<p>collegeshopping, when you say that the counselor gets requests from colleges all the time for certain types of students, do you mean your school’s GC? I’m wondering if our public school is allowed to release this kind of data. That would explain a lot.</p>
<p>I specifically told my freshman D to make sure she checked the “no mail” box when she took the PSATs this year (I knew the repercussions already as I have a senior D whose mail has thankfully slowed to a drip from a flood; except for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks “America’s Arctic University.” Really? You think a girl in TN might want to go to Alaska?)</p>
<p>But D2 has gotten a couple of pieces of mail. Brown sent her something yesterday. Ugh. This thread did make me remember that I want her to set up a dummy email account for college mailings though; we wish we’d done that for D1. Another lesson learned on CC :)</p>
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<p>Can’t blame them for trying, though. What else should the U of Alaska-Fairbanks do to get out-of-state students?</p>
<p>D1 hasnt even committed to a college yet. Many pieces of mail began arriving this week. D1 thrilled they are for D2 who is a HS sophmore. I guess we get no break!</p>
<p>Yeah, but Pizzagirl, she still gets mailings once or twice a week…at the end of senior year. Even Converse and William Jewell have stopped mailing her :)</p>
<p>Well the U of Chicago mailings put it on the list
and the list has like 39 schools on it…
kiddo wants engineering and may consider U Chicago and some others for math</p>
<p>so of the 39 though -easily a 1/3 are safety/safety/safeties… kwim Not necessary to dump everything just yet–Casting a wide net as they say.</p>
<p>I bought our kiddo a cool looking black mesh/metal file box (bankers box sized) and hanging folders w/ tabs…and sorted–</p>
<p>most of the mail that is a no-way goes in the trash before our kiddo even sees it…
the rest in a pile…for me to sort and kiddo to peruse…and alot gets dumped.
Anything that even has a remote appeal stays.</p>
<p>the ones that are still in the running got folders–but I’d say half of those will get dumped by mid summer when the scores are all in</p>
<p>Kiddo is out ofthe house by 7:30 and isn’t back til 6:40pm at which time its showers, dinner and hw…not lots of time to sort junk mail…</p>
<p>So we have more paper on hand right now but I like choices and options…we are going with the casting a wide net (student-athlete)</p>
<p>I want to know, based on grades and test scores, what is it REALLY going to cost to send my kid to your school. If you aren’t in our budget, you won’t be on the list. Period.</p>
<p>All right - I am going to check for useful information. I have a stack, 11 letters and 3 post cards that came yesterday or today for my 10th grader who is open to ideas on where he might go to school but would not want to spend time opening a letter from the University of Indianapolis. (The others are from schools I have heard of.) I think most previous letters have not been opened. I am now going to open the envelopes and look at the post cards, scanning for useful information. Will report back fairly soon… 
I’ll show DS anything that looks the least bit useful and will then do some recycling.</p>
<p>I agree with the original post about the lack of imagination with the typed letter mailings. I also screen my son’s mail and if something in it doesn’t mention the major, doesn’t catch my eye, I toss it. OTOH, of the colleges that are on the long list, son (or I) will ask for more information. I think showing interest is what got my older son’s priority applications a few years ago. We set up a separate e-mail address that we both can access and that’s been one of the best things. Easy to delete and no problem if he wants more info.</p>
<p>I want to know, based on grades and test scores, what is it REALLY going to cost to send my kid to your school.</p>
<p>There are schools that admit like that- however fewer than there used to be.
Even our public universities now often take essays, recommendations and work experience/community service under consideration for admittance and for possible merit aid.</p>
<p>It can be more helpful to identify what you have budgeted for college expenses from loans/future income, current income & savings, and then to read up on average amount of loans * for students* upon graduation from a source like US News, because many schools are generous ( or have been more so in the past), for entering freshmen, but the funds may dry up once the student has made the commitment.</p>
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<p>Well, that’s silly. How can they tell you without knowing your income? If they find 2 kids in the right grade / test score zone in the same zip code, how do they know that one kid isn’t the child of Daddy Warbucks and the other kid is one of four kids that the family is sending to college at the same time?</p>
<p>OK, results of the “experiment”
Butler - contains no useful information about Butler Univ.
