<p>Just curious.</p>
<p>We received one after a multi-stop summer tour/interview trip and was wondering if that was common. As in "does it mean that school X is particularly interested or do they do that for every kid".</p>
<p>Many interviewers send notes after interviews. I wouldn’t read anything into it. If it means anything, it means the interviewer is courteous and organized.</p>
<p>@Periwinkle: That’s what my wife thought. Tx.</p>
<p>Make sure your child sends thank you notes to his/her interviewers. It’s a small thing that means a lot.</p>
<p>@creative1: Already in the mail…</p>
<p>My son sent cards to all of his interviewers of schools that he decided to apply to. Some schools sent hand-written notes, some did not. There was absolutely no correlation between the amount of correspondance and admissions. He was admitted to school that only sent the normal mass mailings and waitlisted at schools that sent several handwritten cards. </p>
<p>SevenDad, expect to get Christmas cards too. They are usually very nice, often with student artwork.</p>
<p>For Christmas cards, there is the electronic email version a la Andover, a picturesque chapel with animated snow falling and caroling, then there’s the handwritten notes on watercolor scenes of the school amidst the bucolic snowfall (Deerfield). I agree with neato, don’t take handwritten holiday cards or no cards as any type of signal. We also did not see any correlation with acceptance letters.</p>
<p>My niece also had a similar experience with colleges and handwritten holiday cards.</p>
<p>It’s impressive though, isn’t it? So unusual to get a handwritten card from anyone these days…</p>
<p>Impressive yes, but leads you down a certain path thinking that they are interested in you enuf to send a handwritten greeting card long after they intereviewed you…it’s a set up for lots of hurt feelings on March 10, if in the end you are WL’d or rejected.</p>
<p>@classicalmama: It was quite unexpected, and appreciated.</p>
<p>@redbluegoldgreen: Which is why I put up the thread here, to confirm my wife’s inclination that we shouldn’t read anything into it.</p>
<p>7Dad: yep (10 char)</p>
<p>Yep, I even received a handwritten note from a current student!</p>
<p>My thought is that the notes from a school after interview/tour is to increase the likelihood that you will follow through with an application. Don’t forget that their acceptance rate is based on the number of applicants, although the number of avaialble spots pretty much stays the same. BS’s like the low acceptance rates - keeps them looking competitive.</p>
<p>Your wife is correct not to read anything into them. Tons of new parents and kids get excited every year (and there are hundreds of posts along the way to prove it) by:</p>
<ul>
<li>Notes from admissions’ officers, coaches, teachers, friends, VIPs etc</li>
<li>Admissions officers saying directly to you how “perfect” your child is for their school</li>
<li>Friends of friends in high places assuring certain outcomes</li>
</ul>
<p>Conversely, there are tears and angst brought on by seemingly:</p>
<ul>
<li>Blown interviews</li>
<li>Disinterested or seemingly off-putting admissions’ officers</li>
</ul>
<p>Until you have the decisions in your hands, don’t draw any conclusions about how a school feels about you. Invariably, you will be surprised by one or more of the results. Places you thought didn’t want you will send “admits.” Shoo-ins will send WL or Rejections.</p>
<p>The advice I gave my son was to stay focused on the things he could control: doing as well as he could in middle school, working hard at his job after school, being himself during boarding school interviews, and always being polite. I actually used the letters we got to explain sound marketing techniques, which all these great schools employ. It’s interesting to watch a kid begin to discriminate between the sizzle and the steak.</p>
<p>@ThacherParent: Perhaps the saving grace of all of this is the fact that our daughters already attend a great K-12 private day school. So if it doesn’t work out with BS, I get another 4 years with her at home, she still gets a great education, and the money I would have spent on BS goes toward my 50 minute AM drive to school.</p>
<p>As I was told by a person who had the job to groom underprivilged kids for boarding schools. These schools are “courting” you. None of it means anything…its just what they do for everyone.</p>