Winners of the Ridiculously persistent college/huge advertising budget award?

[Jen in NY]

For us, Gannon and University of Chicago. Sheesh! They could probably enroll an extra kid for the amount of unsolicited stuff they send out.

 

Any other winners??

[Tenaj]

We laugh and laugh about this issue.

 

My dh works at a college which is 15 minutes down the road. It's pretty much a no-brainer that my kids will attend this university because we get free tuition there. In spite of that, my two seniors last year received a boatload of promotional mail from them. Sometimes every day of the week would bring more mail. I kept shouting to the air that they needed to cross-reference their database so that the kids of staff and faculty didn't receive all this stuff . . . such a waste of money!

[Storm Bay]

Wow, that's hard to say. Dd did well with testing, and since she moved to ps during her sophomore year & is in the top 3 percent of her class, and so we've been inundated. The one who has bugged me the most, because we a postcard in the mail almost weekly from them, is Susquehanna. However, Embry-Riddle has sent dd a number of expensive booklets over the months. There are other ridiculous money spenders, but those are the two I can think of off the top of my head.

 

The ones that don't usually send more than about 1 invitation are the Ivies. All I know is that all of this junk mail from colleges/universities really made me realize just how much of a big business college is here in the US.

 

We have also established a policy that my dds don't put my email address on any College Board tests ever again.

[creekland]

I think either Calvin or Roberts Wesleyan won the award for my oldest. He did end up applying to Calvin, but we never visited it. I think he only applied because I wanted him to have more options (he always liked his first choice).

 

Yale and U Chicago won for my middle. Yale tempted him, but after reading more about it he decided not to. He was never interested in U Chicago.

 

Right now it's a tough call for youngest (still a junior). He's had mail from several local schools, but I'm not sure one sticks out yet. He isn't interested in anything local, so they are all wasting their money.

[FaithManor]

Spring Arbor University in southern Michigan. I have a relative with a child enrolled there and apparently, unbeknownst to us, they submitted ds's name to admissions. Good night. Leave us alone. You are not even on our radar!

 

I've tried telling them to save their money, their trees, and their postage, but to no avail. I've emailed, written, and called them to say "He will not be applying here." This does not sink in...which for me...does not bode well for the institution. :glare:

 

Faith

[Caroline]

We have seen a lot from University of Chicago and Auburn.

[Barbara H]

Fun thread! Washington University in St. Louis is a popular "stalker" as well.

[Jane in NC]

University of Chicago was the clear winner for my son a couple of years ago!

 

Second place went to Kettering University. When my son took the ACT in 10th grade to satisfy NC test requirements for an annual test, he indicated an interest in electrical engineering. By 11th grade, he realized that he was born to be an archaeologist. But that did not stop Kettering from not only inundating him with mail but also telephoning regularly.

[Luckymama]

Wow, that's hard to say. Dd did well with testing, and since she moved to ps during her sophomore year & is in the top 3 percent of her class, and so we've been inundated. The one who has bugged me the most, because we a postcard in the mail almost weekly from them, is Susquehanna. However, Embry-Riddle has sent dd a number of expensive booklets over the months. There are other ridiculous money spenders, but those are the two I can think of off the top of my head.

 

The ones that don't usually send more than about 1 invitation are the Ivies. All I know is that all of this junk mail from colleges/universities really made me realize just how much of a big business college is here in the US.

 

We have also established a policy that my dds don't put my email address on any College Board tests ever again.

 

Karin, my dd17 has been getting the almost-weekly mailings from Susquehanna since the spring! A more recent annoyance has been Fairleigh Dickinson (I have a hard time spelling the name because we used to call it Fairly Ridiculous decades ago :tongue_smilie:)

[elizabeth]

University of Chicago and Wellesley. Barnard has the most beautiful mailings. We knew she hit the number when those booklets came. The paper alone must have been 10.00 My sister works in the field of marketing and publishing and was most impressed with the quality of the work!! Chicago is relentless. We are hoping for a great scholarship from my alma mater.

[SkateLeft]

Definitely University of Chicago for us, followed closely by Tulane.

 

At least they sent nice mailings though! Other colleges sent loads of those "here's your code" form letters, or just bombarded her with emails. Some of the emails cracked us up because they sounded like stalkers. "K, is this you?" "K, are you there?" "K, do we have the right email?"

[Belacqua]

Fun thread! Washington University in St. Louis is a popular "stalker" as well.

 

Seconding Wash U. They've been sending us stuff for years.

