If my son has a first choice school, does this fact influence an admission decision? If so, what is the best way to communicate this?
Yes, it can help (helps their yield). Have him write a letter (not an email) to the AO who interviewed him.
Does anyone have experience with this? Say you wrote a first choice letter and were accepted? Or the opposite? History often speaks volumes.
First letters definitely don’t hurt, in fact can be extremely helpful come crunch time. There is 20% they know they want, there is 20% they know they don’t want and then there is the remaining 60% they just don’t know. Don’t play games with a first choice letter or when it comes to having an Alumni or Board member write a letter. It’s an incredibly small boarding school world.
A first letter does not guarantee anything and does not necessarily hold your feet to the fire like ED in the college process but stating your first choice certainly implies that you will attend if accepted, barring unforeseen circumstances. Like I said, it is a small world and not attending after being accepted it is nothing less than being lied to and nobody likes that.
Yes, my son wrote a first choice letter and got in. See “Inside the admissions office process” under “Prep Schoool admissions.”
Our experience: AFTER being waitlisted, my son sent a brief email to his first choice school stating same. I don’t know whether it helped, but it didn’t hurt; he eventually was offered a spot. I don’t think it mattered to the AO that my son communicated with him by email. Anyway, he was unfailingly kind in his responses. My daughter, on the other hand, sent an eloquent handwritten love letter to the school that was her first choice at the time. No response. FYI, both children fell into the category of excellent candidates who needed a lot of FA.
I think you hold off until you get waitlisted… then use it as a “next step”. The waters are already muddied with all the other admissions paperwork. Why add to the pile of work the AOs have right now. @twinsmama seems to have had the right idea.
@london203, If I had the right idea, it was by accident! 
Forgive my laziness: C&P from another thread/same topic:
This is just my opinion but I think a FC letter has a desperate vibe . Let’s go through the steps:
You’ve researched and contacted the school for an interview and set a tour date. Then you’ve traveled (sometimes a long distance), interviewed/toured - maybe met with a coach or two, too- and hopefully (when you returned home) sent a lovely Thank You note to the AO and an email to your student tour guide. Check.
Next- you write your essays, complete the app and pull together all the recs. Parents complete their portion of the app, pay the fee (yay) and together you hit the submit button (hurray!)… and you need to send a FC letter on top of all of that? Why?
Whatever happened to having a little confidence in everything you’ve done up until this point? Isn’t a FC letter a little like stating the obvious? Overkill? Of course you want to go- who wouldn’t! If it’s a Top Ten School - the line forms to the left.
Why wouldn’t a supremely confident/ qualified applicant want to be a free agent- especially on M10? This isn’t ED -this isn’t even close to ED - these are (for the most part) 8th graders declaring their undying love via a FC letter because a parent ( I can almost guarantee you) thought it was a good idea.
If you want to show your hand ( with a FC letter) and help a school with their yield be my guest- but have you ever asked yourself: What’s in it for me?
I say keep your power ( and self-respect ) and save the FC letter if (God forbid) you’re waitlisted. That’s when you’ll need it and when it might actually HELP you.
( Disclaimer: This is not directed at anyone- Just throwing my two cents out there )
- Nicely done, @twinsmama ! :)
I agree that none of this would be necessary if there is no such thing as admissions officers paying attention to you as rates or having a"Tuft’s effect" policy. If this system truly accepted students without any consideration to yield or likelihood of attending the school then a first choice letter or phone call would not be needed. Outside of the reduction in self-respect, I can’t see how the first choice letter is harmful in any way. If a student decides to write multiple letters and this is somehow discovered then I can see how the strategy could backfire.
FC letters are not “necessary:” no BS requests one or even mentions them. I think PhotoMom is spot on–if you’ve applied, you’ve told a school you want to go there. FC indicates you think you will be one of the lucky ones with more than one choice, or you’ve been foolish enough to tell one school the other schools you’re applying to and where they rank (indeed!). In either case, FC letters smell of strategy, hubris, or desperation.
Also, do you really think the admissions offices haven’t seen a million of these? I’m pretty sure they’ve also seen enough FC applicants who didn’t yield to know they aren’t even reliable. You’d might be surprised at how many accepted students have a different FC after revisit days if they are fortunate enough to have more than one choice. When the tables are turned, and the schools are courting YOU, they begin to look and feel very different.
Remember, boarding schools make their first-choice picks based on their needs and use their waitlists to fill any holes. They’re OK with less than 100% yield as that it not their main goal. They have many years of yield management experience, and I doubt they rely on FC letters for improvement or they would request this info up front, not hope for the most savvy to figure out the subliminal message they are (not) sending.
I do agree, though, that from a waitlist, a FC letter indicates continued interest and may help the AO select among many to fill a hole.
Good luck!
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I am in a position of accepting applicants for an educational program on a much smaller scale and there is no question that there are judgements made based on a candidate’s expressed interests in the program they are applying to. When assessing a candidate, knowing about why they are specifically interested in your program and seeing their overlapping interests can affect decisions. I don’t think that it is all about a strategy to improve the “yield” of the school.
