Why do colleges send me mail? We get this question often, and we can understand why. As a teenager, there is something undeniably exciting about receiving an unsolicited brochure from a prestigious university. or, even better, a seemingly personalized letter from the dean of admissions practically begging you to apply. Every year, millions of high school students experience the thrill of having what they believe represents tangible proof that the world of higher education wants them. Unfortunately, what they have in their possession is the post-secondary equivalent of spam, as personalized as a pottery barn catalog and as meaningful as a grocery store circular telling you about a great deal in London.
Actually, from the moment you first take the psat or preact, you’ll be inundated with institutional correspondence. Unfortunately, this is not really a testament to your test scores, grades, and other wonderful attributes. instead, the mountains of brilliant literature piling up on your kitchen table can be attributed to a controversial marketing decision made 50 years ago and subsequent trends in higher education recruiting that drive the modern admissions process. In this article, we will discuss:
- the origin story of college mail
- a contemporary look at why colleges send mail
- does getting mail from a college mean they’re recruiting you?
- reputable universities that are notorious for mailing applications
Let’s dig deeper by turning back the clock to find out why this mail craze started:
the origins of university emails
began in the early 1970s, when the country’s college board and universities realized they were primed for a marriage of synergistic marketing (although they probably used commercial buzzwords more appropriate to the decade). The names and contact information of the test takers were sold to the schools so they could engage in direct marketing to their primary audience: the US. uu. teenagers. In the early days, the victims of this practice were generally limited to the countless forests of dead trees and the frayed thorns of a nation’s mail carriers. In general, the motivation of the schools was quite innocent and direct: “you need a university. we are a university. what do you think?”
50 years later, the college market is a high-stakes battleground. the institutional goals/expectations of an admissions office in 2022-23 would be totally unrecognizable to an admissions professional from a bygone era. The mail you receive today has a multiple, layered purpose behind it and it’s important that applicants understand exactly what that purpose is.
why schools are doing it in 2022-23
In part, a simple equation drives this mass marketing phenomenon: More marketing leads to more apps, which leads to a lower acceptance rate which leads to a higher “selectivity” ranking. classification systems such as the u.s. news included the ratio of admitted students to applicants as part of its algorithm, however, it only represented a miniscule 1.25% of the total score (selectivity, in total, represents 12.5% of the total).
in 2019, u.s. news removed any inclusion of acceptance rate in its formula. in 2022, selectivity represents only 7% of the total score. it is based on the test scores and class rank of enrolled students. perhaps this will lead to a little less post-secondary spam. however, the drive to increase applicants is more than just a selectivity rating in a periodical. it’s also about upgrading the university’s brand in an effort to increase alumni donations, recruit top-tier faculty, and maintain a strong institution’s bond rating and perceived financial health.
Now, let’s see what this email means to you. spoiler alert: the answers are surprisingly concise.
Does receiving mail mean I have a better chance of getting in?
no.
Okay, but should I at least be a little flattered that they chose me?
no.
just a little bit?
not yet.
why not?
the reasons you received the email range from 100% impersonal to “you met certain criteria to trigger an email”.
Some schools buy hundreds of thousands of names indiscriminately believing that casting a wide net will eventually pay off. others simply acquire tens of thousands of names of students who have offered some indication that a particular institution may be a good fit. If, for example, you completed your intended major in Marine Biology and receive mail from Eckerd College and College of Atlantic, then you can at least infer that these schools are at least contacting you in response to declared interest. If, on the other hand, you’re a B student with average grades and an intended major in music theory and you’re being inundated with brochures from highly selective business schools, you can chalk it up to indiscriminate marketing by those universities.
Other seemingly innocuous demographics that your students fill in before taking a standardized test can also trigger a flood of emails. For example, those who identify as Christian can expect a lot of marketing material from Liberty University.
It is important to note that your sat/act scores and reported academic performance may influence the mail you receive. An elite liberal arts college can only purchase names from students who score 1250 or higher on the SAT. however, your average grade for accepted students could be 1450. this makes your “selection” misleading from an admissions standpoint.
be careful with aggressive techniques
There are certain schools that have developed a reputation for their aggressive recruiting techniques that target the homes of students who couldn’t even dream of sniffing an acceptance letter. such institutions are trying to get as many applications as possible, a practice many critics find distasteful.
the university of chicago is one of the most notoriously aggressive sellers, a surprise to some given 1) the exceptional quality of the school; 2) its reputation for attracting serious young intellectuals; and 3) its previous reliance on what became known as “the unusual application,” which essentially served to discourage unsuitable applicants from even applying through a series of wacky questions.
It would be one thing to assertively recruit qualified students. another is intentionally soliciting applications from students who have no realistic chance of being accepted into a school. Unfortunately, in our experience working with adolescents, Chicago falls into the latter category. In the past, school officials have been quite open about the fact that they are involved in an arms race with Columbia University, seeking to outbid them on pure annual applications. Partly due to these marketing tactics, the University of Chicago’s acceptance rate was 5% for the class of 2026. In 2005, the school’s acceptance rate exceeded 40%.
To be fair, Chicago is far from the only school employing assertive recruiting tactics. are just one of the most obvious examples. washu and tulane are also known for sending mail to just about anyone with a physical address.
key takeaways from college transitions
- When colleges send you mail, don’t get excited. they are not recruiting you personally.
- this practice has been going on for nearly 50 years. it has evolved as colleges have increased their efforts to generate as many applications as possible.
- a declared interest or test score triggers some mailings. other times it’s just a mass mailing.
- Receiving mail from a university doesn’t mean you have a better chance of being accepted.
- Beware of highly selective institutions that contact with students who don’t even come close to the academic profile of your average accepted applicant.
To learn more about every college-related topic you can think of, visit our college transitions blog and dataverse.