<p>Cal-Tech has sent the really cool poster and the little tiny disc that actually works in your cd/DVD drive. BUT New Mexico Tech sent this freakish figure- eight looking partial disc, we stuck it in and it played and was pretty cool. They can get creative ,can't they? D's really attracted all the heavy math /science bunch. I do believe the Fu Foundation (at Columbia) has hired a person to dream up stuff around the clock to send her. Case, CMU, Fu,Cal-Tech, RPI,and RIT all send at least 2 a month each. Sometimes 4-5 pieces a month.</p>
<p>"glow in the dark nasal inhaler. . . . We hope to see you next week at our . . . orgy"</p>
<p>Curmudgeon, you are too funny. LOL. Good luck to D.</p>
<h1>1 mailer to our house is Cornell (in Iowa.) Coe College probably #2. Drexel sent a bunch earlier on, but has by now given up on us.</h1>
<p>Skidmore does a whole series of postcards with catchy ideas, about once every 2 or 3 weeks--lots of mail but we did at least visit there... I know from Biz you need to do X number (12?) contacts via mail before you start to "brand" yourself. So that's probably why.</p>
<p>We filed all the "possibles" and recycled or tossed the rest. Ended up with a huge file box of material, including many duplicate pieces of info. Sent the Iowa video to Grandpa since that was his alma mater and thought he'd enjoy it. Also saved those that looked interesting to S#2. In their defense, though, S#1 actually applied to a couple schools he learned about via mailings (Cornell, Penn) and ended up going to Penn. He also rejected a couple that he thought he was interested in, after studying brochures and deciding he didn't fit (like Harvard).</p>
<p>Talk about overwhelmed. I've been receiving a steady stream since March.</p>
<h1>1 winner at my house:</h1>
<p>TIE - Carleton College and Brandeis University</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, sons (it took BOTH of them) just hauled out all the stuff from schools that are not ones my son will be applying to. The recycling guys didn't look too thrilled as it took both of them to lift the box to dump it in the truck. Feels like kind of a waste of paper. We received the most applications (3) from Colgate. I've lost track of who we got the most poundage from. The story above about the duffel bag is too funny.</p>
<p>This is probably a futile effort, but I saved a lot of my son's college viewbooks (he's now a freshman) and earlier this year I put them in the magazine rack in my HS sophomore son's bathroom! I took away the regular assortment of old magazines that was in there so now I guess he's a captive audience, in a way. Although he's not showing much interest in college just yet, at least now he might browse through them and get an idea of what's out there. Many of the viewbooks have applications inside so he can check out the essay questions, too. At least it should get him thinking (I hope!)</p>
<p>Brandeis, Colgate, Vassar, and Tulane all harrass me on a regular basis. The latest from Brandeis is a series of "We wish you were here" postcards which they seem to enjoy twice weekly or so. I ruled out Tulane because I got so sick of hearing from them (and they looked so desperate), but the letters from Colgate were all very pleasant and nice to receive.</p>
<p>I like TheDad's idea of counting and weighing it. It would have been interesting to see just how many pieces came in....I'm estimating them at about 2,000 pieces. I used to save them all, unopened.....being unsure about where he would have interest. After the first round of cuts, I was able to trash most of it. (I had been keeping it in Staples boxes in the breakfast room). But, still had about 2 boxes worth from the schools he was considering. Now that the final cuts have been made and we're down to 9 schools, there's only 1 box. Early on, he told me that I had his permission to open any college related mail on his behalf (gee, thanks). But, I'm not planning on opening decision letters. I know that we'll probably receive 2 "pony" rolling decisions by the end of next week (aside form ED) and I won't be opening those envelopes, no matter how fat or thin.</p>
<p>DD has received tons of mail since 8th grade. I can't imagine what will happen as a result of taking the PSAT. Top mailer...WUSL (unsolicited). Best mailed info...Emory (solicited). Most "off the mark"...Simon's Rock (unsolicited...the mailing stated she was just the right person to enroll in college at 16). DS is a sophomore in college and he STILL receives college mailings.</p>
<p>"DS is a sophomore in college and he STILL receives college mailings."</p>
<p>Noooooooooo!!!! They don't stop after this year???
