<p>We are going through this college search and application once and only once. </p>
<p>We have noticed a couple things about the college marketing and wondered what others have observed.</p>
<li><p>We are getting quite a few offers of ‘priority admissions’ now…either a special online form or a free admission or an offer to forego the essay. Is this a standard practice? Are the schools hurting for applicants? It just seems odd that if we would have applied prior to some of these schools, we would have paid a fee, etc. Seems they should have done this earlier in the cycle.</p></li>
<li><p>Some schools sure do send a lot of weight (e.g. NYU, Case). Some send next to nothing (Syracuse, Northeastern). Why the disparity in the marketing campaigns? I don’t believe that they have tailored their mailing based on their interest in this particular candidate.</p></li>
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<p>Believe what you will. They know the demographic and they know that they have a short window to solicit applications. The offers of free/no essay are to entice students to "do an easy one" just one more. </p>
<p>Are you trying to determine about the marketing or its value to you in the admission cycle you are doing once? At the school I was in we pulled the "mail" straight outta the mailbox and shoved it into huge rolling trash cans that are placed in the post office during the admission time. Never opened one single envelope......saw every other student do the same trash routine. Many people however, open each one and read them all. It is quite individual. Have fun.</p>
<p>I'm more curious from a marketing standpoint than anything. Although one of the ones that sent an offer of an 'easy' admission did attract our collective attention, so from that perspective it may work.</p>
<p>We don't read all the 'viewbooks' and 'alumni letters', but we do read literature regarding the program that my son is interested in (to be honest, that's just a small fraction of what they send). We have three piles...stuff from schools that he is interested in that contains real information, the marketing stuff from the colleges that he's interested in, and 'everything else'. I'm ready to pitch the 'everything else' pile as he finalizes the list. </p>
<p>Do these colleges have the sense to stop sending out marketing literature after they reject a student who applies early?</p>
<p>Don't let the marketing affect your decisions. Stick with the facts and with your feelings. Colleges have very sophisticated marketing machines. They know that repeated exposure has a marginal influence. It affects the percentages ...especially the number of apps received and lowers the accept rate which enhances image. It worked big time for Washington U St Louis. They improved their niche in the higher ed marketplace within 10 years.</p>