PhD acceptances as well?</p>
<p>I have no idea, I don’t have a student applying for a PhD. But I seriously doubt it. These are marketing expenditures to try to convince parents that their student should attend (some are aimed at students). I don’t think colleges have marketing budgets for attracting PhD students…</p>
<p>I let my kids put the stickers on the car that they share, but not on my car or my husband’s car. This seemed to be a happy compromise for anyone. Both of my kids have a lot of pride in their schools and bumper stickers on their car seems like a harmless way to encourage it. Having the stickers on the car is not any different than having them wear a school shirt or hoodie around the neighborhood in my opinion.</p>
<p>Are you expecting a free window decal as a PhD accepted student? Somehow, I think at that point, the schools might expect you to purchase your own. They are easily available online from your school bookstore.</p>
<p>And yet, research universities (especially RU/VH schools) depend on PhD students to maintain their status; one would expect some marketing budgets to be used in order to attract PhD students.</p>
<p>lol… PhD is almost slave labor. And no one is looking at their stats & yield for PhD students. Why do you care? Your initial post sounds like you couldn’t even see why someone would put one on. And now you aren’t happy if you don’t get one?</p>
<p>PhD programs that are funded, ad small, invite students for a weekend. They pay airfare, hotel, meals, etc. They are both interviewing the student as well as wooing them. Parents are an incidental. </p>
<p>A PhD acceptance is still a source of pride for the student. </p>
<p>I am not <em>expecting</em> any trinket to come with a PhD acceptance, however. Just that I could purchase one after the final matriculation decision is made.</p>
<p>Fine if people want to display them–just a little school spirit/pride. My parents put their oldest grandchildren’s decals on their van, but now they are up to their 11th grandchild/10th different college–they wouldn’t be able to see out the back window if they kept that up.</p>
<p>90% of the ones I see are local State U. and State State. I think most of them are indicating support of the colleges’ sports teams more than anything else. I do enjoy seeing the rare decal from my college (another state u., several states away. . .) Is it OK if the school is State U., but “bragging” or offensive if the kid goes to an ivy?? (I don’t think so, if you or your kid went to that school, go ahead and put on the decal.)
I didn’t put them on my car-- S’s had some, but never got around to putting them on–too lazy, lost them. I like them, though-- I think it is interesting to see where my neighbors/neighbors’ kids went/go to school. </p>
<p>I drove around at my grad school (where I got my Ph.D.) with the window decal from my undergrad in the center of the back window. What’s the question here??</p>
<p>Now that the reasons of why people could put college bumper stickers are covered, I understand all the references to bumper stickers that were made on some parenting articles I’ve read lately…</p>