Mail from Colleges

Has the deluge of college mail started arriving in your homeschooler’s mailbox or email inbox yet? Families are often a bit surprised by the intensity of marketing from colleges and confused about how to interpret colleges’ intentions.

Why Do Colleges Send Out Mailings?
While we often think about students trying to impress colleges, we must remember that relationship goes both ways. Colleges want to attract as many high-quality applicants as possible. This allows colleges to have greater choice in what students they accept. Colleges need students who present statistically strong profiles (high SAT or ACT scores and high-grade point averages). They want to create a balanced class with the right balance of scientists, musicians, French majors, etc.  They want to enroll future leaders in business, government, science, and the arts. The second reason colleges seek to attract many applicants is to boost their college rankings. Rejecting more students makes a college more selective, a factor weighed heavily by rankings such as the US News and World Report.

How Did They Get My Name?
Most colleges buy lists of student names from tests like the PSAT, ACT, and SAT. Students who score higher on these tests may likely receive more mail, but most students will get some. If you wish to keep your mailbox empty, students need to select the “no mail” option when they register.  If your student visits scholarship websites, engages in test prep online, or any other college search-related activities, their information may end up in databases and again lead to more mail.

Harvard is Begging Me to Apply!
Often, parents assume if their kids are getting mail from Harvard, it must be that Harvard is “recruiting” their student. It is important to understand that getting mail doesn’t mean the student has a strong chance of being accepted or will be a competitive candidate. In recent admissions cycles, Harvard has admitted just 3-4% of applicants, which means that the overwhelming majority of students who received mail were not accepted.  To achieve such a low acceptance rate, it is necessary to encourage many students to apply. Information is sent out based on mailing lists that do not reflect a high degree of knowledge about the student’s admissions chances.

What’s Good About College Mail?
While a full mailbox may not tell you anything about your student’s admissions chances, college mail can be helpful. Applying for college can be a discouraging process for many teenagers. Receiving mail may provide a little ego boost. It is a reminder that colleges need students, and there will be schools that want them.

Of course, no student should select their college based on receiving marketing materials, but they can be a good way to begin to familiarize students with the range of choices. Advertising may encourage students to think beyond just local schools or big-name schools. Mail can be a good way to keep the college conversation going with your teenager. Some teens feel like any college discussion is nagging, and talking about messages received may be a more neutral way to get the conversation moving. Looking at the various colleges represented in the mail may be a starting point to talk about different types of schools and what might be the best fit for your student.