DS is applying to Choate and Loomis for 2018 as a Freshman. Loomis has been sending him a ton of emails from various department heads and coaches where his resume is strong based on pre application information. The emails are about all the ways Loomis excels in those areas…We have not received much from Choate where he will be a legacy, if admittted. There was just one welcome information packet. HIs elder sibling who had admissions in both schools had a similar pattern, prior to admission…although another choate parent says they got tons of emails prior to their kid’s admission at Choate.
Do these emails mean anything in terms of the schools interest in the candidate or are these pure advertisement emails irrespective of the candidate and their admission chances? FYI…DS has not submitted the full applications in these schools yet.
Not sure if I should have posted this under Prep School Admission Chances…Thanks for any input!
It just means they have more aggressive, personalized email marketing programs. As far as I can tell (and I’m new to this, too), admissions offices are currently focused on trying to get as many interested and interesting kids to apply to their particular school… In the winter their focus will shift to trying to 1) select the kids most likely to thrive at their school (fit) and make a meaningful contribution to the community and classroom; and 2) discern which kids are most likely to attend the school if admitted (yield).
I think most schools in which you have expressed an interest, whether by stopping at their booth at a fair, requesting info or an interview, visiting, or submitting scores, try to maintain mindshare until you commit to attend or they reject you. It’s hard to develop a sense of each of these schools, even as an accepted student, and this is how they convey who they are. It’s possible that if you checked a box for an interest that the mailings could be tailored.
You’ll also get mail from schools you’re not considering as a result of the SSAT.
Don’t forget that lots of students research and explore schools online initially, and this may play an important part in their decision of where to apply. Schools won’t be shy in responding!
I would not read anything into it, but if they are schools you’re considering, I wouldn’t hesitate to read what they send.
I would learn more towards the idea that Loomis is more aggressive in sending emails. I applied to Loomis and got bombaraded with loads of emails, while at didn’t as much from some of the other schools I applied to. Once I got accepted to Loomis, the emails slowed down a bit. I think it’s more just marketing than anything.
However, if you are really interested in a certain subject, program, or sport (is you son a possible recruit?) you should feel free to just send a quick email and reach out! If your son also has a “hook” or something he is very interested in, for example, visual arts, send a quick email to the director of the arts program if an email about their arts department comes your way.
I kept in contact with the Loomis volleyball coach, my AO, and the head of the visual art department throughout the admissions process (October-February) and I was able to learn a lot about the school and their programs through speaking to these people. I ultimately chose to not attend Loomis, but I think that staying in contact with certain departments and coaches helped empathize my hook and I got to know the school better. Feel free to pm me with any questions! Good luck in the process:)
@cababe97 DS is a strong athelete but not in a sport that Loomis practices (martial arts), so I wouldn’t consider that as a hook, although he does play some of the more traditional sports as well, but not at the level to be considered a recruit…He is really strong in Math and Computer Science and Music…It would be a good idea for him to respond to some of the emails to get to know those programs better.
@CaliMax, @gardenstategal, yes…you are right…Loomis does seem to have a strong admissions marketing program…which most likely explains the number of emails… although they seem to be even more this time around. Loomis is in DS’s top 2 choices…so this is welcome! Finding the right fit is going to be important…
As long as you don’t pester the department with multiple emails if they haven’t responded ( then there really is no harm in reaching out. Just have your son write a brief email that introduces himself a bit and inquire about the program. Nothing bad come out of reaching out! Just don’t continue to send emails if they haven’t responded, admissions season is very busy and they should eventually get back to you when they get around to it:) @Sush2016
SwimKid got more emails from Loomis than any other school. The SwimCoach and captain emailed several times a month. He was waitlisted. He received little to no emails from some of the schools that he was admitted to. It’s just what Loomis does.
All kidding aside…I can point to a few examples of correspondence from schools (not Loomis and both email and snail mail) that gave me a very strong indication of what the final decision would be.
However, the general wisdom is that these sorts of emails should not be read into one bit. So don’t.
Ha ha…that makes perfect sense…thanks @SevenDad!
All kidding aside…it may be too early to be reading anything into it…we will see how it goes once we are little further into the process.
FWIW, my daughter was admitted to Loomis. I agree its way too early to ready into anything. We heard from one school just a day or so before M10 so we had a good indication of that one, but nothing for the others.
I may be in the minority but I’m a big fan of no surprises so I signed up for notification from USPS, Fedex, and UPS. They actually come in handy to this day as I know when something is headed for my house.
OTOH, I personally don’t believe in the USPS, Fedex, UPS notification thing. Unless of course, you have it set up as your default and not just for the lead up to M10. My opposition to it stems from folks on the forum who have reported calling in to Fedex (or other vendor) and asking if there was a delivery headed their way. IMO if you can’t wait another few hours to find out that you didn’t get into Andover…
Gaming the courier industry strikes me as not a very good use of one’s time/energy. It no doubt contributes to heightened anxiety — especially among the folks who are prone to checking every few hours to see if their status has changed. But I guess different strokes for different folks.
At this point March10th seems so far away…! But if I recall correctly with the elder one the results were available on line in the morning of March 10th …so there was no wait…except of course for Choate which was at 3pm EST.
The thing DH is concerned about for now…is if his 87 percentile SSAT score is good enough for these 2 schools. From what I read on this board…it seems OK…any thoughts on that topic?
Thankyou @MAandMEmom and @SevenDad! I hope so…The 3-4 kids I know at Choate were all at 98 and 99 percentile…which is a pretty skewed sample… 8-|
For DS…I do want an environment that will challenge him…but will recognize his creativity which is not fully captured by scores…I want a place for him…which is rigorous but leaves time for him and encourages him to explore… His brain works in very unconventional ways…
The schools tend to do a lot of marketing by e-mail now. Choate and Loomis certainly take full advantage of doing so. Makes sense as it is inexpensive and easy to do. Don’t even read anything into getting snail mail like Christmas cards or invitations to see a play or other event, or attend a “getting to know ya” function hosted off campus in some town near you. An 87 is a fine score, but no matter what the score, don’t read anything into any communications from the schools until the one in March (well, apart from a specific request for something that may not have made your file or an appt confirmation of course). Best of luck!
then there really is no harm in reaching out. Just have your son write a brief email that introduces himself a bit and inquire about the program. Nothing bad come out of reaching out! Just don’t continue to send emails if they haven’t responded, admissions season is very busy and they should eventually get back to you when they get around to it:) 