Actually, I would love to make it all stop right now. You know how the phone company has that "do not call" list so that you won't be solicited by phone? I wish there was a "do not mail" list for colleges. Really, I appreciate their need to market and we found some of the material useful, but it's no longer useful and really detracts from the few letters that are really offering anything. </p>
<p>Swarthmore is smart...they send handwritten envelopes with handwritten notes inside addressed to son - or news clippings with a small handwritten note at the top addressed to him.....these always get opened because I know they're not mass-mailed when I see the handwritten envelope.</p>
<p>Parents on this board seem genuinely amused if not aggrivated by all the mailings. That does not sound like money well-spent to me, not to mention the paper wasted (and hopefully recycled rather than sent to landfills). I'm wondering if college mailings have any substantial impact. You would think that college marketing departments would follow if their dollars are being spent wisely.</p>
<p>On the other hand. We enjoyed the Carleton mailings. They were typically small, not to frequent, and humorous.</p>
<p>My S also liked the Carleton mailings, and it actually ended up high on his list. As I noted on another thread, he was somewhat snubbed by WUSTL (at least in comparison to some of you), but heavily recruited by the country club AKA U Texas-Dallas. </p>
<p>Tulane BEGGED him to apply. I forget some of the other biggies, though I do know he got "you're our type of people" letters from Harvard and Yale. ????? Snowball's chance in ****, there. OTOH, his ultimate first choice never sent a thing unless it was asked for.</p>
<p>Gee, could the reason my D has little mail (relative to the above) be that she never took pSATs?</p>
<p>Twinmom ~ I'm not sure about the PSAT, but Collegboard certainly has a record for my S with 2 PSATs, 2 SATs and 10 APs, all with high scores...I guess we should be grateful that all of this junk mail is not arriving at our house.</p>
<p>Ilcapo, the duffel bag is very funny!</p>
<p>My daughter is taking a year off from Reed and so she registered online for the community college where she is taking a few classes. For some reason this triggered an enormous amount of mail from school in Or, and Wa and even MT and Ca. ( I am saving it for the high school counseling office so it isn't a total waste, but as she is still registered as a student who will be returning to Reed they swear they didn't do it!)</p>
<p>Well, only one college <em>almost</em> induced me to apply by their cool mailings: George Washington U in DC. Almost. I wasn't in the mood to ask my parents for $65 to apply somewhere I really wasn't interested in going just because they sent cool mailers. </p>
<p>But ever since I took the PSAT my sophmore year, I've been receiving truckloads of college mail. At first glance, I throw away mailings from colleges I am not interested in, and keep the stuff from colleges I am interested in in a 3-inch binder. I get between two and four pieces of college mail per day. </p>
<p>If you're still unsure about which colleges you are and aren't interested in, throw away mail from schools in regions you feel are too far from home, then keep the rest in a box in the basement or closet. Have your son/daughter read through them, and once you have a general idea of what you/he/she are looking for in a college, throw away everything from colleges that don't meet that.</p>
<p>Garland, I had to laugh at your referring to UT-Dallas as "the country club". Obviously you haven't seen it. It is a pretty ugly, satellite campus for the UT system. It has dorms, but is considered a commuter school. The country club school is about 12 miles south (SMU). Karen</p>
<p>Karen:</p>
<p>So why is UTD trying to recruit students from MA and NJ?</p>
<p>UTD has some strong programs, but I truly can not imagine why they would have much success recruiting from other states. The only thought would be that you could do a freshman year at UTD and then transfer to Austin???? That would be an easier in to UTAustin for an out of state applicant. Karen</p>