I got a phone call today from what apparently was the college I graduated from… in 1986. ( My school was /is not impressive, with an 86% acceptance rate )
The woman asked for my daughter and I said she was not available. The woman then asked if I was the parent of my daughter. She went on to ask me if my daughter might have interest in attending my old school.
I replied, that “No, my kids are both looking at schools that are just under Ivy level.” The woman replied “Your daughter’s grades are not at that level.” I hung up the phone.
Do these people actually have students grades? Was it a scam?
The daughter they asked about does indeed have the grades for just under Ivy, and might even have the grades for Ivy. She needs a tiny boost in ACT, but she is getting tutored for that.
Are these grades supplied by someone? My daughters are juniors.
Is there some other parent in kid’s HS who might be trolling you?
Did you get her name? I’d call your alma mater admissions office and ask if they have people making recruiting calls like this to kids of alums. Just tell them you were wondering if the call was legit. If it was, then I’d ask which Dean was in charge of the calling effort, and give them an earful about unprofessional behavior by their callers.
IF your D has done standardized testing, colleges can purchase data from the testing companies and use the data for recruitment/marketing to potential students. The various questions they answer when they register to take the test are included in the data for sale.
Not sure if that explains the phone call you received, though.
I would inform your alma mater of the fact that a women named/who failed to identify herself called on xx date at claiming to represent your school. When I stated that my dd wasn’t interested in your school she responded with " …". If this person actually was a representative of your school, her comment would turn off a prospective and possibly impact your alumni donations.
Either way the school will not want someone like that claiming to represent time since it could possibly reduce alumni $$.
OP is asking about grades, not test scores, being “shopped around.” My understanding is no. Unless somehow her daughter’s transcript was sent to OP’s alma mater…
When they take a standardized test, students have the option of answering various questions, such as GPA, area of interest, etc., so the colleges who buy the test score may have that information and target contact accordingly. Still, what a horribly unprofessional call. I’d certainly report it to your alma mater.
I have been on CC for a while, I have never heard anyone getting a call from an Ivy level school to find out if a student would like to attend the school. Yes, those schools would send out marketing materials to students who have certain test scores, but a call to an alum’s kid, no.
My daughters both got calls and texts from schools they have no interest in (and had never heard of). I think the schools had the ACT/SAT data where they were asked about their gpa or something about their grades.
Maybe they were “negging” her grades…they can’t be that good…so she should go to Alma Mater U!
But I would get the phone number from caller ID if you can and then call your alma mater and see if they called.
or maybe it is some “cheerleader mom” who wants her daugther to apply to the same school and is trying to muscle your daughter out of the way