<p>"when is the best time to request matierals"</p>
<p>After you notify your mailperson of the anticipated avalanche and after you go to Walmart to buy storage bins....BIG ones! </p>
<p>They come quickly....and often.....letters, DVDs, fridge magnets, glossy envelopes, copies of newspaper articles with little handwritten notes to your child....and, eventually, phone calls and emails. </p>
<p>I think there should be an "Opening Ceremony" to the "College Information Olympics".......maybe your mail carrier running around the block, carrying a torch......followed by you with the look of worry, your H with bags of money, and your child carrying an SAT prep book.</p>