<p>If a college/university sends you its viewbook or an application in the mail, can that be interpreted as a sign of interest in you? </p>
<p>I received such mail from Yale and Princeton, but I did not plan on applying to those in comparison to Harvard and Stanford, both of which have not sent me anything.</p>
<p>Is what I'm doing stupid? Would I have a better shot at Y/P instead of H/S?</p>
<p>No. (10 chars)</p>
<p>This is, I think, a commonly misunderstood thing. No, it is not a sign of interest. Colleges add people onto their mailing lists without looking at who they are adding. You somehow fell into a catagory that got automatically added onto their mailing lists. If you would like to receive mail from your first choices, you can register to be on their mailing lists.</p>
<p>Generally, I would say the viewbook doesn't mean they're necessarily interested. Some colleges put you on lists if you are a NMS semifinalist and then it's pretty obvious that they're interested in you particularly, ex they offer scholarships, special application proceedures, etc. One college actually called my house to offer me a scholarship! Borderline creepy. The point is, if they're interested, you'll know.</p>
<p>They are interested in attracting great kids to apply: yes. Might that be you? They aren't sure but they're willing to spend the $2 to see if it's possible. However, it wouldn't surprise me if the each sent 50K viewbooks. I remember getting one from Y and initially was totally uninterested. Thnxgiving of my Senior year, I attended an info session by chance and got totally hooked! I dug up that Yale app/viewbook from underneath my ton of college literature and started on the app practically that night!</p>
<p>Good luck through all of this.</p>
<p>The OP's reaction is exactly why colleges flood mailboxes with stuff each fall. Not a soul on campus has ever heard of the OP, he got the viewbook from a 3rd-party mailer hired by the U to send brochures out, and now he's reconsidering where to apply. It's enough to make the adcoms who hired the company do summersaults!</p>
<p>I got the phonecall about a scholarship at Olivet. I had no idea where that was and flat out asked. I mean I have no interest in going there and they call and offer me $10,000, just a little weird, and not the least bit interested in going there then or now.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for clearing up that doubt.</p>
<p>Have you ever experienced the deluge that is Washington University in St. Louis' mailing system? If not, here is a brief summary:</p>
<p>They do not ever stop.</p>
<p>Ever.</p>
<p>I swear to god, I am going to be getting mail from them when I am a senior in college, encouraging me to apply. I have, on a number of occasions, received multiple pieces of mail from them ON THE SAME DAY. It's gotten to me a huge joke in my family because it JUST WILL NOT KEEP COMING.</p>
<p>And it happens to all of my friends, too. They wouldn't ever accept all of us, even if we were applying (which I'm pretty sure nobody is... because of mailing system, perhaps?), but they pay for the postage anyway.</p>
<p>The more people apply, the lower the school's acceptance rates. The lower the school's acceptance rates, the better it looks in comparison to other schools (which is somewhat ridiculous in and of itself). And if sending you (a reasonable amount of) mail is what will get you to apply, then they'll do it.</p>
<p>Completely know what you mean. WashU, a year ago I was considering apply but the whole thing really got to be outrageous. I must have received 50+ brochures and I can only imagine how much money they have spent on postage to send me copious handouts. And for what? No scholarship offers and now I have no intent in applying there.</p>
<p>They have to do something to make up for being in MISSOURI :P
But it really is insane... I feel bad for all the trees they're killing...
Another bad one is the University of Central Florida with emails.... I got like 3 a week from them for a while. Madness.</p>
<p>CURSE YOU SIENA COLLEGE. WashU too.</p>
<p>I get a lot of emails from St. Johns University in Queens, NY. I would never even consider it. :-P</p>
<p>Drexel keeps sending me an application saying that I "forgot to fill out their VIP application WITH SCHOLARSHIP."</p>
<p>Man, I feel bad for them. Aren't they a really good school?</p>
<p>U of Chicago has been sending a lot of little postcards to my son...but they're pretty clever, so they're not annoying.
These letters are a form of targeted advertising--so they do mean that you are within their target group. They send them to people who they think might apply. So I would say that getting them is better than not getting them, but it doesn't mean too much.</p>
<p>This brings up a couple of questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>When does the deluge stop for most seniors? Soon after Jan.1? </p></li>
<li><p>If not, then how do you go about shutting it off? Has anyone ever tried? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>As an earlier post said, some schools use a clearinghouse, so maybe contacting them would do it? Particularly for ED's, it's a crime to continue being on the receiving end of all this paper and postage.</p>
<p>Believe it or not, my daughter was still receiving college mail into the summer after graduation ("you can still apply to Liberty University"). It should be completely shut off by the time you start college. Except for emails from Princeton Review. Despite several attempts, we still haven't been able to stop that.</p>