Can we talk about Priority Applications?

Parents Forum
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<p>I am completely astounded by the fairly new introduction of "Priority Applications" that are and have been emailed to us over the past several months. Probably five of these come from colleges that have emailed "offers" at least five times, and as many as ten. </p>

<p>This marketing (as a former marketing professional) is very disturbing to me, for a number of reasons. But I'm curious as to what CC parents experiences have been with them.</p>

<p>Obviously, these schools are targeting a certain demographic, I assume test-score driven, but also sometimes geographic in nature. The wording in them is seductive to students and parents: no fee, no essay, "Priority," "Leaders," four-week decision, etc. The implication is that "Kid, just fill out the paperwork and you're in," though of course intellectually an adult knows that's not the case. But do students?</p>

<p>Also obviously, this is a great marketing tool to increase applications and thereby decrease a school's acceptance rate thus, (falsely) making a school seem as if it is more "selective." </p>

<p>Where I believe the fuzzy morality enters is here: "XXX College" has seduced a greater number of seniors to apply to its school through Priority Apps.. Now XXX has to determine how to make its yield numbers the best possible, so it doesn't look like that newly-selective acceptance rate is based on XXX's new marketing efforts. Thus, it has to determine how serious "Priority Application" students are about actually attending XXX. Did the student accept our Priority offer after the first email or the 5th? Is the student qualified or overqualified? Where else is student applying and where are we likely to be on the list - "Tuft's Syndrome" (caveat: I adore Tufts, and am sorry to use their name in vain in this example) THE ERROR IN THINKING (in my opinion): student receives several offers of seduction from XXX, which may not be a school student had ever heard of. Student explores XXX, becomes interested and applies (seductive wording in offer infers acceptance,) and therefore has invested in XXX. XXX has no way of determining a student's actual real, human commitment to the college and real, human vulnerability based on their seduction.</p>

<p>I understand that acceptance rate and yield are numbers that all colleges are concerned with, BUT I'm not convinced that students know that this Priority Application brand of blatant effort is JUST marketing, and really is a GAME. I think that this kind of game plays even more with students' emotions than the admissions process does already.</p>

<p>What are your thoughts and/or experiences?</p>

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<p>You have actually put in writing what I have been thinking about these priority applications. Since the beginning of this college application season, if you will, I have heard of quite a few rejections from this process and I was completely surprised until I began to think of it as a marketing tool as you mention. I think parents are flattered at first and encourage the application and research of these schools however people need to realize what is driving this. Thank you for your careful observations.</p>

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<p>When my S was applying for undergrad admission five years ago he got numerous priority applications in the mail. The most interesting one came from Tulane. It arrived in the mail in mid to late October and was essentially pre-completed and only required a few bits of information and his signature, and I think he also had the option of completing it online. There was no application fee required. They promised a decision within two weeks as I recall. </p>

<p>Since he had no interest in attending Tulane he never submitted the application.</p>

<p>Here's where it get humorous. He got another letter from Tulane in early December congratulating him and informing him that he had been selected as a finalist for their President's Scholarship which was followed by yet another letter in the Spring informing him that regrettably they were unable to offer him the scholarship but hoped that he would attend Tulane nonetheless.</p>

<p>As I said earlier, HE NEVER APPLIED!....We got a great laugh out of that whole episode. I think I saved the last two letters with his other acceptance letters because it was so funny.</p>

<p>I would hope they have their process a bit more refined by now. :)</p>

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<p>My D received 5 of these applications. She completed 2 of them & ignored the other ones. Now I think that one she ignored just sent her something else saying it wasn't "too late" to submit the Priority Application. I do believe that the 2 she did complete were looking at her state of residence, but I could be wrong on that. That could be why she was targeted to begin with. The thing is that yes, she did research the schools and see if she thought they would be a school where she would enjoy attending. So the Priority Applications did do that, they made her look at those schools & she might not have done that without the Priority Applications. Actually I think she confused me in that she did not complete the Priority Applications for the schools I thought she did, but did the other two instead. I then had to change my Excel Spreadsheet I have to keep her organized! </p>

<p>The Guidance Counselor's take was "nothing to lose" especially with no fee-that is another enticement & a limited essay. It appears the Guidance Counselor doesn't mind the extra work for an Application of this nature, a valid point to be sure. If accepted or wait-listed, then go and visit! You could visit to see if you wanted to remain on the wait list, right? My D's attitude has been "sounds great" for schools, not "if I don't get in, I will surely die" attitude. She does have a number one choice though. </p>

<p>We did discuss the Priority Applications as a marketing gimmick and she did agree with me-the schools market themselves & the students market themselves, and it is a game.</p>

