<p>He is a Sophomore, and I think he got this letter because of the PSAT. It was like trying to grab my son's interest. Is this anything special?</p>
<p>I don't think so, about 15 kids in my school got it. It's the one with the math and science all over it right?</p>
<p>this is just the beginning of the deluge of college mail for the next two years!</p>
<p>yeah giggles is right. it's vaguely amusing to get a big bag (i mean BIG) and keep it all until the day he goes off to college. Just the other day, I got 14 letters and i dont' even think that's terribly unusual</p>
<p>It is definitely from the PSAT. My son didnt take it, and we were surprisingly free of mail. His SAT and AP scores were quite impressive, and generated a certain amount of mail, but it seems that schools assume everyone takes the PSAT and that is where most mailing lists come from.</p>
<p>It's just the beginning...my son has weighed his college mail over the past 2.5 years and it's now up to 112 lbs. We collect, weigh, keep what he wants, and recycle the rest. If your S has decent scores, he'll be hearing from many, many schools. Don't take it personally.</p>
<p>If your S receives a personal letter from an admissions director suggesting he applies based on an award he received (with an actual ink signature -- my S checks these things ;)), that is another story. Caltech is known to do this for major science awards and in fact, it's part of their drive to increase interest and yield.</p>
<p>So, is there a cutoff score needed on tests to get letter from these universities, or it is for everyone?
@dtl42
this is the one talking about freezing pumpkins and dropping them from buildings.</p>
<p>I've seen people post with wildly varying scores for getting a letter from a highly selective school. In most cases, the schools are trying to cast a wide a net as possible so that they can attract a broad range of candidates and experiences. They probably also calculate that students will gain ~100 points between soph and junior year (or junior year PSAT to SAT) -- so what may not look like a super score now may turn into one. What one puts down as an intended major also makes a difference. DS1 put down one major soph year, and a different one junior year. Got dramatically different mail.</p>
<p>I expect that DS2 (a soph) will also hear from many of the same schools DS1 did, though DS2 has an entirely different focus and different scores.</p>
<p>Not to worry -- it's material to look at, get a feel for the schools, and see where your S might be interested. Nothing more. It's the college version of junk mail. I would suspect that colleges buy mailing lists of kids with scores in various bands, zipcodes, majors, etc. I can't imagine there's a mailing for scores of 2300+, for example -- probably more like 2000+.</p>
<p>Counting Down--I find that your son is "weighing" his college mail absolutely ingenious! What a fun way to put a "spin" on college mail--I had to chuckle when I read that!! Good luck to him on his college admissions endeavors!</p>
<p>I think if you check "Engineering" or "Science" as your interested major, you will get one.
A sophomore friend of mine only got 170s on PSAT still got the Caltech letters. It is no biggie.</p>
<p>notredame, I've read about some kids who have sorted it into how many different schools, how many pieces from each school, and other mind-numbing inanities.</p>
<p>DS1 decided to weigh it because the first time we took a box of college mail out to be recycled, it was really heavy -- so he decided to weigh it. He is so skinny (5'10", 120 lbs. dressed and soaking wet) and the total was becoming such a huge proportion of his weight that we kept a running tab. (In fact, by the time this is done in April, the total will be greater than his weight!) </p>
<p>Now if DS2 gets his weight in college mail....he's a 235 lb. defensive tackle...YIKES! We have already started that tally.</p>
<p>DS1 checked CS soph year and heard from lots of engineering schools. Junior year he checked math and heard from the engineering schools plus LACs.</p>
<p>Won't it be an interesting competition for your two sons to see who has received the most "weight" in college mail? I think some news media should interview you and your son, esp around the time when everyone is receiving acceptances! Again, best of luck to both of them--</p>
<p>My D got the same mail. She loved the outside of the envelope with all the math equations on it, and the fact that they have a pumpkin tossing contest after dry freezing the pumpkins. It totally fit her mathematics mindset and her David Letterman sense of humor. We were like ... "finally, we've found your school!" Not really, too far away ... but still a hoot!</p>
<p>zebes</p>