<p>What does it mean if my high school soph D is receiving letters from top schools, such as Swarthmore, U Chicago, WUSTL and Brandeis? Does this mean they are interested in her, or is it just junk mail sent to most students? I'd be interested in comments from any parents who have been through the admissions process.</p>
<p>junk mail sent to most students - address gotten from her PSATs most likely.</p>
<p>Junk mail is right. It means she scored at a certain level on a standardized test (probably PSAT) AND marked the box that says College Board could give her name to colleges. </p>
<p>By the time she's a senior you will probably have 2 grocery bags full of this stuff. It can be useful in getting her interested in thinking about college and learning about specific schools, but it doesn't mean they're interested in her. Sorry.</p>
<p>Thanks for your comments. She did recently take the PSAT. So if she responds to these letters, she will probably get swamped with junk mail? It just seems strange that colleges would be contacting students so early in the process, especially if they're just giving false hopes.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say these schools are just holding out false hopes - probably every kid they're going to accept receives the same mailing, too. It would be interesting to know whether there is indeed a cutoff on the PSAT score, or whether schools send stuff to anyone who knows how to convert oxygen to carbon dioxide. All the letters SAY the student's PSAT score is impressive, anyway. And aren't they pretty to look at?</p>
<p>My 15 y/o d is a sophomore who took the test in October and didn't receive anything until last week, when she started to receive several emails daily (about 40 so far). I thought this was a Great Leap Forward in terms of preserving the environment, since the emails offer to send materials by mail IF the student expresses interest. Then yesterday, the first college mailing arrived by snail mail. And today, ALL the mail was for her.</p>
<p>In the past week alone, my D has received 5 letters per day from colleges, asking for her email and for her to request further information. She's reluctant to give out her email, as she's afraid she'd be swamped with solicitations. But, on the other hand, she IS interested in some of the colleges, such as Swarthmore, WUSTL and U Chicago, and would like to followup. Her PSAT scores were in fact high, and she would like to be considered for merit scholarship at these schools.</p>
<p>My jr son took the PSAT in Oct for the first time and he has started to get the snail mail. His Dad's email has been jammed with email's from schools. Dad didsn't know how they had his email till son told him he had put his down on the PSAT.
His PSAT scores were good and don't necessarily go along with his so-so grades so we are telling him that he should look at these but not take them as a sign that he would get in these schools.</p>
<p>The College Board sold the colleges that are sending these letters the names and addresses of sophomores who scored above a certain point on the PSAT. Although you cant read too much into these letters, I don't believe the personalized ones are exactly junk mail. They mean simply that the recipient is likely to be a viable candidate.</p>
<p>daboost:</p>
<p>The answer to your question depends. In some cases, the letters are generated by PSAT scores and don't mean that much in terms of admissions odds.</p>
<p>However, if your daughter goes to a high school with mixed socio-economic students and/or if your daughter is an underrepreseted minority (Latino, African American, Native American, etc.), the letters could represent serious interest by the schools that could be meaningful in terms of paid college visits, etc.</p>
<p>WUSTL is known for blanketing mailboxes with mass mailings. Swarthmore is not and I suspect their mailing may be more targeted.</p>
<p>In any case, if the schools are interesting to your daughter, she should definitely follow up. Wait until this year's admissions round is complete (April/May time frame) and then send a personal e-mail or mail response to whomever sent the letter accompanying the packet.</p>
<p>The junk mail is going to come no matter what, so might as well use it to your advantage, especially at schools where it is possible to have a personal e-mail dialog with your regional admissions rep over a period of months.</p>
<p>Interesteddad, thanks for your suggestions. Yes, my D is a URM and it turns out she is interested in some of the schools, such as Swarthmore, that have sent her mail. Though she is not yet focused on colleges, she has begun research on some of the ones that have contacted her. We figure, why start from scratch when she can start with the schools which MAY be interested in her. She will only give out her email to the targeted schools she really likes. I like your suggestion that she wait until April/May, when she is more likely to capture the attention of admissions reps after the current admissions round is complete.</p>
<p>Remember that colleges are very proud of the total number of applications they receive and always strive to increase that number. They are also very concerned about the "strength of the applicant pool." Most of all, they want to be able to reject a very large number of highly qualified applicants.</p>