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<p>Honestly, why doesn't everyone check the don't send mail box on the PSAT? After all the garbage my first got, that's what my other kids did. With all the info you need for any college you're interested in one click away, who needs any of the mailbox clogging ads?</p>

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<p>Wow. I hadn't heard of rejections from this mechanism, and honestly I thought it was a good idea.</p>

<p>Our experience:</p>

<p>My daughter submitted one such "priority application" -- something she clearly received based on test scores and geography. It was from a public university in our state, but not one that naturally serves the market where we live. (She actually received several such offers from distant in-state publics, but only acted on one.) This college was not on her "list", but she thought about it for a few days and realized that it made sense as a safety. Kids she knew and liked from a statewide program would be going there, and were enthusiastic about it. It was reasonably strong in areas she cared about. It had some qualities that appealed to her, a good honors program, and the price -- for applying ($0) and for attending -- was attractive. So one morning before school she spent 15 minutes completing the application, and was accepted by return mail. After that, she devoted more attention to learning about the college, and learned some more good things and bad things about it, and none of that ultimately made any difference when she was accepted at colleges she wanted to attend a lot more.</p>

<p>I thought it was a good attention-grabbing device to get target students to pay attention to this college. And, honestly, in my corner of the world it seems to be working. It didn't work for my child -- although she talked about it with friends at school, which of course raised the college's profile in a target group. And in the four years since then, the college has become something of a safety of choice for good students at her high school who want to go somewhere else for college, something that was not true before. Three of my second child's close friends are there now, all of whom were bona fide Ivy-type candidates -- top 5% of their class, leaders, athlete, etc. (Two struck out at that level and didn't see enough value in paying elite prices for next-tier private colleges; one turned down an Ivy school because he decided he and his family couldn't handle the price difference.) I suspect the college believes that its marketing effort in this area, including the priority applications, is working nicely. I don't think yield management enters into the picture much, if at all.</p>

<p>I'll add something else. Colleges obviously spend a lot of money marketing themselves to target students. Things like priority applications and early acceptances can be a great tool in that effort. The college doesn't have to really start the marketing push until the kid at least raises her hand by applying, and nothing concentrates a kid's attention like an actual offer of admission. My daughter's case -- with another college -- illustrates that perfectly. She applied EA to a college that WAS on her list, but really just part of the pack when she applied. After she was accepted, the college did a masterful job of marketing to her, so that by the time April rolled around (and the ultimate rejection from her "dream school"), she was really comfortable with and enthusiastic about the idea of attending the EA college, much more so than with the other colleges that accepted her in April (all of which she had visited, researched, etc., but none of which had engaged her in a long, expensive "conversational" marketing process the way the EA college had).</p>

<p>Now, multiple mailings of glossy materials is horribly costly if you get the standard direct-mail 0.5% response rate, but not really costly at all if you get a 50% success rate out of it. (The EA college has about a 50% yield from its EA acceptances.)</p>

<p>So . . . I understand completely how this can work for a college. But I would be troubled, too, if I had seen significant rejections from the process.</p>

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<p>Son did check that "dont send mail" and still got mail. Not sure how they got his information, but in addition to mail his email was clogged as well. Obviously collegeboard is selling their data. The profitability index of this company has really gotten out of hand.</p>

<p>My son got one that said, "sign here, you're in" Also, he has gotten tons of recruiting letters but I think that is mostly based on conference awards etc that are probably noted on the state's high school league website or something (which would have his school as well). However, our school never sells addresses, so.. hmmmm... I have no idea but it didn't come from the coach.</p>

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<p>Everyone hates College Board for so many reasons, wonder why someone hasn't taken them on. A new improved test with better and cheaper services?</p>

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<p>Isn't that what the ACT is doing? When I was coming up no one knew about it, and my college guides pretty much dismissed it as something only mid-western schools dealt with. Now its accepted at all schools.</p>

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<p>Mathson got a priority application from RPI, a school he'd already been considering as a safety. He jumped at the chance to apply with a minimal essay. He had an acceptance by Thanksgiving and a letter that he was in line for a merit scholarship. (They eventually offered him $10,000 a year no strings.) What's not to like? If he'd been rejected from his other schools he certainly would have attended RPI.</p>

1 Like
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<p>IMO, Tulane tops the list in their marketing of the "priority application". Has anyone not received their priority application email? This is their way of making the school look a lot more selective than it really is. They increase the number of applications thus making their % of applicants accepted appear competitive to selective schools. A lot of kids around here (LI Public Schools) use Tulane as their EA safety. In all honesty, I don't know anyone from here who has ever been rejected by Tulane.</p>

