<p>My D has gotten several of these, generally from schools that she has not been particularly interested in, and usually "general" in nature..."We'd like to encourage you to look at XXX college and can we answer any questions?". Some have actually been to her cellphone. However, this past week we've had 2 that were more specific to her interests/colleges. One was a call from a student at a college she's looking at with a fairly prominent department who left a message on the machine "I understand you're interested in a XXX major and wanted to tell you about our program here at XXX." This school's department is very competitive. Do these calls have ANY meaning at all? Other than just informational?</p>
<p>As with most things, the calls could or could not have any significance. If your D has some special skill, attribute or interest that has fallen into the radar screen of some colleges where they are seeking such things on their wish list, then yes, there may be a specific interest. It does not necessarily mean an admit, however, because if they get more kids than they need from shaking the bushes in that particular area, they will cull what they don't need, skimming the cream off the top. Also colleges want as many students applying as they can get so that they have the numbers on their side. Until any college has all of your kid's info and the info of crop for her specific year, the adcoms are not going to be able to make a decisions on her, unless the college is very non competitive in admissions and your D's basic stats are way up there.</p>
<p>The calls from students are pretty common, certain schools do that a lot. A call from a rep is something I would take as a sign of interest if they have a lot of your info. My D had a few reps that called her and she ended up with her best merit scholarships at these schools.</p>
<p>For the college student, it's usually part of a work/study program to make admissions phone calls. It's a nice idea.</p>
<p>It means that 'your name is on ''their list'' - can be informational - but other than that - I would not put too much merit into most of them. The follow-up may mean/do somehting tho - so if a school that one is interested in - follow up and see where it goes.</p>
<p>Just about all colleges proactively market themselves - even those with lots of applicants still want to maximize applicant quality and win the yield battle with competitive schools. Telephone marketing, usually by students, is fairly common. It's not a bad idea, and the students can often answer questions. But, as others have noted, I would't read a lot into it. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if the admissions director or soccer coach is placing the call... ;)</p>
<p>I think it does mean something if the calls come AFTER the student has applied...a very good sign.</p>
<p>It means that they need more applicants to reject. ;)</p>
<p>it really doesn't mean much. The schools are out there marketing themselves so that they have the quantity they want. Same with the millions of pieces of college mail.</p>
<p>i got phone calls from all the schools i apply to (11) to see how i was doing and do i need more info. I ended up getting rejected from 4 of those (including two ivies and two top ten) so phone calls mean nothing. It does give me hopes in the beginning, but dont let it fool you.</p>
<p>Agree with ASAP, good point!</p>