<p>My d got mailings from Swarthmore. And Harvard too. If indeed their mailings are more targeted, my guess is all that means is they have a higher PSAT cutoff score.</p>
<p>Possibly zip codes are important too, as likely wealth indicators.</p>
<p>I thought that the letter D got yesterday from U. of Chicago was great in that it managed to accurately sum up the personality of the school. It started out, "You are not your test scores." It went on to describe the kind of student who would do well there, someone who "might get a little chill over the elegance of a mathematical proof, or from the first blissful taste of the beauty of Neruda's poems in his native tongue..." My D is NOT that kind of student, but it's helpful to know that! My daughter gets a chill when her Internet connection hiccups and her online game is interrupted.</p>
<p>monydad:</p>
<p>Yes. All colleges do shotgun mailings based on PSAT scores to some extent. But very few approach the widespread nature of WUSTL's mailings. This seems early for random shotgun mailings from Swarthmore, which is why I suspected this particular mailing might be more targeted (minority recruitment).</p>
<p>dabost:</p>
<p>You can get the e-mail addresses of Swarthmore's admissions reps, by region, here:</p>
<p>Your daughter will probably want to touch base with Suzi Nam, the Director of Multicultural Recruitment, and whomever covers your region. There is a special weekend campus visit during the fall of senior year, Discovery Weekend, when the College covers the travel cost for several hundred minority recruits. Communicating with Suzi Nam would be a good way to ensure an invite.</p>
<p>It was not our experience that Swarthmore (or any other college) bombards your e-mail box with junk mail. However, it would not surprise me if a minority student expressing interest generates an e-mail contact from a current student -- which would be a good thing from the standpoint of asking questions and learning about the school.</p>
<p>Not from top school but I just read some info printed in Beloit Magazine. This year admission seen almost half of all applicants make first contact with school having their application in hand. Number of inquires for inital info was significantly down, yet applicants pool increased by 10-15 % from last year.</p>
<p>The two stand-out mailings from last year was Harvey Mudd College and UChicago. UChicago included a card that was to be returned if one wanted follow-up information. After returning the card, every so often a post card from Chicago would arrive that was absolutely hilarious. They would poke fun at themselves or the admissions process. This continued all the way through the process, and carried over to their website. </p>
<p>Though fortunately not needed, this bit of information was particularly entertaining:</p>
<p>"Wait list When you get a decision in the mail, youll either get a letter of rejection, a letter of admittance, or a letter offering a place on the waitlist. We think you know what the first two mean. If youre offered a spot on the wait list though, you need to either accept or reject it. If you want to still be considered for admission to Chicago, you should claim your spot on the wait list and start talking to your admissions counselor. Tell him or her how awesome you are, how much you love Chicago, and send in more credentials to prove your wonderfulness. The rates of acceptance of waitlisted candidates vary greatly from year to year."</p>
<p>Though primarily marketing efforts, these pieces of mail are often helpful in awakening an interest in a school not before considered. We kind of miss getting them around here, but, that will change in a couple of years...</p>
<p>Interested dad, thanks for the contact info, but I don't think my D wants to make personal contact with Swarthmore right now, as it is not her first choice school, though she does want to apply eventually. She will, however, followup in April or May for by sending back the reply card for further general information. Your insight has been really helpful!</p>
<p>Today's mail, I kid you not:</p>
<p>For D, letters from
LaSalle University, offering its Academic and Career Exploration Program</p>
<p>Emory, touting an "education of extraordinary richness and depth..."</p>
<p>Caltech, featuring "students at the Center for Advanced Computer Research at 4 a.m." ... and a poster, Gray Matter</p>
<p>Alfred University, promoting "Individuals. Inspired."</p>
<p>Brandeis University, with an "unsurpassed college experience that will stimulate your mind and your spirit..."</p>
<p>For my husband and me, a letter from
St. Michael's Cemetery, offering "graves, niches and cremation" and a $1,000 savings certificate!</p>
<p>I can hardly wait!</p>
<p>My freshman son who has taken no standardized tests is already getting mail. Tied into his sisters run through the process? It all makes for interesting reading in the early stages of choosing where to apply. One bit of advice is not to respond to the mass mailings unless you are interested, some schools then bombard you with additional information.</p>
<p>Oooh - funeral home mailing lists! Is there a certain level of cholesterol I need to get to catch the interest of the top funeral homes? And how on earth did you manage to get that scholarship offer?</p>