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<p>Scottie, ACT is probably in the position to best take them on, but they're wimpy. For whatever reason colleges don't seem to respect their test. At DS's college, certain SAT scores get you out of 101 type of classes, but not even a 36 ACT lets you out of anything.</p>

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<p>hmom5 - that is becasue you are in NYC. Come West and it changes :)
I actually think that ACT is a more difficult test, more thorough one, that can't be played that easily. Math on ACT is more difficult and it has the science component lacking on SAT.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Scottie, ACT is probably in the position to best take them on, but they're wimpy. For whatever reason colleges don't seem to respect their test. At DS's college, certain SAT scores get you out of 101 type of classes, but not even a 36 ACT lets you out of anything.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is just bad information and HUGELY east coast elitism/bias at play. Plenty of the top top schools take either the SAT or the ACT with writing. Moreover, if you submit the SAT you also need to submit two subject tests. Amherst, Tufts, Hamilton, Trinity, Middlebury -- none of them require SAT II's if you submit the ACT with writing over the SAT. And both Johns Hopkins and Georgetown merely recommend two SAT II tests. Seems to me that needing to supply more testing is a sign that the SAT, on it's own merits, is seen as incomplete at best. </p>

<p>The truth:</p>

<p>The reason that most take the SAT out east is because frankly, there just aren't that many testing sites for the ACT and students are routinely shut out. This, again, is due to collegeboards marketing agreements. It is my understanding that your school has to have a certain number of students in order to offer both tests or something like that. My own son's school only offers the SAT for that very reason, but there is a larger school not too far away where they all take the ACT as a home base. You can find either test fairly equally around here just not usually both at the same place except for very large highschools (enrollments 3500 +).</p>

<p>And I know for an absolute fact that Dartmouth does not hold those classes out for only students who take SAT's. That is just one standard, but there are other ways to meet that threshold having nothing to do with the stranglehold of collegeboard.</p>

<p>And why would ACT take them on when it seems clear collegeboard is now seen as bending to the ways of the ACT by adding writing, changing up the whole cow is to field as fish is to pond to reflect actual learning? (not to mention score choice) It is not lost on educators that the SAT is additionally slanted towards white middle class and higher income students. Those who spend another 1000 dollars taking their prep classes learn HOW to take the test without learning any new information in the process.</p>

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<p>cross posted wth Kelowna saying pretty much the same thing only hers was done more succinctly! :)</p>

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<p>

Well, actually, I think that in these cases it is "just fill out the paperwork and you're in." These colleges send "Priority Applications" to students whose stats are well above the 75th percentile (probably more like the 90th or so) of admitted students, and they're colleges whose admissions process seems to be primarily numbers-driven (OTOH, if a student's transcript doesn't support the test scores or match the student's self-reported GPA, then a rejection may occur. No surprise there, either).</p>

<p>They'd love to have some of these high-scoring, high-achieving kids consider them, even as a "safety." Some targeted kids will take a closer look at these colleges that weren't even on their radar before. Some might find them to be viable safeties; some might even decide that a college that woos them with perks and merit aid out the wazoo is a good choice, better than a college that charges them $30-60k/year for the hard-won privilege of attending. And if a few of those "Priority" kids apply and matriculate to a particular college, then the college has gained some highly desirable students and enhanced its student body.</p>

<p>What exactly is wrong with this, again?</p>

1 Like
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<p>I don't know if there is something wrong, but the amount of junk mail at our house thru mid-november and early december was HUGE and like I said, S did not check any little boxes (as I had told him what they were for).</p>

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<p>Except for the waste of paper, we loved the junk mail. We found it fascinating. I will say, though, that I don't think any of it changed my son's mind about anything.</p>

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<p>Geekmom, that is far from the truth. There are many well-qualified kids getting rejected or waitlisted after using Priority applications. It's a marketing ploy, but my original point was that its a seductive, sophisticated marketing technique being aimed at kids. It's far different from sending marketing materials after a kid has applied: it is phishing for kids, and seemingly promising something without guaranteeing it, and that's a big difference.</p>

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<p>SJTH -- Do you have stats or sources on this? I've never heard of someone who used a "Priority Application" and was rejected or waitlisted. Happy to be shown wrong, but I'm not seeing it yet.</p>

<p>Regardless -- No, it's not phishing. Phishing is criminal fraud aimed at getting the target to reveal information that will be used for identity theft, bank/credit fraud, or some other crime. I don't think it's accurate or fair to target colleges with that brush.</p>