Drama of your "big envelope" acceptance moment being replaced by electronic delivery

Parent Cafe
1

<p>...sign of the times....</p>

<p>Wait</a>, that e-mail isn't spam it's Harvard saying you're in!</p>

<p>excerpt
[quote]
Regina Palombo nervously waited for the "big envelope" moment she had anticipated for years. The Mainland Regional High School senior had applied for early decision at American University, and she dreamed of the day her acceptance letter would arrive.</p>

<p>"I checked the mail about twice a day even though it only comes once," Palombo said.</p>

<p>But when news of her acceptance came, it didn't come in the form of a letter. It was an animated e-mail - a dancing bald eagle with streamers flying in the background and "congratulations" arched above. The notification caught her off guard as she casually opened her messages, and it robbed her of the drama she had always imagined.</p>

<p>As April ends and college admissions offices make their final decisions, more and more students are discovering their scholastic future through less than typical ways. That the "big envelope" moment relished by high school seniors of past generations isn't always a reality today. And despite the efficiency that comes with technology, sometimes learning of college acceptance doesn't meet expectations.</p>

<p>"It was a little anti-climactic," said Palombo's classmate Lea Freeman, who learned she was accepted to The College of New Jersey on the school's Web site.</p>

<p>Technology has played a large role in this recent change of style. Almost all aspects of the college process, from applying to enrolling can be completed online.</p>

<p>Universities are encouraging this transition to the World Wide Web. Palombo was not required to pay an admission fee if she applied online. (A paper application cost $45.) </p>

<p>Schools don't intend the admissions e-mails to be anti-climactic. Some schools, like American feel they can enhance that big moment with technology.

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2

<p>My daughter had a great online experience - She got an email from one of her top choices - Reed. </p>

<p>It said
“About your application, we liked it” and then gave a URL. When you clicked on the URL, it took you a video clip of Reed students reading haikus about Reed, many of which were rather funny and quirky. (Reedies are noted for treasuring an off-beat sense of humor.) Then, at the the end - a big note saying “Congratulations, you’re in”. They followed it up with the traditional large envelope, which included confetti.</p>

<p>I guess I don’t get the problem - how many kids are “treasuring the big envelope moment”? REALLY? Most of the kids in my daughter’s class just wanted to know the answers ASAP, so they could stop holding their breath. That month of March seems really, really long, and the sooner you can know the better. </p>

<p>And for those who apply across country, waiting for the envelope to arrive is very tedious - other people know 2-3 days before you do, for the same school.</p>

3

<p>MIT used to not do online decisions at all - they wanted to preserve the feeling of the “big envelope moment”.</p>

<p>Then, one year, a clerical worker got confused and mailed off the EA acceptances enough before the deferrals/rejections (they were all supposed to be sent at the same time) that people could predict their result based on when they were receiving it. Applicants and their parents were furious, and demanded to know why the school didn’t just have online decisions.</p>

<p>Now you can get your decision online.</p>

4

<p>Just as long as you get it! That’s what’s important!</p>

5

<p>It is not just here.</p>

<p>This year, the rhodes and marshall scholarship finalists were notified by email tha they were finalists. and in at least one district, the rhodes finalist letter had a mistake that had to be clarified in a subsequent email. So finalists did not even have a letter to frame, unless they printed it out themselves (hardly the same, IMHO.)</p>

<p>And heaven help the kid whose spamblocker was set too strictly. I wonder how many would be winners never got the word? :)</p>

6

<p>The “big envelope” moment seems overrated to me. I can’t believe kids spend years anticipating it! My D didn’t really care - she told me I could open her envelopes and let her know; she was out of town when several came. I think e-mail or decisions available online are great.</p>

7

<p>There are lots of moments that don’t happen much anymore. I’m sure most of us can recall “waiting by the phone” – a concept that has no relevance whatsoever to my children. (It translates roughly as “showing your online status”.) Or, “Here’s a dime. Go call your mother and tell her that you will never be a lawyer.”</p>