Also, there is something to be said about a student who is very enthusiastic about a particular school that might otherwise think that they are not a top choice. There might be a specific family situation (upcoming move, or relative nearby for support) or connection made with a coach or teacher that should deserve mentioning. A school might assume that a legacy applicant may choose to go to their parent’s alma mater and, to protect yields, decide to waitlist them. I am not sure why else some of the more competitive schools are asking about this specifically - it’s almost like a red flag for identifying that school as a second choice because of the traditional preference for legacy applicants for both applicant and school. If this is not the case, it might be important for the student to let a school know that he or she wants to blaze their own trail at a different school.
I agree that it is a tricky thing though and could be misinterpreted.
Seems you’ve answered your own question, @heartburner. Go for it, then.
I agree with everything @Choatiemom said. Especially the point about kids changing their minds after revisit day…if I had a dime for every time that’s happened.
Also- Applicants thank the AO/School for their hospitality via a Thank You note which is then placed in their file. A well- written TY note also conveys strong interest in one or two (important) things plus mentions who the applicant enjoyed meeting ( coach, department head or teacher ). A TY note (after an interview) is without question the best way to go if an applicant wants to show enthusiasm (and grace) without going overboard.
So… What else do you need ? What do you think a FC letter (on top of everything else) will accomplish? Look- in my mind you’ve already done all the heavy lifting and demonstrated interest . If you want to tell a school that they’re your one and only- that’s up to you but I believe a strong application has already done that for you.
There seems to be a parallel discussion that coincidentally occurred in the main Prep School Admissions topics. The original poster was asking about the process and one of the replies indicated that there was a check box seen on a screen in college admissions news segment - “likely to attend.” That started the whole subsequent discussion.
I guess the question is whether boarding schools have this same criterion and whether it influences decisions.
I think that they probably do and I am not sure what is the best way to let AOs know of this “likely to attend” characteristic that they are looking for.
It turns out that my son forgot to send in a Thank You note to his first choice school (we think)!!!
So, I have asked him to think over how to craft a belated thank you without seeming to inconsiderate.
@Choatiemom, you said
We went to interviews openly and honestly, and did not rehearse, not even for contingencies. Several AO’s asked explicitly and specifically to which other schools my child was applying (I was not in the room). Of course they were given a direct and straightforward answer. Do you feel this was an error?
I do not see the disadvantage or the foolishness in this. It is an additional piece of information, but not a hugely useful one.
Since students perform better at their first choice school, informing a school that they are the first choice does add useful information.
I think that Choatiemom is referring to the latter part of that sentence - where they rank. This would be foolish to tell a school that they are a safety or less desirable than another one.
Every single interviewer asked us about the other schools that we were applying to and specifically asked about legacy status at a particular school. There is no question that this is an influence in the decision process.
See older thread on “Tufts Effect” -
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/904413-tufts-syndrome-p1.html
God, I’m lazy. Here’s another C&P from a thread in October:
[ They also get their information directly from the applicant/parents during the interview. Example: What other schools are you looking at/applying to? Usually the applicant is caught off guard and provides the entire list. Most applicants, however, offer up only a few schools and choose to keep their cards close to their vest. Why? Because full disclosure may not always benefit the applicant.
Just a few things to keep in mind when you’re asked: What other schools are you applying to?
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If an AO suggests other schools to add to the list: That’s a negative. ( It means you might be better served looking elsewhere. ). It amazes me how many people don’t pick up on this or get angry when this happens to them. The AO is doing the applicant a favor.
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If an AO responds with: The schools on your list are wonderful but here’s what sets us (this school) apart … : That’s a positive. It’s a buy signal. It doesn’t mean you’ll definitely get in but they’re encouraging you to apply.
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Either way- the school list an applicant gives an AO is information they will factor in later on. It’s not small talk or benign curiosity. But it is certainly nice information to have if they need to hedge down the road.
Frankly- I’m not a big fan of declaring a favorite. My kids preferred the free agent approach to SS admissions and I felt comfortable letting their application/correspondence/ tour/interview speak for them . Even with superb JBS- SS placement, we always kept our feelings about schools private. I didn’t see how disclosing that information could possibly benefit us/them.
We’re applying aren’t we? What else do you need to know? ]
You may not agree with me but at least I’m consistent
I am taking a leaf from your book @photographermom. Here is my post on the subject from a parallel thread:
PhotoMom beat me to it, but I don’t think disclosing the other schools your child is applying to can possibly benefit him or her. At best the information is neutral, but it is for the school’s benefit and will be noted and used. The way to handle the direct question is with an honest, direct answer: I am considering several schools where I believe I can bring something special to the community and whose communities and programs match my interest in like does. Or a simple reply like, “We’re still working on a list of schools that seem to be a good fit for DC.” No need for names.
Until your child has a track record at said school, there is no way you can know this. Given what we now know about ChoatieKid’s FC school, we and he thank heaven he didn’t end up there.