<p>im just curious why columbia sends letters of information out. its like offering their catalogue and what not for the Fu Foundation and says because your test scores make you competitive in the application pool. im assuming they dont get SAT scores. my PSAT was only 205. from what you guys say, thats hardly competitive. so why do they bother?</p>
<p>they want to boost the # of applications to decrease their acceptance rate.</p>
<p>thats sad :(</p>
<p>What bob said (appearing selective). And more importantly, they need and want money. 20,000 times $75 application fees keep the admissions staff off the welfare rolls.</p>
<p>columbia has somewhere around 5 billion dollars at its disposal, so i don't think a lack of money is really an issue here. nor do i think that the engineering school has to go out of its way to find applicants. my guess is that the information letters are nothing more than an attempt to lure top applicants. and besides, what harm is there in columbia putting its name out there for people's consideration? even if your psat score is an oh-so-low 205, maybe there's something special about you that would make columbia want you. bottom line is that the fu has nothing to lose by sending out that info.</p>
<p>That money is not "at its disposal." That money stays in a bank account (investment account, actually) and never comes out. The endowment isn't used to recoup operating losses in the admissions office.</p>
<p>Every department/office/division has a budget. At $75 a pop, getting a couple thousand extra applications from people with no chance (and who are essentially summarily rejected) means that the admissions office is able to pay the salaries of several extra employees.</p>
<p>Columbia does not need to send letters to get people to hear of it. They spam kids for 1) the money and 2) to decrease their acceptance rate. Simple.</p>
<p>fine, i don't know about how exactly universities use their money. but in any case, i think you'd have a hard time finding a college that doesn't pursue those same goals (i.e. money and competitive admissions). so i don't think the conclusion you've come to is anything all that surprising. and along those same lines, i don't really understand why this question needs to be asked in the first place.</p>
<p>You're correct. Every college solicits applications for money and competitive admissions.</p>