<p>
[quote]
I didn't know there were outside firms that did that kind of work.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I learned about one firm in the business </p>
<p>Maguire</a> Associates - Services - EMPOWR: Optimizing Student Recruitment </p>
<p>from an email list for homeschooling parents, and often share this link or another link to the same firm's site here on CC.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Reed College sent one a few years ago to students that schmoozed, "Listen: college admission people all over the country, including me, have decided that you are the kind of smart student they want."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>IMO the wording here went way over the line and beyond mere marketing. Even intelligent first timer parents and students do get taken in by this stuff. In just my own circle of acquaintances I know several bright, successful, college educated parents who were convinced that their kid was, in fact, getting recruited by marketing items similar to this one. I think a lot of people consider the source - they expect something like this when it comes to say winning a sweepstakes, but not from a reputable college or university.</p>
<p>Are TV commercials for automobiles cruel?</p>
<p>Do commercials use your first name and mention your score on a test you recently took? Do they mention your interest in a specific field and brag about how their automobile will help you in that industry? Do tv commercials also come to your high school to meet with you personally? Send you chatty emails? Invite you and your parents to a "get to know us better" day? Do most people support their child and put their energy into preparing their child so that child will be ready for the best possible car and get the most out of the car as it will impact the rest of the child's life?</p>
<p>Good grief.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>These things are marketed to adults and they are things or places to go for no other reason than fun.<< </p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Marketed to adults only? Nonsense. There are all kinds of unrealitic dreams that are marketed to teenagers. Pro sports is drenched with ads and come-ons designed to entice kids to dream that they too can make it to the NFL, NBA, or baseball big leagues.</p>
<p>Same with teenage girls and the beauty/glamor/super model dreams of the fashion industry, The beauty/fashion industry is marketing dreams and a lifestyle that few will ever actually taste. </p>
<p>Whether it's college or pro sports or modeling, only a few have the natural gifts required to make it to the highest levels. On a purely probabilistic basis, a kid a has a much better chance of getting admitted to a high-end college than they do ever passing the ball down court in an NBA game or strutting their stuff on the fashion runways of Paris.</p>
<p>"IMO the [Reed] wording here went way over the line and beyond mere marketing."</p>
<p>Reed agrees; that's why they changed it six years ago, but the current wording wouldn't get quoted in a sensational blog. ;)</p>
<p>I think it can be a good way to look into a college that wasn't on the radar before as some have stated. My children got mail from WAY above their stats, like Amherst and Cornell, Brown, etc and very low tier schools and ones in-between. Many would stay unopened, but what they did learn sometimes was that a certain Catholic college had scholarships for things they were interested in (or just being Catholic) that some colleges were actively recruiting diversity or first generation students or had free applications if you answered or came to visit. Many of these things wouldn't have been known if they didn't see the mail.
Even Drew, the college my son attends was researched because of mail. Know what it is, but take advantage of things offered if you can.</p>
<p>My son saved a good deal of the materials he received -- and passed them to his English teacher. We live in a rural area. Many of our parents in the community are not college-educated. His English teacher had my son go through all those fliers, pamphlets, etc. and make a bulletin board that advertises some of the top schools, including UVA, Princeton, Pomona, Wash U. as well as solid schools that probably would not have received a second look from kids. My son turned this project into a map of the U.S., with schools placed regionally. It's quite good. Then, since she has lots of leftover stuff, this teacher set up a display with all sorts of materials and gave her juniors and sophomores time to look at everything one day. She plans to do it again after AP exams. Maybe it will inspire a student to seek out a four-year school.</p>
<p>Did my son consider all those schools? No. He was not interested in the West Coast or Florida. But he's glad that Wash U sent him materials. He flew out there -- on them -- and visited the school. He applied, too, but probably won't go if he gets in. He also is grateful to all those schools with National Merit ties who sent things -- he really likes the U. of Alabama. </p>
<p>So, while it would take 20 minutes (on an off night) to go through his mail, maybe it was not so bad to receive everything. He found out that there are some outstanding schools -- and he would not have known about them if they had not stuffed our mailbox.</p>
<p>There are many ways to get on these mailing lists-- my son checked no mail on the PSAT and still received many brochures, emails, letters, etc. I think AP scores are also sold, certianly NMS standing is sold- son received many mailings tailored to National Merit semi finalist status.</p>
<p>Clearly there is a huge gap in sophistication between a 17 year old and a university marketing department. Of course the students are influenced by the mailings. I do think that they are ethically suspect and it has greatly reduced my respect for the various institutions. View books and informational brochures are fine, personalized letters implying they know my son's record and want him in particular are over the line.</p>
<p>OTOH- My son will propably end up at a school that wasn't even on our radar until their relentless email and mail campaign started a year ago. He has now been accepted there with a substantial merit award.</p>
<p>That's another good idea momreads. Many schools, especially rural and poor urban areas, only target local colleges and state schools. I donated my old VHS college tour tapes a couple of years ago, to a high school in hopes that they would help a student unable to travel to some colleges.
I know another mom that had the money to travel all over and brought back view books and materials to donate to her son's public high school. It wasn't that they didn't have anything but the breadth wasn't as large.
