<p>You know how you get those letters you get in the mail from colleges?
Some of them ask you to visit their campus, or research their university, but some also offer guides like "top 10 mistakes to make when choosing majors" or "guide to college admission success" etc, etc...</p>
<p>do you guys actually reply to get those guides? If you do, are they actually helpful, or just simply another form of advertising?</p>
<p>lol I get a lot of those from the UMN.</p>
<p>I will only really reply when it is from a college that I have actually heard of, not for the worthless incentive but to show intrest. Unfortuately a college worth replying to is not often.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten alot of “our college” guides such as a look at the classes, professors, location, dorms, food, etc, and those are quite useful</p>
<p>I reply if I am interested in the school. Otherwise I stick it in a pile for counting at the end of senior year. Right now (end of sophomore year) WUSTL is in the lead, with 14 pieces of junk.</p>
<p>i never reply. i figure it wouldn’t help my admissions chances anyway. if im interested in the school ill do my own research, no need to respond to emails or make accounts on their web site.</p>
<p>regarding those guides, like “top 10 secrets to whatever,” they are usually just peppered with plugs for their school and aren’t very helpful. the topics they try to cover are usually much more easily researched on unbiased web sites and stuff, or even right here on CC.</p>
<p>“I will only really reply when it is from a college that I have actually heard of”</p>
<p>That’s a good way to miss an excellent match! Our DD graduates on Monday from a top LAC that we (because of our ignorance) had never heard of; it has been perfect for her.</p>
<p>Those things aren’t really that important.</p>
<p>right I know the guides have nothing to really do with you getting into college, but I was wondering if the guides were “BS” as some of you have said they were, or actually helpful, which others of you have said… But if helpful, to what extent?</p>
<p>you get college mail from colleges by checking off that you want to receive mail when you register for the SAT/SAT II…or you can go to the college website and fill out a form online adding yourself to their mailing list.</p>
<p>
Eh, it depends on the guide. I got some pretty useful publications in the mail, including a massive fold-out checklist/admissions timeline. I also got a pretty nifty periodic table from Reed.</p>
<p>I wish I had fourteen pieces of mail from WUSTL. I have about six of the same brochure from Boston University, along with numerous others. Either way, I do occasionally reply - I did especially at the beginning. So what? I like to receive college mail, even if I recycle 80% of it (and 50% of that without even opening it).</p>
<p>I’ve replied to a couple but they were only from colleges that I was seriously considering applying to.</p>