<p>Daughter just received her second phone call from a college this week - first was Lake Forest College in Illinois, tonight Ripon from Wisc. is on the line. Students called from both, willing to answer questions. Since we haven't contacted either (but actually have looked at Lake Forest online), I'm assuming they received her contact information from the PSATs. Is this some new thing for small colleges to do?</p>
<p>I can't say we've gotten any calls, boy must be considered a slacker....perhaps your D can ask the student volunteers to complete her apps for her. :-)</p>
<p>My S received several of these unsolicited calls from small colleges in our area that he did not apply to nor visit. I think it is a new marketing technique by some colleges to try to raise consciousness about their instituition to select students. It was a little disconcerting to my S as he didn't have any interest and not much to say to the students so the calls were quite brief.</p>
<p>Ripon college!!! That's it!! Never mind, it is the answer to a trivia question (between me and my wife- as in, 'What college did so&so go to') and I couldn't remember the name of the school!! :D How does one get in their phonebook? :confused:</p>
<p>I got a few of those. Gotta say, it almost worked for a few of them, because I love personal attention! And besides, who actually reads those letters they send to every single kid in the US? I generally looked at the name of the school, the location, and then tossed it. Maybe I opened the envelope if something caught my eye.</p>
<p>Wow Carolyn, already? Be prepared for more to come then. My sons didn't get calls until after they applied to schools, though they did get hand written postcards from students at some schools, usually after a visit to a campus or something like that. One son got a handwritten postcard from a Lutheran College in Nebraska that a kid in our congregation attended. He was not the least bit interested in that school.</p>
<p>My daughter got three or four calls. A couple from schools here in NY but several calls from a school in VA. She never took the PSATs so it couldn't be that for her! Her calls all came before she applied to any schools (and from schools she really had no interest in). I think she must be on every college mailing list in the nation though! The volumne of mail she gets is amazing. And since her sister is only one grade level behind we often get two of everything!</p>
<p>The only call S ever got was from the local Army recruiters; they were really persistent!</p>
<p>My D recieved calls from students at schools she had inquired about on line. Many she did not choose in her final list. A few reps called, one in the summer but these were schools she was genuinely interested in. The most effective technique for both my kids were the priority apps that are free and partially filled out. Usually they would come a few times spaced apart. My S applied to Tulane because of it and my D to Knox, two schools that would not have been on their radar otherwise. It is starting Carolyn. Your D will be getting boxes of mail and phone calls. Good luck!</p>
<p>Younger son, a junior, has gotten tons of mail, but no calls. My older son, who graduated a few years ago, got calls from military recruiters and from colleges that he applied to.</p>
<p>S had no interest in calls or mail, so with his permission, I screened them for him. I had some interesting conversations. </p>
<p>I don't know how younger S feels about getting phone calls, but if recruiters call offering merit aid, I would be interested for him. :)</p>
<p>Yes, I remember the call from the local army recruiter as well for my son. That's about the only call we got. But they were very persistent.</p>
<p>Carolyn-</p>
<p>My son received calls from a few colleges ( he hadn't applied, but had requested info and attended info sessions - I recall Swat being one of the callers). In one case, the caller was a minority recruiter and the other calls came from students calling to see if he had any questions about the school. He never took the calls personally, so they went to his cell phone voice mail. He always thought it was strange and even asked me "mom, how did they get my number (kind of alarmed)?" and I laughed when he remembered putting his cell phone number down on the info session card - that explains it. We definitely didn't get calls after the PSATs. Colleges are becoming more and more creative. </p>
<p>I'm not sure how I would feel about calls where the phone number was taken from the PSAT and the student hasn't yet demonstrated any interest in the school - seems a bit premature.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how I would feel about calls where the phone number was taken from the PSAT and the student hasn't yet demonstrated any interest in the school - seems a bit premature.>></p>
<p>Momsdream, I agree. Daughter went back through the mail she's received since the PSATs and did find a brochure in there from Ripon, so I suspect that call was a follow up to the mailing. Don't know how Lake Forest got her - kind of creepy since she has looked at their web site but hasn't requested info. from her. Like Mol's son, she has been at a loss both times about what to say and ask when these unsolicited calls came in.</p>
<p>After acceptances come out there will probably be another wave of phone calls. It's actually not too intrusive, IMO, since all the ones my kids got were from real students offering to answer questions - no telemarketing, no hard sell. It's probably a matter of time, though, until some college outsources this to a scripted telemarketing operation.</p>
<p>The recruiters were persistent indeed. I commend the effort, but I wonder if it also suggests a lack of targeting. They seem to aggressively pursue candidates who are extremely unlikely to sign up.</p>
<p>I actually made these phone calls from Rice. We called people who had somehow gotten on the list either at a college fair, campus visit or a high school info session. So everyone we called had, at one time, shown interest. Don't worry if you don't have a lot to say, lots of people didn't. I didn't mind if students told me they were no longer interested, so don't be afraid to say that either, if it's true. Basically, I just wanted to answer questions, and I did.</p>
<p>Jenskate - Thanks, I've printed out your comments for my daughter. </p>
<p>Roger, what is kind of creepy is that my daughter seems to be getting lots of mail from colleges that are very well suited to what she is looking for: small liberal arts colleges. Perhaps these schools are just becomming more agressive in their recruiting efforts?</p>
<p>Carolyn, you are very fortunate that the mailings you are receiving are well suited to your daughter. We are getting tons...and some ARE well suited, but others just plain are not. This happened with DS also. DD has received mail from U of Vermont to University of San Diego. She has gotten mail from small LACs and large universities. There is really no pattern I can see. Just a LOT of mail.</p>
<p>My son has received calls, emails, a postcard from a student, and even a Christmas card from one liberal arts college. He is applying to the college, but has not yet completed his application. Although this is not his first choice, I must say that the attention has made a good impression upon him and improved its standing in his eyes. (Oh, this college also sent us a form we could fill out to get an advance idea of the financial aid they would offer him if he went there. We sent it in and had a phone call from the admissions department just a few days later.)</p>
<p>Although he has received mail and email from other colleges, this is the only one that has called him.</p>
<p>thumper, I think your daughter and mine probably have similar stats so it's odd, isn't it, that they are getting such variance in mailings? I suspect it has something to do with demographics based on zip codes or maybe expressed interest in a major that certain colleges are looking to fill up. I can't figure it out either.</p>
<p>I also always suspected the demographics by zip code (which could be why we only got calls from the Army..)</p>