Getting mail

I usually ignore my college mail because its usually asking me to buy their book or whatever but I’ve been getting a lot of information packets from really good schools. I know that I shouldn’t get my hopes up but does that mail really mean anything? One of them is a school that I never registered with on their website, its a really amazing school that I’ve just never thought of as within my reach. Obviously thousands of kids get this exact same mail, but is it worth even thinking about?

Sorry if i posted this in the wrong place I’m still trying to get a handle on this website

The schools want to entice as many students as they can to apply. The more that apply, fewer are admitted, bringing their admit rate down, and colleges with a low admit rate somehow magically become more desirable and carry more prestige. So ignore the marketing mail, unless the school is a good fit for you! Do research, meet with your school’s college counselor, Make use of Naviance, and look carefully at the Common Data Set for the schools that interest you. That is the best way to build your list of schools to apply to. Good luck to you in finding the schools that fit you!

Thank you!

The mail is a marketing tool – nothing more and nothing less. It doesn’t mean that you have a higher chance of admission to the college.

That said, my S got a mailing from a college that wasn’t on our radar – but based on the mailing he decided to visit, apply to, and ultimately attend that school. It was a fantastic college for him in every way and we are forever grateful that he got that letter. So if a mailing spurs interest about a school that appears to be a good fit then that is great (and it is the purpose of the mailing).

“One of them is a school that I never registered with on their website, its a really amazing school that I’ve just never thought of as within my reach. Obviously thousands of kids get this exact same mail, but is it worth even thinking about?”

If you weren’t a strong candidate for that school before then you are not now either. Mail like this is just advertising. In fact selective colleges need to convince kids for whom they are a reach to apply so they can keep their admit rate low. You could have received this letter because of your indicated gpa, your test score, or even your zipcode (your friends at the CollegeBoard sell mail lists based on zipcode so colleges can advertise to students more likely to be full-pay).