Offer for Free Application (or Waiver) = Good Chance of Acceptance?

[Anonymous]

I've been receiving emails that offer my daughter the opportunity to submit a "choice application" that also waives the application fee. If this a good sign that she will get in or do schools just randomly do away with charging an application fee?

[Anonymous]

I would not say it is "random" (it is pretty common), but, as I understand, it has little to no bearing on actual acceptance.

They want to motivate kids to apply so they can gin up the application numbers. More applications = increased % of rejected applicants = perception of selectivity.

[Anonymous]

We'd have to know more information OP -- her test scores, grades, which h.s., and whether she's a part of some URM group.

[Anonymous]

This is all about marketing and not at all about your child. Assume nothing.

[Anonymous]

Schools "look better" if they are more selective-- so it's in their interest to have more kids apply regardless of whether they have no chance or a good chance of getting in.

[Anonymous]

The new culture of colleges soliciting as many apps as possible in order to reject more students is another unintended consequence of the US News and World Reports "rankings.". Will these rankings just please go away? They have done more harm than good.

[Anonymous]

DD got a few of these too. I can't remember all the names, but I think one of them was Tulane. If your DD got the same offer, then perhaps Tulane is just papering the area with offers to all our kids.