This topic has been asked in various ways in the past, but I really couldn’t find what I was looking for, so my apologies for bringing it up again. Can people tell me the strategy, if any, they used for providing emails to various entities, like the testing companies, CommonApp, Naviance, various universities for their mailing list, regional reps, etc? More specifically:
[ul]
[]Did you use your child’s email address for all correspondence, or did you create a new email address for all things ‘college’?
[]Did you have access to your child’s email?
[]Did you additionally have a ‘junk’ email address you could use to sign up for stuff or fill out fake apps ?
[]If a student uses their personal email to get on a school’s email list, does that email need to be the same as the email used by the CommonApp in order to get credit for ‘showing interest’?
[li]Similarly, do schools match only on email address when linking a student who: joined mailing list, toured a school, attending a traveling show, contacted a regional rep, etc. Or, do they use name somehow?[/li][/ul]
My D is a junior, and not fully engaged in the search yet, but we talk frequently and she is allowing me to do some footwork for her based on a pretty meager list of criteria. She currently has a school email address, as well as her personal (Gmail) address. She has not thought through how best to use them, but has used her personal email when when she signed up for the ACT and SAT. Not sure if this was a good idea or not. Any other tips related to email use would be appreciated.
I’ve been through this process four times, and each time I have asked my kid to create a separate email address for all things college. It’s the address that gets used on the AP exam forms, the PSAT forms, the SAT or ACT forms, and when asking for college info or visiting a college. Ultimately, it’s the same address used for applications. It’s not the same address as what is used for Naviance beause the school uses their school-based email address for that - and it does not matter at all if you use two different addresses for Naviance and for applications - you can still “pair” your Common App with your Naviance account.
The separate address thing, I feel, is hugely helpful. I did have access to the address and that was helpful for my sons who didn’t check it frequently enough, but my daughters were good about checking it so I didn’t really have to keep on top of it.
@bluebayou I don’t know if I would fill out fake ones, but sometimes would like to see what questions are on the app. I can find .pdf versions a lot of times, but not always (non-common app schools, or schools with scholarship apps). I haven’t done it yet, but was tempted.
Both of my kids set up email accounts for college applications. It just made everything easier. I had access to that email for one of my kids and the other is more diligent about checking email so I didn’t bother to ask him for the password.
I second the suggestion for a dedicated email address. My son put his school address and that has caused a lot of problems. He gets way too much email on that address, including tons of junk from the College Board, so important emails have been overlooked. Lesson learned for sure.
I agree with GossamerWings- create a new email account just for all things college related. I didn’t do it with D1 and she ended up missing important things like passwords sent by schools to check on applications, and school offers for fee waivers. It’s just too easy for that stuff to get lost in their junk mail.
I smartened up for D2- I actually created folders on the computer for each school she’s applied to school and after she reads each email I file it in its respective folder - makes it really easy to go back and find things. I also quickly unsubscribe her from schools she’s definitely not interested in. This has made things soooo much easier than it was with D1.
Kids set up a specific email just for the college process. I was given access. Folders were created within the email account for each college on the final list.
D set up a “professional” email for a school project some time ago and that’s the one she uses for college apps. Most have an option to copy a parent on communications, so I do get things from ACT and the College Board, and have gotten some “We’ve received your daughter’s application!” emails. D is VERY diligent at checking her emails, but even if she wasn’t, she has it set to alert her phone when one comes in. I do not have her password. All of the schools she has applied to not on the Common App have a way to download the paper app, so if I want to see the app beforehand, I just find that at open it. No need to make a fake name.
My daughter set up a dedicated college address. I’d suggest having a separate one for the College Board, because the CB generates a lot of junk mail. I do have access to the college e mail address.
I have a suggestion regarding Twitter: Set up a separate Twitter account for each college the student follows for demonstrated interest. Otherwise, each college can see the other colleges the student is following (and likely applying to). Following schools on Twitter is useful because sometimes they have admissions Twitter chats.
Some of the non-Common App applications are very simple, just the stats, please, and others have specific essay topics. When you’re deciding whether to add on another college to your list, you might want to look ahead of time at the requirements. D decided just today to add another school, which has rolling apps, and by looking at the app ahead of time discovered that the required essay will have a connection to her school that no one else other than other kids at her school are likely to have. So it’s a nice thing to know going in.
I did most of the preliminary filtering of colleges for my D. I already had a “school stuff” email account and used that. I filled out inquiry forms after consulting with her about which subject areas, ECs, etc. to put down. Much later, when we had narrowed down her college list to “finalists,” I had her email those colleges and change the email to hers. I believe the colleges can easily keep track of kids by name, address, or DOB as well as email. We never said anything about whose email it was. She just sent an email from her own account asking them to change her email in their records.
She has made personal contact with each college in a variety of ways: asking if they would be visiting her school, arranging off-campus interviews, visiting them at college fairs, etc. She was only able to visit one of the campuses.
D used her own school email to register for tests. Her private school relies extensively on email for communication so she checks it daily. She would often forward college emails to me for consultation if she wasn’t sure how to respond. Students can add parents to be cc’d on collegeboard.com. I think she never quite figured that out so I did it myself (she shared her logon with me). I do not access her personal email.
Taking the SAT will trigger a lot of college promitional emails. As necessary D and I would consult as to whether to delete, reply, or just save. Mostly I think she just “hid” the ones she wasn’t interested in.
She stepped up to the responsibility in the end, creating spreadsheets in google docs to keep track of interview requests and such, and she shared access with me.
DO NOT use that separate email account to sign up for the SAT/ACT.
Any email address you provide to SAT/ACT will be inundated with spam from colleges who buy email addresses from SAT/ACT. Important emails might be missed, which defeats the whole purpose of setting up a separate email account in the first place.
Use this separate email account ONLY for the Common App and correspondence with colleges your child is interested in. That way, the only email that goes to this account will be from colleges you care about, and is therefore by definition, important.
My kid is not that organized and was happy to give me the password. Work out with your child whatever he/she is comfortable with.
My kid set up an email address to register with ACT/SAT. The first college spam started rolling in January of sophomore year after PSAT scores came in. Want to guess how many unsolicited emails have come into that account since? 2,636 as of last night, in less than 2 years.
In the separate account created just for schools of interest, there have been 52 emails since the fall. It’s been much, much easier to deal with not having to sift through 2,600 emails to find those 52.
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