<p>Hey y'all, I just got a letter from Yale (top choice) saying "Using information obtained from our college testing services, we have identified you as a student who may be a good candidate for Yale." I got a 29 on the ACT the start of freshman year (now a junior). Does this mean anything special? I'm guessing not, and just regarding it as "ayy', I go good scores!" Thanks!</p>
<p>It means they want your $75 application fee. That’s all.</p>
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<p>Not really, you’ll be getting a ton (literally a ton) of spam mail from dozens of colleges. But if it’s your top choice, go for it!</p>
<p>You and the 180,000 others who rec’d it are free to make of it what you will.</p>
<p>Simple marketing, that’s all.</p>
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<p>They send out these letters so that they receive more applications. Even if Yale receives more applications, it can not increase its class size (amount of applicants accepted), which leads to a decreased acceptance rate and a higher USNWR ranking.</p>
<p>And more money from the application fees.</p>
<p>I don’t think they mean much - my daughter received letters from every Ivy league school - even received a letter from Harvard’s Minority recruiting program, however , although she is very bright, both her ACT and SAT scores were high but not not in the IVY league range. Total marketing.</p>
<p>As pointed out, they are very interested in adding to their pool of applicants and in receiving your $75. You, on the other hand, know nothing that you didn’t know before by looking up average SAT/ACT scores of top schools and seeing that you would not be ruled out on scores alone.</p>
<p>It sounds like what you received is a tame version of what’s to come to you in the mail. A lot of colleges hire marketing companies that send out letters that come as close as possible to implying you’re a sure thing without making an explicit promise (“You’d be one of our top candidates!” is what one letter actually said), or making it sound like the some teacher wrote in nominating you (“We heard you’re one of the most impressive students at Jefferson High”). Toss this letter in the recycling, and be sure to keep a bin on hand for the deluge coming from WUSTL.</p>
<p>It really depends. My friend was bombarded with emails and letters saying the same things only to be rejected form the three schools that sent him the most messages. Academically they may see you as a fit, but in the end it comes down to the overall picture. Your grades, test scores, ECs, essays, recs, and the competition.</p>