 

And not a college, but Andover (the prep school in New England) has sent lots of incredibly beautiful, obviously expensive viewbooks. They really turned my head, but the kid just chucked them in the recycling bin and said, "I like being homeschooled. That's practically the opposite." Just as well, considering the tuition.

[stripe]

My sister was hotly pursued by the Navy, about a decade ago. I never got the impression she had any interest in the military.

[Gwen in VA]

University of Chicago wins the prize for most persistent here as well.

 

Case-Western gets our prize for most effective mailings. My dd absolutely fell in love with the school solely based on them!

 

Perhaps the most humorous was some college (I truly don't remember the name) in the Midwest that wanted to emphasize how "green" it was. It sent letters multiple times per week reminding my kid that if she would just respond for information via email, they could stop wasting paper. It was NOT an effective ploy at our house!

[Jane in NC]

I had forgotten about the Wash U mailings. I think my son just dumped them directly in the recycle bin.

 

By the way, the College Boy continues to hear from NYU which is trying to lure him into their summer international travel programs. Do some of these schools transition to grad school mailings after a while?

[creekland]

We got the Wash U mailings too, but I assumed my guy got them because he had expressed interest in them (back whenever he found they had a top med school). I guess that wasn't the case. They must mail them out regardless of whether you visit & apply or not.

 

It does surprise me that more didn't get the extensive Yale mailings. We got those weekly (or so it seemed) and many were rather elaborate (whole books). I know on college confidential many reported getting the same mailings so I would have assumed more on here would have as well.

[Caroline]

Some days we get two mailings from the same college. On his 10th grade PSAT, his name was miscoded as Alander. On his subsequent tests, his name was coded properly as Alexander. So we get the same mailings for both Alander and Alexander. Do they think I had twins and named them Alander and Alexander?

[plansrme]

I think either Calvin

 

This is funny--when I was in high school, in Alabama, which is a long, long way from wherever Calvin is, I got multiple unsolicited scholarship offers from Calvin. I had never even heard of it before they offered me a really good scholarship. I was just telling my freshman daughter about this and think it's funny that all these--ahem--many years later, they're still at it.

 

Fun thread! Washington University in St. Louis is a popular "stalker" as well.

 

My daughter has been a freshman for 6 whole weeks and has already getting gotten two letters from Wash U. So we shouldn't feel too special??? ;)

 

Terri

[posybuddy]

U of Chicago was sending stuff for awhile but I think they gave up. ;) But Rensselaer has been pretty persistent for months.

[Storm Bay]

University of Chicago was the clear winner for my son a couple of years ago!

 

I'd forgotten about them. They've been sending a lot of mail lately, too, along with the University of Alabama, a few from CA, and others. Mail started from her first PSAT when she was still homeschooling, and I really hope it stops by the end of this year.

 

What I didn't know is that now dd is in ps, the school sends certain info, too. One day dd received 2 postcards from the same school, but the second one had her high school listed underneath her name. This year, for the first time, they sent us opt out forms, & I took them in the day I completed them since I was picking my dd up, anyway.

[Caroline]

Both Alexander and Alander got beautiful engineering and science brochures (well thick books, really) from Yale. I am not all excited because I don't think Alander's 10th grade PSATs were all that great.

[Storm Bay]

Both Alexander and Alander got beautiful engineering and science brochures (well thick books, really) from Yale. I am not all excited because I don't think Alander's 10th grade PSATs were all that great.

 

Harvard made their mailing small, but dd didn't take enough AP classes for her to be in the running & she's not interested in attending an Ivy League school.

[Chelle in MO]

U of Chicago is the top stalker for ds--started when he was a freshman! WUStL was the top for 2nd dd. We used to keep a running tally of stuff for the older girls--the winning day was 37 pieces of college mail in one day I believe. Not as much now, due to the emails. I wish I had kept all of it in one pile and weighed it--just to see.

 

Ds17 has saved every piece, and he weighed it all the other day--15 lbs! He's been receiving it since May 2011. I think his top stalker is U of Chicago, too.

[regentrude]

U Chicago here, too.

[Storm Bay]

Ds17 has saved every piece, and he weighed it all the other day--15 lbs! He's been receiving it since May 2011. I think his top stalker is U of Chicago, too.

 

Wow, I'm sure dd has had at least that as she's been getting it since winter 2011, but I tear off all the names & addresses & recycle, or with some of the letters, shred them. It was tapering off until the school sent out their lists & it's gone crazy again. The man who owns our mail place also has a senior, but he siad that she hasn't been getting as much as dd, although she's an honours student & very well rounded.

