<p>My sister in AL was told by another mother that her daughter (a HS freshman) was being sought after by colleges. She said that she has already started receiving letters asking her to consider attending their school. Does this really happen? Just curious because I wonder how they heard about her/what makes her stand out/etc. My D starting receiving the deluge of info packets early on, but none of the letters that accompanied them were giving the impression she was a sure thing for admissions...basically just said consider them when she starts her college search. Is this girl getting the same thing and just misinterpreting why they are sending them, or do colleges really do this? (and Why?)
The only thing I know about her is that her dad is the School Superintendent and she is at least in the top 10% of her class (could be higher ranked, but I don't really know for sure). She does not play sports (which I thought was the only reason a college went after students). Anybody have any ideas or experience with this?</p>
<p>gluckie: If the girl in question has taken SAT1 in 7th grade and scored above 700 on either Math or the reading section then yes she can get letters from colleges even asking the girl to matriculate early without completing HS.</p>
<p>Out of the top universities USC woo top performing HS Juniors to matriculate early to save 1 year. Generally the target candidates are those who would eventually be a strong candidates for HMSPY.</p>
<p>Oh, do we have a shade of envious green popping up? Stick to spring green instead. Colleges have marketing departments and they have admissions departments. It is the job of marketing to do lots of targeted outreach. If Happy College thinks there is going to be good returns on sending a mailing out, then they will do so – whether it is to recruit a great student or charm a superintendent into singing praises. </p>
<p>I would suspect that this is a first born child and her mother is confusing the marketing blurbs with admissions offers. The kind thing to do is to pass along the message many colleges recruit heavily but admit cautiously and to direct the mother to College Confidential and other material so that her D isn’t confused between marketing department flyers and admission offers. </p>
<p>Airily saying “Lord, isn’t it astonishing how much marketing mail comes in! Why a child in our area received two bags daily for weeks” might be the ticket to helping the mother understand there are lots of talented fish in the sea. This can be followed by “I feel so sorry for the students who think one pamphlet in the mail is the same as an admission” – and then the mother is clued in without anyone being mean (or hearing altogether too much for weeks on end). </p>
<p>Be nice. Clue the mom in kindly.</p>
<p>* that her daughter (a HS freshman) was being sought after by colleges. She said that she has already started receiving letters asking her to consider attending their school. Does this really happen?*</p>
<p>does this child’s school give the PSAT to frosh? Or was she a Duke TIP student?</p>
<p>Whenever students start getting the deluge of glossy brochures, it’s very exciting. These usually get started if the student has taken certain tests, like the SAT or participated in some program. It’s just pure marketing. The colleges are looking for the next class, or the next class after that. The mother wasn’t necessarily being showy, just excited that this process has started.</p>
<p>Just know that it feels good that her daughter (a HS freshman) was being sought after by colleges. Visit a 2011 thread to see how it feels when they’re seniors. It’s a roller coaster that just got going.</p>
<p>Kids who take SATs as 7th graders can start getting things from colleges; ours did. It can be flattering to the families and kids, but it really doesn’t mean all that much and honestly I feel it’s a waste nearly all the time. If it helps the kid get focused more on school, it can only be good and it may cause the kid to consider areas & schools that the family might never have otherwise, but otherwise, it’s just more paper that gets tossed eventually.</p>
<p>Parentof, you could be right. I have no idea if she took the SAT. </p>
<p>Oly: I think you mistook my post as something snide…not my intention. Just wanted to know what makes this kid stand out and if this “recruiting” really happens. I don’t know the people involved, so I won’t be talking to the mom myself. My sister is friends with this family and is proud/happy for her family that the D is receiving these mailings. She was more or less looking out for them, not trying to be snotty or anything.</p>
<p>Mom2, HImom and Lima: Our kids took the SAT in 7th grade for the Duke TIP and that’s when the “stuff” started arriving. We aren’t in AL, so I don’t know if they do that there…if so, maybe her D scored really high like Parentof said. I’ll ask my sister and see if she was perhaps part of that.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback…I will pass it on.</p>
<p>Sorry if I read too much into the story line. I think your Sis is catching that something doesn’t quite ring true. It may be an overly optimistic mother/daughter (most likely) or it may be a weird glitch (like the colleges think the kid is a rising senior because the wrong bubble got bubbled). </p>
<p>From what I can tell, it tends to be the massively talented athletes in particular sports that get the real rush. LeBron James had folks drooling over him very early. Most of the academics don’t get nearly that big a parade. </p>
<p>I hope you and Sis can steer the family to some pools of sanity. It is tough when there is talent and courting. It can lead to heartbreak on occasion. Hope it pans out well for all.</p>