8

<p>Its not the delivery that makes the message important- its the contents.</p>

9

<p>D like the online approach. No worrying about the mail getting messed up. Some folks we knew from last year waited a week past the date others got stuff just because of the mail. Ended up calling several colleges to see what happened. Fortunately for them it was good news. But the agony.</p>

10

<p>No more telegrams (early 70s) to let you know you got that company sponsored scholarship either- it was exciting to get the phone call, followed by the telegram from my father’s corporation. I finally threw out my schools related paperwork from eons gone by. Will today’s students save all the electronic news when they change computers? Will the information last? I know from this board that electronic transmission puts the info in the hands of the student, not the parent getting the mail and they can check when they feel ready.</p>

11

<p>My D really looked forward to checking the mailbox! During this time, I did not get the mail so that she could have the pleasure of finding the big envelopes. She was disappointed when a decision came by email. Not every school sends the email first, so she did have that fun for a few schools.</p>

<p>She takes pleasure in things like that.</p>

12

<p>I was just thinking that yesterday. In March a Coke add was airing where kids were anxiously going to their mailboxes and then celebrating at what they found inside. It was a good ad but may be passe’ as more school turn to email for notification. Personally I think it’s sort of anticlimactic but that because I’m old and old-fashioned. In my day they delivered by Pony Express.</p>

13

<p>Email notification has its pluses and minuses as my S found out. Got his email acceptance from his 1st choice school and was very excited until 5 days later when a waitlist letter came in the mail. It took several days and phone calls by his school counselor (who had to track down his admissions rep who was on vacation) to confirm that he was in fact accepted. Despite this fiasco he will be attending this school in the fall.</p>

14

<p>Our D got a thin envelope from her first choice, but on the outside was printed CONGRATULATIONS! The inside said the fat envelope would arrive later (and it did). I guess this takes some of the fun out of the initial fat envelope, but this way two were sent, in case the fat one got lost in the mail (does this happen often?).</p>

15

<p>For S1s ED school decisions were available on-line at X time and everybody logged in and checked. I had his log in and password so I could check as soon as decisions were posted. He was working and wouldn’t be able to look until later (although I did let him look on his own so he didn’t find out from me even though I found out before he did). </p>

<p>Anyway, it was plenty suspenseful. I was in my office (luckily with the door closed) and just started sobbing, basically with relief that the whole process was finally over. He had already been accepted into a rolling admit (small envelope) that he had gotten pretty excited about attending so there were some mixed feelings as well. Those were the only two schools he applied to and I was a complete basketcase. I couldn’t have gone through it a third time without a nervous breakdown.</p>

16

<p>My son found out about his early admission to first choice school online. You had the choice of going to the site and looking or waiting for US mail. The school did not give any decision by email. He looked online at the time indicated, but told me that his decision wasn’t posted yet. He secretly printed a copy of the admissions letter and hid it under his sweatshirt on a chair in the dining room. Then, an hour later, when H got home, he revealed the decision to us. We were all dancing and laughing with joy. I don’t know how he could have been so cool for that hour. I even questioned him a couple of times about whether he knew or not yet. He calmly said no. </p>

<p>US mail came about 4 days later. I am so glad that we didn’t have to wait and wonder if it was lost in the mail or whatever.</p>

17

<p>One of my son’s friends got a text message on his cell phone. He was in class at the time and all the kids thought that was cool. I think the school was DePaul in Chicago. He’s decided on Boston College.</p>

18

<p>One school (<em>coughTuftscough</em>) rejected me online and didn’t bother to send me the skimpy letter. =/</p>

19

<p>zamzam, D got the online rejection and the letter from them - double rejection! Maybe your letter got lost in the mail, thus supporting the idea that online notification is more reliable?</p>

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<p>another article:
[Students</a> watching e-mail for college acceptance](<a href=“http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08092/869537-298.stm]Students”>http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08092/869537-298.stm)</p>

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