[Belacqua]

Wow, I'm sure dd has had at least that as she's been getting it since winter 2011, but I tear off all the names & addresses & recycle, or with some of the letters, shred them. It was tapering off until the school sent out their lists & it's gone crazy again. The man who owns our mail place also has a senior, but he siad that she hasn't been getting as much as dd, although she's an honours student & very well rounded.

 

That would be interesting to track: is it the well-rounded kids or the pointy/ more singleminded ones who receive more of this mail?

[Gwen in VA]

Do they actually tailor who they send the things to based on major/interests, or do they just base the mailings on PSAT/SAT score?

 

My proclaimed history major received lots of mailings from Cal Tech and MIT. My engineering son got mailings from St. John's and Middlebury.

 

I figured that the mailings were sent based on scores alone and not on major, but maybe not......

[SkateLeft]

Do they actually tailor who they send the things to based on major/interests, or do they just base the mailings on PSAT/SAT score?

 

That's a good question. My engineering focused daughter has been getting inundated with mail from liberal arts colleges, which she's not interested in at all. Some of them have been VERY persistent, and don't even offer engineering!

 

I figured it was similar to the college match function on some websites, where you input various criteria and it outputs colleges based on a percentage of commonality. Maybe if a certain percentage of the info on the ACT/College Board profile matches, then colleges put you on their mailing list. Even though my dd had a very high ACT score, I'm not sure they even see that.

 

She used my email address for the SAT, but never bothered taking it, and I still get a few things from that, so I think it's profile based rather than score based, at least for the College Board.

[Riverland]

Do they actually tailor who they send the things to based on major/interests, or do they just base the mailings on PSAT/SAT score?

 

 

 

I remember reading an article that said colleges are sending out more mailings to students who do not meet their profile student. They do this as a way to get more applications, which then lowers their acceptance rate, and makes them appear to be more "selective." :glare:

[Barbara H]

Well roundedness or major probably have nothing to do with it. They are looking at test scores and zip codes. And, yes this is in large measure about driving selectivity through rejecting more students and being able to accept students with very strong academic profiles (high grades, high test scores).

[Jackie in NE]

Some Lutheran school constantly sends stuff to dd. She hollers "I'm not a Lutheran!" and throws it in the trash. Also DU (Denver University). Don't know why.... she would never go there. They have nothing she wants..... It does seem that they could have much more targeted marketing. Do they think our dc will finally throw up their hands and say "OK! You win! I'll go to your college!" Highly unlikely.

[Storm Bay]

That would be interesting to track: is it the well-rounded kids or the pointy/ more singleminded ones who receive more of this mail?

 

These mailing lists are generated in several ways, from what I've gathered. The College Board sends lists out, so the higher a dc scores, the more mail they get. Harvard sent dd a postcard or something like that when she placed in the top 3 percentile on her PSAT. I don't know all of the Ivies, so am not sure how many have sent her mail, but not all of them as she didn't do as well as she did the previous year. I'm guessing that's where most homeschoolers get their college mail if they exclusively homeschool with no part time ps or cc classes.

 

High schools send out lists that include GPAs, awards, etc, or at least ours does. I'm not sure how that affects things as dd does varsity track, varsity swimming & is on the math team, so is rounded.

 

Different colleges stress different things. BU (Boston University, which we have also heard from) wants kids who have done lots of honours & AP classes, but one of the other private colleges we went to doesn't want too much of that but more rounded students.

 

Ultimately, though, what we learned is that high school grades tend to be the best indicator of how students will do in college rather than test scores, etc.

[Miss Marple]

Rensselaer PI is the winner here. We aren't getting much this year, but previous years saw a huge amount of "stuff" from RPI. It was always printed on the highest quality paper ;) and was quite voluminous. The mailings must have cost them a fortune! And there was NO way we could have afforded RPI nor did the boys want to go that far from home. But those mailings just kept coming.

[Storm Bay]

And there was NO way we could have afforded RPI nor did the boys want to go that far from home. But those mailings just kept coming.

No wonder; student fees help pay for those mailings!

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Targeting better would require more info about the kids. For example there is only room to list one prospective major. So a student torn between two different areas can only mention one. The college can't really know if they are determined engineers or linguists or social workers.

[Storm Bay]

Targeting better would require more info about the kids. For example there is only room to list one prospective major. So a student torn between two different areas can only mention one. The college can't really know if they are determined engineers or linguists or social workers.

 

Exactly. I think they often are separated by where they score well. Dd has no interest in being an engineer or in aeronautics, but once she scored perfect in the PSAT math test, she's had plenty of mail from places like WIP, MIT (once or twice), CalTech, etc. Plus she had an A+ in precalc. She did well all over that test, but the perfect score got a lot of attention from schools that received the college board list.