<p>I wonder if they boost selectivity?</p>
<p>My dad has a saying. . . "If it's for free- it's for me"</p>
<p>If you generally like the school, go for it. Better than spending a long time on a safety app that you aren't as pleased with.</p>
<p>Rose-Hulman, Colorado School of Mines, Rensselear, Illinois Institute of Technology. Oh, and our guidance counselor said that most schools that send reps to the high school give the students application fee waivers, and she's never had a school say "no" to waiving the application fee. The public schools in CA say they only give application fee waivers to CA residents.</p>
<p>Drexel university i believe does it..</p>
<p>One caution: Don't assume that just because a college is sending you free applications that it will be a safe bet. Lots of people get rejected with those applications, too. The colleges aren't dumb. They know the more applications they get, the lower their final admit rate will be, and the more selective they'll look, so don't assume ANYTHING about your chances just because they're inviting you to apply. </p>
<p>Also, beyond the fact of paying for test scores and applying for financial aid if it's a PROFILE school, I think there is another "cost" associated with filling these applications out willy nilly that should be considered. They may be faster to do, but they still take SOME time. Think carefully about whether that time might be better spent working on your applications to the schools you DO want to go to. </p>
<p>So, my advice: When you get one of these offers, do some real research to see if it is a school that interests you. If it does, and your stats are in range, there's no problem with taking advantage of the free application offer. But, to just apply because they send you an application may not be the best use of your time, energy and money. Research and think first, just as you would with any school on your list.</p>
<p>But, in the end, don't assume that getting a free application means you're in to any school until you get the fat envelope in the mail.</p>
<p>UVT also sends what they call VIP applications.</p>
<p>sammy2, if you mean University of Vermont, it's UVM.</p>
<p>I hope everyone understands WHY the schools are sending free apps. Not only to raise the # of applicants, but also to rise in US news rankings--which is sad.</p>
<p>"Selectivity" also has a hand in this. A school can bost selectivity and up its rankings!--it's a sad commentary.</p>
<p>............</p>
<p>UC-Riverside also offered a free app with very early admission and scholarship consideration if you have like a 3.5 UC GPA and like a 1600/2400 on your SAT. The deadline was like early August.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you apply to schools you have no interest in whatsoever and get accepted, you're taking up a spot that other applicants might have really wanted...</p>
<p>To you, they might be a joke; to others, their dream.</p>
<p>I'm going to take advantage of some special applications.</p>
<p>I got invited from Emory, Fordham, Ursinuns, and Loyola.</p>
<p>I think I'm going to apply to Emory and Fordham, because they're highly ranked and it's free/easy to apply...</p>
<p>I got invited from Tulane University (I ended up filling out just for kicks because out of the ones I got, TU was one of the top Universities offering me a free app). I had almost no intention of going there, and here I am at Tulane University writing this as we speak</p>
<p>I strongly suggest you pick a few frees (or even all) and take the little time it takes to send it out</p>
<p>Tulane app is free for anyone, actually. You don't need to have received an email from them, although it seems pretty much everybody did.</p>
<p>Filling them out and everything...is it considered regular decision? Like it won't affect SCEA or ED</p>
<p>Tulane's definitely sending out a lot of those. I also got one from Marquette University.</p>
<p>Sheed - I believe you can select on the Rulane application if you want to be considered an RD applicant, or to get an early decision within four weeks of getting all your stuff in.</p>
<p>thank you!!!</p>
<p>Not that I know of. I got the "free priority" offer from Ursinus and Tulane - it seems incredibly easy to fill out, but I really <em>don't</em> want to go to either of those, so I won't bother spending the money to send scores, etc. (Also, it'd be a hassle to explain to the guidance counselors why I went over my 10-app maximum :-p )</p>
<p>I got a free application from University of Portland. I mailed my recommendation letter and official transcript on Saturday. And I sent my SAT scores through collegeboard. </p>
<p>So once they receive all of my stuff, I'll find out in 2 weeks. Sounds like a pretty nice deal to me.</p>