<p>Around September of 2009, Yale sent me a little postcard-size card saying that "through information provided to us by the SAT/ACT testing programs, we have identified [me] as a student who might be a good candidate for admission to Yale." A month or two later, they sent me (also unrequested, though appreciated) a 100+ page book about Yale.
Today I went for my local alumni Yale interview. I told my interviewer that I had received these things and he acted very surprised. He has done interviewing for nearly ten years and has not heard of anyone receiving either, especially the card.
Both of these items were unrequested. In fact, I had never even considered Yale as a possibility. Is it unusual for someone to get these, or am I just talking to the wrong people? I'm almost certain no one at my school has applied there, so I have no baseline here. Is this a "really" good sign, or just "sure, you should apply, but don't think you're special"?
Any information on this is appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>i hope someone with more knowledge replies to your thread, but honestly it seems like you just got typical college mail. but thats not a bad thing, obviously you are above a certain bar to be getting anything at all. </p>
<p>however, your interviewer’s surprise does make a lot of sense. now that i think about it, i got a letter/card/booklet from every ivy except yale. so i’m guessing you have strong credentials. but i were you i still wouldn’t get my hopes up. </p>
<p>think about how much college mail you’ve gotten. colleges send these out to almost everyone. it would only be a really good sign if you got a “likely letter.” its great that you got those things because that does mean you have potential, but remember, yale is crazy hard to get into. </p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>Their job is to increase the number of applications so they can reject more. It’s all about marketing. Did these cards and glossy booklets sway you to apply? Then it did its job. That’s not to say you aren’t qualified, but at 9% (or whatever) acceptance rate, they have to have a large pool of applications to keep their rates low.</p>
<p>Congratulations you received college advertisements?</p>
<p>Perhaps your interviewer didn’t understand. I got the same stuff. My Yale brochure was shoved in the three foot high pile of other college materials for the longest time in my closet — until I went to a Yale info session and got hooked by what they were saying. I went home that night and dug it out. I even applied…</p>
<p>But your receipt of those items means your name and address were correctly conveyed to Yale by a list that they purchased. It also indicates that your local mail carrier is doing his/her job. But I guarantee you 100% that they indicate nothing in regards to your chances of being accepted. Sorry to disappoint…</p>
<p>Good luck nonetheless.</p>
<p>They don’t mean much- I’ve gotten tons of college mail also.
Good luck though!</p>
<p>Ya, don’t over analyze it. More college mail. Not to burst your bubble, but they likely sent out tens of thousands of those (I received them too).</p>
<p>Tens of thousands for sure. </p>
<p>[Online</a> Extra: How Harvard Gets its Best and Brightest](<a href=“Businessweek - Bloomberg”>Businessweek - Bloomberg)</p>
<p>My overall gpa is a 3.4 or 3.6 and I got a letter from Harvard saying that based on my acheivements, I am a good candidate for their college. I was completely shocked and confused. My SAT superscored is 2140, I’m not an athlete, I’ve done nothing that extraordinary, I’ve never even considered Harvard.</p>
<p>I got a card that said the same thing. I was a QB finalist and visited the campus over summer, but my ACT score was not remarkable, and my GPA is lackluster. I didn’t attach any significant to it. Like someone earlier basically said, Yale is just casting its net wide.</p>
<p>yep, it’s safe to say that mail means nothing. especially generic mail sent out before your application is submitted. yale and its peer institutions want to cast a wide net.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info. I kind of figured it wasn’t anything special, but it did make me wonder. My SATs/ACTs are nothing spectacular and my GPA isn’t the best, either. lyl926, I’m kind of like you. And yes, it did make me apply, but only on the “would I regret it for the rest of my life” level. I’ve never had any delusions of being accepted; if I am, I think I’ll fall out the window. The interviewer made a big deal out of it, for whatever reason.</p>
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<p>I think that it might be because - generally speaking - no one would think of mentioning it (as others have stated before, it’s a typical mass-mailing recruiting practice).</p>
<p>So do people generally receive these “college mail” after they’ve taken the SATs? Because I’ve never received any (except the ones I requested), but would it be because I haven’t taken the SATs yet or because I live in Canada?</p>
<p>I don’t think they will mail it randomly after they’ve seen a satisfying SAT score xD especially if it’s international mailing since yale is already cutting fees</p>