<p>Of course the student should open his own mail. But a parent has a right to bring in the mail. I do think that the acceptance letters are obvious.</p>
<p>Am I the only sneaky parent? I held the envelopes up to the window or over a lamp. Managed to see enough words to confirm my guess.</p>
<p>FarAway, to quote Donald Rumsfeld, "You might think that but I couldn't possibly comment."</p>
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What about when the acceptance is first announced on the university website? Do all of you refrain from checking the website?
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</p>
<p>In our case, our S's first choice intentionally refrained from any electronic announcements until the letters had time to reach the students. </p>
<p>Not every school did the same. I'll confess that I did learn that my S had been accepted accidentally from one school's website. I just kept encouraging him to check his email and let him find out for himself.</p>
<p>If there is a problem, let a neutral party do it, like a sibling</p>
<p>Absolute these letters are for the student to open. Years ago my mother opened my ED letter, and I remember how upset I was about that.</p>
<p>So last year when my son's letter arrived, it was left on the kitchen table for him to open when he got home in the evening after sports practice. What I didn't anticipate: a younger sibling went ahead and opened the envelope, and then resealed it in a way that made it obvious it had been opened. Fortunately the older one found this funny.</p>
<p>Add me to the list of those living with Berurah (move over, Binx)! My daughter started out with the "hands off, Mom" approach, but with the stipulation that I call her at school to let her know there was mail. She discovered that SHE couldn't stand the wait, so I was given permission to open her mail and fax the letter to her at school. </p>
<p>So far this has been more about audition results or invitations to scholarship days than acceptances. But one school was total surprise; she sent her app in before the EA deadline but as an RD app, and for whatever reason, got her acceptance with all the EA kids. Another school called her to let her know of her acceptance prior to her receiving the letter; she wasn't home so we gave the school her cell phone number but they did tell us why they were calling. The last acceptance she actually collected the mail (we don't have home delivery in our village, so have a PO box at the Post Office) and was able to read her letter...and immediately called me at work. We're waiting on two more schools, and I will ask her again in mid-March how she wants letters handled, just in case she's changed her mind.</p>
<p>And add us to the thin letter contingent...every single acceptance has been a thin envelope with a letter and a promise of "more to come."</p>
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Add me to the list of those living with Berurah (move over, Binx)!
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Welcome mezzomom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The more the merrier! And anyway, y'all sound like FUN people!!<br>
Mi caja es su caja. <em>lol</em> :)</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>I pulled the mail out one day in December not even thinking about the date and there was a big packet with the words "congratulations" on it. I might have guess anyways from the size of it but I also felt that it kind of spoiled the surprise. By the time my daughter arrived home we had set up a video camera and one brother held up the envelope while the other brother videotaped. We forever have the look of shock and the resulting tumble of emotions on record. I think the online acceptances are nice because there is no spilling of the news -- the student enters the password and is first to know which is how I think it should be.</p>
<p>My dad opened my Vandy acceptance. He was checking the mail on his way to pick up my brother somewhere (in other words, he was leaving the house), and he said it wasn't sealed so that it was ok for him to open it. He called me from his cell to tell me I got accepted. I just don't understand his logic...</p>
<p>Apparently I have one of Berurah's children living with me! My son could walk by a mountain of mail for months. I thought it would change when the college letters started coming in. He operated under the big envelope theory and whenever I asked him when he was going to open them he replied that "they wouldn't have spent that much on postage to tell me to have a nice life somewhere else" and continued to let mail pile up (which was, of course, maddening to his Type A parents). We were neophytes and knew nothing about merit aid, so we didn't know those envelopes contained wonderul surprises in addition to congratulations. DD has gotten most of her admission decisions online, and one in the form of a personal phone call, but the one that came in the mail while she was out of town prompted a call from us to her asking if we could open it (it was a big envelope or we wouldn't have called her) and she said yes. It was fun to tell her the news, but we would have honored a request to leave it alone till she came home -- that is if "leave it alone" did not exclude holding it up to the light, trying to read a line of the letter by looking through the address window, etc.</p>
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Apparently I have one of Berurah's children living with me!
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lalady~</p>
<p>Just a warning...they all can EAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <em>lol</em> ;)</p>
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We were neophytes and knew nothing about merit aid, so we didn't know those envelopes contained wonderul surprises in addition to congratulations.
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OMG, I can RELATE!! Our son's JHU huge merit award sat around in an unopened envelope for DAYS before he finally decided he had the time to open it one late Sunday night!! I wish he'd have waited until Monday....neither of us slept THAT night!! <em>lol</em></p>
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It was fun to tell her the news, but we would have honored a request to leave it alone till she came home -- that is if "leave it alone" did not exclude holding it up to the light, trying to read a line of the letter by looking through the address window, etc.
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ha ha!! :)</p>
<p>~berurah</p>