I am currently a high school freshman. On many posts like this, people have said the only reason why they get mail is because of a special box they tick when they take the SAT, ACT, or PSAT. I have not taken any of the aforementioned standardized tests, yet I have gotten emails and snail mail from multiple colleges already. I’m just wondering how I am already getting mail from colleges. My ego and I would like to think it’s because I’m special but deep down I know that it’s probably just a marketing thing. Any information would be lovely.
Of course your special plus it’s a marketing thing ?. Maybe you were part of a group that lent its information to colleges or your high school is on some list.
Yes, I got emails from colleges that I didn’t even want to apply too. I believe it’s all just for advertising to get you to apply there.
So a few years ago my daughter got accepted and a scholarship to a college she never applied to. She comes to me and says "at least I know I am going somewhere ?.
Most college websites sell your data.
If it concerns you, you can create a high school club to improve data protection in the US, along the lines of the GDPR. 
Be bold and innovative!
Since you’re just a freshman, use the snail mail to try and decipher college gimmicks. (Count how often it rains in college brochures. Is there one brochure that doesn’t feature a small class outside- indicating their students aren’t that close to professors or that their classes aren’t small? And for colleges that do show such a picture, is their student:faculty ratio truly 14:1 and below?..etc devise categories!?)
It’s called critical reading and it’s actually very useful.