I realize the top 25 colleges flood mailboxes at times (including ours) to help increase their applications but the lower tier colleges that are also very good, might want to shine a light on themselves and maybe would be a viable school for a student receiving the mail.
As a struggling parent though financially, I wish they would divert some of that money into aid!</p>
<p>Why do these places bother with expensive marketing firms? Just hire several thousand chinese or indian workers to fill out application forms to send into the university. Get those application numbers into the millions and those acceptance rates into small fractions.</p>
<p>This is a different level of college marketing, but what about those letters sent by colleges after the student has applied (and then is ultimately rejected)? Last year this happened to someone I know. The college sent the parents a letter about how much they liked her child's essay. I believe the student was also sent a letter about how much the admissions committee liked their application. The same college misled others on CC. That sort of thing is wrong. Jockeying for position in a student's preference list when the student will be rejected?! There should be no communication between a college and student (or their parents!) once the student has applied unless it's a likely letter and the student will be admitted! Something like notification that all parts of the application are complete or information about filing for financial aid are okay, of course.</p>
<p>I don't think that high school students are too young to have developed a healthy cynicism about any individual, corporation, or institution that wants their money. It surprises me that someone could receive slick college mailings and not realize that of course they're mass-produced and, in order to be profitable, must be mailed to many "top" students who are of "special" interest to these schools. I don't think it's an admirable ploy, of course. But we live in an opportunistic world and it's a good idea for kids to develop an attitude of self-protective mistrust when many dollars are at stake. </p>
<p>I've never understood the word "recruitment" as it relates to college mailings. Each of my kids received monthly postcards from the University of Chicago, but knew they weren't being personally recruited - they were just on the mailing list, as they are for Pottery Barn Kids and (shudder) Victoria's Secret. When the youngest got her second mailing from MIT, she had a good laugh about it. Smart kid, but with the snowball's proverbial chance there.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Because I really want to see YOUR application..." "Special benefits just for you include: No application fee, No new essay, A 3-week admission decision, Automatic scholarship consideration" etc. etc.
[/quote]
We got something with similar wording for an RPI application two years ago when mathson was applying. He filled out the application and had heard before Thanksgiving that he was in, and would be getting some sort of merit scholarship. Was it still marketing? Sure, but it wasn't a lie either, RPI wants more topnotch students.</p>
<p>From the point of view of colleges, it is good business practice.</p>
<p>But it is so painful to receive these things in the mail for us as a family. Our DD is struggling academically and may not be eligible to attend most of these schools. When she sees these brochures in the mail, she starts to cry. So we just toss them immediately.</p>
<p>Deirdre, you just proved that the mailings work for their MAIN purpose which is to expose kids to options they may not have known about or have considered. The purpose isn't to make the student believe they will be accepted if they apply (that is a misconception of some who receive MASS MAILINGS). As you wrote, your son may be going to a school that was not on his radar until he received these mailings. In fact, he may have been targeted because he was the kind of student they are interested in and want to entice that type of student to apply and indeed, he applied, was accepted, and received a merit award. Sounds like he may even attend!</p>
<p>I get annual reports from companies in the mail. Most companies do something fairly glitzy. Some companies just send you a few pages stapled together in black and white. The glossy annual reports may be nice to look at but I like the company to save money where they can to pay dividends.</p>
<p>Perhaps mass mailings of literature are supported by existing price levels and perhaps they won't be going forward.</p>
<p>I didn't look at this this thread again after I posted. Imagine that this first-generation community college product is being called elitist! My apologies to anyone who I offended.</p>
<p>I very much agree with posts no. 10 and 33. Maybe it's a shame we are a family of skeptics, but my kids take this kind of stuff for what it is: marketing. We've always spoken to them about consumerism and marketing and such, and so it's not a surprise to them that colleges engage in the same tactics as any other product. Colleges are businesses that perform a public service. Without a successful business model, there's no way for them to perform the public service.</p>
<p>I enjoy looking at the brochures and in another post have admitted how swayed I've been by Carleton's mailings. I don't bedgrudge that Carleton and scores of other schools have sent my ds stuff in order to accomplish a business goal AND maybe get a great student, too.</p>
<p>I met a mother from a Dallas suburb a couple of weeks ago. Her junior daughter had taken PSAT and was getting "the mailings". The daughter is a slightly above-average student in the middle of her class at a large public high school. The mother was bragging about "the colleges that were asking her to apply". The schools were in the SMU range. She was VERY put out when I diplomatically tried to tell her not to put much stock in these mailings. Being the self-proclaimed expert that I am, I tried to give her some guidance. I don't think it was appreciated. So-I do agree that a lot of people can be quite sucked in by these letters and brochures. I could tell that it was a huge ego-boost for this particular family.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>It's not just the mailings, it's the information sessions, high school visits by admissions personnel, the whole institutional interface with the student.<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>There is also considerable pressure on high-end schools to promote applications from all sorts of kids to avoid charges of elitism. They already get that a lot as it is. Can you imagine the howls if they stood up at info sessions and said "We really don't need an application from you unless you truly are the cream of the cream. Only the very best need apply. If you don't measure up, or your high school is second-rate, don't bother. We don't want to hear from you."</p>