Upcoming senior here, class of 2019. Recently I have been getting many many emails from colleges about coming to visit their campus but I have regarded them as junk. However, two emails have caught my attention. One, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, stating that I was selected to apply with “Candidate’s Choice” status. Is that a big deal? The other email that caught my attention was from California Lutheran University. The email stated that I was invited to apply with “Dean’s Candidate” status. Do either of these things hold any weight?
Nothing other than you elected to receive mailings when you took the PSAT,
It’s marketing, pure and simple. If, as a result of the mailings, a college that was not previously on your radar attracts your eye and you decide to apply, then the marketing worked.
Nope, all marketing. Some schools are way more aggressive in their mailings and emails. U of Chicago and Colorado School of Mines were two of the worse for our daughter. She was barraged constantly.
Got it. So applying with a “Dean’s” or “Candidate” status doesn’t mean anything?
The emails themselves mean nothing – they are marketing tools. But sometimes they do have a free application so if one is from a school you are interested in look out for that. I would not apply to schools you have no interest in attending – it is a waste of everyone’s time and energy (including yours).
No on the special applications. If anything it’s just reproducing what you’ll be entering on the Common App.
Yeah for us UChicago, CSM, RPI and Arizona State seemed to be the big winners as far as amount of marketing mail sent.