<p>Dd has been contacted twice from one of the colleges to which she applied. The first was just a phone call giving her the name of a contact person in case she has any questions. Today, she was contacted for a second time: an encouraging, handwritten letter from an admissions officer who just finished reading her application. It tells her she is destined for great things and tells her just how wonderful a match the school is for her (including a flyer about a special program to which she would have to apply after being admitted)-- and adds, at the end, that this is not an admissions offer. </p>
<p>So the question is-- how much should we read into this? Is it possible to get these letters and still get rejected? (Honestly, I do expect her to get into this school. It is a top-30 liberal arts but we considered it a match.) What about the silence from other schools? Do all/most of the liberal arts schools contact minority applicants early if they want them? And when? If schools do not contact her during Feb, should we assume that the response will be negative?</p>
<p>I remembered receiving a handwritten admissions letter just prior to my acceptance to Northwestern. Although I cannot guarantee that it's an official acceptance letter, it is more than likely a good sign that your child might be admitted into that school. (I am a URM college graduate.)</p>
<p>My D got several calls last year, I believe they were all AFTER acceptances. The exception was Rice who sent out invitations for their Vision weekend in Jan, a little before their (now defunct) Interim Admissions in Feb. I would regard this kind of contact as a very good sign, but I personally wouldn't count it as an acceptance until the fat letter comes in the mail. I would definitely NOT regard lack of contact as a rejection.</p>
<p>My son and daughter aren't URMs, and they both received several phone calls from colleges, both before and after they applied. In one case, the director of admissions personally called my daughter when she was missing some materials from her file and encouraged her to complete her application.</p>
<p>I think these calls are becomming more common in an era when admissions people know that kids are applying to 10, 15, even 20 schools. Hopefully, it is a good sign, but I wouldn't read too much into it unless they are calling to say, "We're letting you know that you got in and the letter will be in your hands shortly."</p>
<p>thank you, tenisghs, this coud be important to us. If we came from another country and speak different language is my sone urm? Or is he a minority? I am also not sure I understand how does it help in college admission? Is there a way to find out if some colleges want urms?</p>
<p>Often colleges and universities that are interested in an applicant, whether an underrepresented minority or not, will send a scholarship application to the non-ED/EA applicant to gauge interest and/or send an invitation to a weekend event at the school. Normally these "interest measuring techniques" are only for those applying in the regular decision (RD) round as ED/EA applicants have already demonstrated strong interest in the college. Any positive and personal contact such as a phone call or a handwritten note is good.</p>