<p>My son applied to 10 schools and I was struck by the differences in how responsive, friendly and communicative colleges have been both before and after admission letters went out.</p>
<p>Several colleges sent no communications, promotional materials, alerts or anything.
A few colleges sent out a few brochures, a postcard or email link.
And a couple made personal contacts with letters, promotional items (t-shirts, calendars), contacts from regional reps. There were adcom folks who wrote long, helpful, cheerful responses to questions my son had, and there were colleges that seemed like they were manned by impersonal cyborgs.</p>
<p>With what colleges did you have the best "contact" experiences? Did it make a difference for you?</p>
<p>IMHO:</p>
<p>Pitt: By far the best. Son got many treats in the mail, personal contact, contact with faculty, incredibly easy and nice for such a big school
Fordham: Personal and friendly from adcom rep. assigned to my son's area.
University of Chicago: good contact from regional rep. Responsive to questions. Sent a catalog.
Brandeis: Personal letters from faculty in his major, contact from students.
Northwestern: Some contact and promotional materials but nothing personal.</p>
<p>I really like UCLA’s acceptance perks. UCLA sent a very new acceptance package; included inside was a nice blue folder with the acceptance letter (very well written) and other important informations, but the thing the struck me was that it came with a nice car window sticker. Few days later I received another mail from UCLA regarding my scholarship. Inside was another encouraging letter about my academic achievements and behind was a wonderful paper award with my name and it was signed by the chancelor, dean of admission, etc. They make it seem like they really want me to attend. Further the sent me a likely letter ahead of time and frequently email me about online housing chats and etc.</p>
<p>Does anyone think how ‘nice’ colleges are correlates with yield rates? Northwestern, for example, has twice the yield rate of Fordham. </p>
<p>This year colleges with traditionally low yields are having receptions across the Country, sending gifts and doing whatever they can to reel students in given the economy.</p>
<p>Drexel sent a really cool package. Tulane sends me a lot of their quarterly magazines. U Rochester sent a pretty basic package, but their letter was nice. </p>
<p>Emory hasn’t sent anything yet, I only saw online, and it was a generic acceptance letter</p>
<p>Bryn Mawr: Bryn was the absolute best. They sent promotional things in the mail and even sent me an email complimenting my common app essay. They even made personalized acceptance videos for every accepted applicant. Also, the package was great! It had a pin and a hand written note from my region’s admissions director. </p>
<p>Mount Holyoke: Lots of promotional mail. They also sent me a really nice likely letter and their acceptance package was great. It had tons of information about the leadership scholarship they gave me. They’ve also been sending me a ton of emails lately.</p>
<p>Villanova University, Saint Joseph’s University, and Fordham were also good with keeping in contact.</p>
<p>The University of Maryland had the most contact, I believe. Their acceptance packet was really nice, and they have been in contact with me many times since I have been accepted. Two students have called my house asking if I had any questions, and I receive mail from them about once every two weeks.</p>
<p>In my experience, USC did a fabulous job. I received many informational brochures prior to applying. Since I completed Part 1 of the application (optional) I got a nice phone call from an alumni reminding me about the Part 2 scholarship deadline. I’ve received multiple emails, a personalized letter from the Dean of the school I was accepted into (CLAS), and a very nice scholarship package.</p>
<p>Thier acceptance packet was by far the best. It’s a red/gold folder w/the seal on the front, very welcoming, and extravagant. They did an outstanding job. Once you open it, “Welcome to USC” are the first words you see- best feeling in the world.</p>
<p>UChicago was really nice. They sent me a calendar for the new year, a monthly subscription to their Chronicle, the course catalog, and my regional counselor sent me a Christmas card telling me how much she enjoyed my essay.</p>
<p>After I was admitted, an enrolled student and a professor called to chat with me and ask me if I had any questions, comments, or concerns about Midd. The admitted students weekend was absolutely amazing: the middkids put on a great show for us.</p>
<p>At both Mudd and Caltech, the students (e.g., tour guides and their pals) were amazing. They spent hours beyond their commitment to lead a tour, very helpful and informative.</p>
<p>At Hillsdale, the staff were amazing. Many personal contacts and invitations to interesting events, and they went waaaay out of their way to be gracious and helpful during a summer visit. Not geek_son’s target, but I’d have been happy to see him apply and attend there just because the folks were so nice and welcoming.</p>
<p>CalLu staff also went above and beyond the call of duty, even helping us with some car trouble during a visit.</p>
<p>Stanford gets an honorable mention for outreach and for being so warm and pleasant on contact.</p>
<p>All those colleges that sent spam after spam after spam through emtconnect, targetx.com, researchresponse.com, constantcontact.com, or 422x.com… wow, what a waste… that crap actually counted against them on his list, no matter how “personal” they tried to make it sound. Ditto all the colleges that sent a postcard or brochure every week and a viewbook or catalog every month. Sheesh. Think of all the FA they could offer if they didn’t blow so much money on the postal equivalent of cold-calling.</p>
<p>Towards you people who think the schools are “friendlier” and nicer because they give you stuff:</p>
<p>Wow. That is sad. Just because they give you something you like them more? Do you like your best friend because they are there for you and are what’s best for you, or because they give you stuff to keep your friendship? It is really dissapointing how you could turn to one direction because of the stuff you receive. Those colleges are just using you so they can get more money.</p>
<p>Utampa: very helpful and attentive admissions counselor… they sent brochures
Drexel: nice admissions packet, constant emails from alumni… they sent brochures
Northeastern: Helpful emails, great FB page lots of help… they sent brochures
Bentley- They sent helpful mail, but lack informative emails and personal touch.</p>