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<p>Students in California also take SAT in 7th grade as part of JHU CTY, which is available nation wide. I’m quite familiar with the process and know couple of students who have gone to university after 8th grade on that basis skipping the high school.</p>
<p>Our S got the highest score in Math for 7th & 8th graders two years in a row and won a course at a local private U that he could redeem in 9th or 10th grade. He & D actually scored high enough at that time to enter the in-state flagship, but had no interest in doing so. They both started getting stuff from colleges as early as 7th grade, from taking the SAT as part of the JHU CTY. Many other kids who took the tests with them also started getting mailings from colleges & “gifted” programs for summer & distance learning.</p>
<p>Some folks have found those programs great–we never participated, tho S did take a college stats class with his scholarship after 10th grade; he was very disappointed in the curriculum & said his 6th grade math class was more interesting and challenging. </p>
<p>Hopefully, the students who get this attention & mail won’t have their heads turned and hearts broken. It’s just “flirting” and really doesn’t mean that the school will admit the student, no matter how many pieces they send.</p>
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Thisthisthis. It’s so important for families to understand that colleges need applicants to stay in business, and the more applicants, the better. It’s extremely rare for a student to receive truly personalized recruiting for academic reasons (athletic recruiting is, of course, another story).</p>
<p>Some of those marketing letters and brochures are quite sophisticated. I was surprised by the number of parents who told me that their kids were being sought by Ivies and other top-ranked colleges. It seemed clear to us from the first mailing that these were mass-produced come-ons, not much different from letters soliciting political donations or the Land’s End catalog. </p>
<p>It’s hard to get across to some proud parents that what the schools want before January 1st of senior year is the kid’s application. You find out later whether they wanted the kid, too. I nearly had an argument with one naive dad who insisted that the letters and brochures his d was receiving in batches were actual admission letters and scholarship confirmations (including one offer of admission from the Air Force Academy, to which she hadn’t even applied :rolleyes:).</p>
<p>frazzled1: You are right - If the dad you are talking about would have read the letters he could easily tell they aren’t promising admission or anything else. I’m still not sure yet if that is what’s going on with the girl in question on my original post or not since my sister heard nothing about this student taking the SAT. (Doesn’t means she didn’t of course, but my sister doesn’t want to bring it up to the mom in case that is all it is - marketing brochures.) Oh well, at least I learned something on here. :)</p>
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The letters probably said just that. Unfortunately it is not the same as saying the school will enroll her if she applies! </p>
<p>Its sad how many great colleges have hired marketing companies that do everything they can to say a student is likely to be admitted without crossing the line and saying they’re sure to be so. I’ve seen a letter that said “You’d be one of our top applicants” (student applied and was “waitlisted”). </p>
<p>A lot of students have never got a letter in their life, and now the dean has sent a signed letter (signed by a machine, but they don’t realize that) saying they’ve heard impressive things about the student and asking them to consider X. What 17-year-old isn’t going to read that and think they’re being recruited? The truth is there is not a living person at that college that’s ever heard of the kid; it’s just a letter sent by a marketing firm hired to spam a list of students with some characteristic the school wants (and BTW you can go to the CollegeBoard site and see they offer to sell lists based on any criteria you want, including estimated family income based on zipcode).</p>
<p>mikemac - I agree - the kid probably thought that, and you’d think the parent would have set the kid straight once they read it. Surely an adult could make that differentiation.</p>
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<p>Not true, there are colleges that send letters to the extent that the student application is pre-done and student just need to submit the pre-done application (link to application included) with a guranteed admission with full scholarships.</p>
<p>It’s true that these are not the top 50 Universities. Still just wanted to point out that there are colleges out their which do woo top students to that extent.</p>
<p>Leave aside letters to student, we had recieved letters adressed to parent indicating that the student have been given offer of such admission/scholarships and it might be in our interest to ask the student to pursue the opportunity.</p>
<p>Parent - I think she/he was talking about the marketing mail, not real offers. At least that is what I was talking about.</p>
<p>It can be helpful to point out the math involved. One of ours got a glorious packet from Harvard. Must have been $5 worth of creamy, embossed stationery. But the kid would have had to pay $70 to apply, so the college makes $65 off every swollen head. Fortunately, S2 knew his GPA wasn’t taking him to Boston, so he laughed and tossed the packet into the recycling.</p>