Calvin - notes that your education there can deepen your Christian faith.
Colorado State - contains no useful information about Colorado State.
Colgate - contains no useful information about Colgate.
*Champlain - in Burlington Vermont which it says is “rated one of america’s best college towns”. Letter explains you take classes in your major starting freshman year. This is interesting.
*Creighton - notes that it is a medium sized Jesuit college located in a city and has an on campus hospital, 50 majors, 180 clubs. And you can request more info with a text message from your cell phone. This is interesting.
*Elon - this is a four fold glossy - pretty pictures of campus, notes 71% study abroad, 330+ do undergrad research each year, 84% do internships, 87% do service. Notes 16 DI teams and 21 club teams. The pictures are nice.
Fordham - it at least mentions that it is in NYC, where (it says) there is diversity and culture.
*Indianapolis - says Indy is the 15th largest city in the nation and the capital of Indiana. Says the college is particularly good for physical therapy, OT, and nursing. Says they have a branch campus in Athens, Greece. This is interesting.
Loyola Chicago - contains no useful information about Loyola.
Washington and Lee - contains no useful information about Washington and Lee.
Wooster - contains no useful information about the College of Wooster.
Vermont - contains no useful information about the University of Vermont.</p>
<p>My daughter got a lot of mail too. (She is four years older.) I agree, she didn’t get these direct marketing envelopes with no useful information about the school listed on the return address. Only four of the college mailings in our stack here said anything about the school! </p>
<p>I think they are killing too many trees.</p>
<p>Great experiment, Midwest Mom.</p>
<p>Take a look at the reply online address for these brochures/guides. It is a .org not .edu. These solicitations are generated from a marketing firm and are one step removed from the colleges themselves. Thats why there are no pretty pictures and they are so generic. Once you get tied into the school, or go to their admissions site directly, you will get the full deluge of colorful, descriptive materials.</p>
<p>In hindsight, I wish we had kept all the college mail my youngest (a high school senior) received. Especially all the mail he got from U of Chicago. It was truly over the top. The best piece was a card he got from U of Chicago stating that if he didn’t mail that particular card back to them expressing his interest, they would no longer send him any information. He was thrilled - thought it would stop since he had no interest in this school.</p>
<p>Blatant lie - the mail just kept coming. And coming. Even sillier, he wasn’t a strong candidate based on past accepted classes. A reach school.</p>
<p>It would have been interesting to collect it all and send it back to them so they could see how much paper and postage was wasted.</p>
<p>I am surprised at the amount of college mail my D (who is a senior) is still getting after most of the app deadlines have passed. My orders are to throw away anything from a school that she has not applied to already. I threw away a half dozen items yesterday. We still get phone calls too. Her one day record last fall was 30 pieces. The total for that week was easily over 100.</p>
<p>Standrews, last year, Son was still getting mail from colleges (and the USMC) in May…“In case you haven’t made your decision yet…”</p>
<p>oh - oh - I want to play!!!</p>
<p>Today’s mail brought:
Fordham - same as Midwest Mom</p>
<p>New York University - offers an online quiz on what your texting habits reveal about your personality and what kind of college you might like; after the quiz they will send you something about the NYU experience; mentions NYC and overseas campuses</p>
<p>St. Edward’s University - offers an online quiz about what college is right for you; then they will send you a free quite to help ID the right school in 4 easy steps; will also send more info about the school; mentions global perspective, diverse population, and small size. Good thing I know it’s in TX!</p>
<p>Whitman College - offers a tips for college search guide; mentions it is nationally recognized and in Washington, and mentions the nearby Cascades</p>
<p>Whittier College - offers a guide for choosing a college; comments on faculty/student relationships, diversity and campus community; wouldn’t know where it was without looking at the letterhead</p>
<p>So, basically - no useful information about any of these schools.</p>
<p>Can we play again tomorrow???</p>
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<p>So now all this mail is going to be opened after all!</p>
<p>^^
I guess so!!!</p>