<p>I am curious whether any Princeton applicants received any unsolicited marketing materials over the summer from Princeton. I remember seeing unsolicited marketing materials (catalogues, postcards, app forms, etc.) from H&Y but not Princeton.
Clearly, marketing materials drive up a school's app count but is this something Princeton should be doing? Does anyone know why they (P) do not?</p>
<p>it doesn't need to haha</p>
<p>Exactly, Enc. :) I mean, does Princeton actually need to woo anyone?</p>
<p>They have mounds of the viewbook in the admissions office.</p>
<p>you know, I always thought that Princeton was jealously guarding its elite acceptance and yield rate by sticking with ED and taking such a huge percent of the class from the ED universe. I still think that's true to a large extent BUT...Princeton was the only elite school that did not use my PSAT, SATs and National Merit status to send a solicitation. I heard from H & Y but not P.</p>
<p>Conclusion, H & Y are protecting their rates by soliciting/generating more applicants. The more the merrier, right? Princeton has chosen a different, and perhaps, more honest route.</p>
<p>They are moving in the direction of more promotion. I believe that this year, for the first time, they sent materiel to high scorers on the PSAT. Hargadon stayed with his traditional game plan a little too long, and the new admissions crew is hustling to get with the times.</p>
<p>I don't think it has anything to do with "honesty". The days are long gone when you can count on the old boy network at the east coast prep schools to steer kids your way.</p>
<p>If you want the top students (or the top athletes) youi have to go after them. If you want "diversity", you need to promote yourself in all parts of the country, at inner city schools, etc etc.. </p>
<p>Princeton realizes it was a little behind the curve in the new, hyper competitive environment, and has hired a consulting firm to suggest more changes to enhance recruiting efforts.</p>
<p>I do not believe Princeton did anything of the sort this summer. I know Nat'l Merit scholars and eventual 1600 scorers who received nothing.<br>
Is there anyone here who received any unsolicited material? If so, what?
I guess the greater question is whether P should join H&Y in their marketing/recruiting practices. What would there be to gain?</p>
<p>my friends was a NMSF and got the princeton application in the mail before I did, even though I had requested it in August.</p>
<p>Princeton said they were going to send out letters this year for the first time o high scorers. I asked this question a few months ago and I think one or two kids said they got a letter. My S didn't receive anything, so I don't know what their criteria were because his scores were very high. The only thing I can think of is that they used the PSAT scores because S indicated that he did not want them released to schools. He did have them released later when he took the SAT and he did get mail from H&Y.</p>
<p>Princeton didn't even send out view books until the end of September. It seems they were slow with everything this year. </p>
<p>However, they were true to their word about recruiting from high schools that normally dont send them students. A Princeton adcom came to Ss public high school for the first time ever.</p>
<p>I got mail from Princeton last summer. Honestly, I don't know if I would have applied there if I hadn't found out how generous they are with financial aid for the middle class. </p>
<p>Princeton was my dream school in middle school, but in high school I heard about the eating clubs and was told a bunch of hearsay about the social atmosphere there, and decided, in spring of last year, that I wouldn't apply. But in summer I read the viewbook, and I found that Princeton actually was a pretty nice school, and generous, too. So I applied. School propaganda, when well directed, is actually a pretty good idea for both schools and students. When it's not (<em>cough</em>WUSTL<em>cough</em>) it's just weird.</p>
<p>I also got mail from Princeton. I think it came during my junior year. Does anyone else think that the viewbook doesn't do the campus justice? Princeton is so breathtakingly beautiful, and the viewbook doesn't reflect that as well as it could.</p>
<p>And read this:</p>
<p>hm, i got mail as a senior...a viewbook and a letter encouraging me to apply. I'm in HK...given that the mail said they were referred by collegeboard, it was probably solely based on my SAT scores.</p>
<p>from byerly's link (thanks :)): "Like many schools, the University purchases the SAT scores of high school students from the College Board to target its mailings of promotional literature. However, the University does not purchase PSAT scores and misses out on the opportunity to contact high school students in their sophomore year."</p>
<p>That would be me then...but I don't think there's any reason for people to worry if they haven't received anything.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Princeton realizes it was a little behind the curve in the new, hyper competitive environment
[/quote]
I agree with Byerly's point - Princeton has been lagging behind in terms of recruitment (in all areas) but I'm sure change is on the horizon with Dean Rapelye now in charge of Admissions. Hargadon was quite the traditionalist.</p>
<p>D received viewbook on two occasions: one was as a result of signing a card at a college fair. The other seemed to be related to bring NMS semifinalist. I may be wrong about the second. It may have been SAT related or related to something else that has slipped my mind (senior moment).</p>
<p>I think Princeton sends based on PSAT whereas Harvard also sends info based on SATs.</p>
<p>
[quote]
my friends was a NMSF and got the princeton application in the mail before I did, even though I had requested it in August.
[/quote]
I requested it in June and didn't get it till 14th Oct so I requested it again and got it directly from Princeton within a week via airmail. Then the following day I also got it from Princeton's local representative in India (via regular sucky) mail (they are the ones supposed to be sending the apps/viewbooks)... the time doesn't matter Enco :p</p>
<p>yeah they dont need to. look at before, they had their own app with 4 essays, they still had such a low admit rate.. all they had to do this year is accept the common and online app to inc app num :(</p>
<p>btw, i requested mine when i was in 10th grade... i still havnt gotten it yet...</p>