The Marketing from some of these schools is nuts- and totally wasteful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not new.
USPS stopped delivering to my house when I was a junior. I had to go pick up the mail. I received posters, VHS tapes, huge brochures, etc. from tons of schools. It was more than would fit in our box & the carrier was not interested in leaving a bundle at the door each day.

These schools know that kids delete (or ignore) email. So they spend some $ on paper marketing.

What surprises me is that more kids don’t opt out of mailers. I wonder if the digital tests will make this easier?

Yes! The college board is not allowed to collect personal information for digital tests administered during the school day.
BUT guess what- you need to share your personal info to get your scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has hit the NO NOT SHARE or similar button on every test he's taken. Top student and only gets mailers from the colleges he's visited.
So it looks like you or your kids asked for it.

Select the option not to share your data! It works!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not new.
USPS stopped delivering to my house when I was a junior. I had to go pick up the mail. I received posters, VHS tapes, huge brochures, etc. from tons of schools. It was more than would fit in our box & the carrier was not interested in leaving a bundle at the door each day.

These schools know that kids delete (or ignore) email. So they spend some $ on paper marketing.

What surprises me is that more kids don’t opt out of mailers. I wonder if the digital tests will make this easier?

Yes! The college board is not allowed to collect personal information for digital tests administered during the school day.
BUT guess what- you need to share your personal info to get your scores.

I wonder if you could circumvent that by doing a ferpa request to the school for your scores

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's gross and wasteful. My kids is at a magnet school where the kids are bombarded with UChicago marketing materials. In the Bethesda Magazine article, it was reported 55 students at this school applied last year and 0 were admitted. It's often about inflating application numbers, nothing else.

Are you suggesting that the folks in marketing who are responsible for encouraging as many students as possible to apply are sending out marketing materials with the intention of getting the maximum number of students to apply?

Is that really some kind of conspiracy? I mean, how is the college supposed to know you won’t get admitted unless you apply? Do you expect them just a guess because of the school you go to?

Do you get this mad when stores you don’t shop at send you advertising?

It’s well known that U Chicago sends loads of marketing materials to unqualified students and that this increases their number of applications and reduces their acceptance rate.

It’s not an accident.

How, exactly, do they know they are unqualified ?

They don’t. And that’s why the person who made the claim did not respond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has hit the NO NOT SHARE or similar button on every test he's taken. Top student and only gets mailers from the colleges he's visited.
So it looks like you or your kids asked for it.

Select the option not to share your data! It works!

This! Just tell your kid to push that button -then they won’t be inundated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's gross and wasteful. My kids is at a magnet school where the kids are bombarded with UChicago marketing materials. In the Bethesda Magazine article, it was reported 55 students at this school applied last year and 0 were admitted. It's often about inflating application numbers, nothing else.

Are you suggesting that the folks in marketing who are responsible for encouraging as many students as possible to apply are sending out marketing materials with the intention of getting the maximum number of students to apply?

Is that really some kind of conspiracy? I mean, how is the college supposed to know you won’t get admitted unless you apply? Do you expect them just a guess because of the school you go to?

Do you get this mad when stores you don’t shop at send you advertising?

It’s well known that U Chicago sends loads of marketing materials to unqualified students and that this increases their number of applications and reduces their acceptance rate.

It’s not an accident.

How, exactly, do they know they are unqualified ?

Well, my DD got an 1150 PSAT sophomore year, and the UChicago mail started. It's been once a week since the beginning of her junior year. She didn't score any better junior year (extenuating circumstances) and even though she has a 34 ACT and a great GPA, she's not getting in. She knows this and we laugh about it before we toss the mailing. It's still at least once a week. She has no interest in UChic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's gross and wasteful. My kids is at a magnet school where the kids are bombarded with UChicago marketing materials. In the Bethesda Magazine article, it was reported 55 students at this school applied last year and 0 were admitted. It's often about inflating application numbers, nothing else.

Are you suggesting that the folks in marketing who are responsible for encouraging as many students as possible to apply are sending out marketing materials with the intention of getting the maximum number of students to apply?

Is that really some kind of conspiracy? I mean, how is the college supposed to know you won’t get admitted unless you apply? Do you expect them just a guess because of the school you go to?

Do you get this mad when stores you don’t shop at send you advertising?

It’s well known that U Chicago sends loads of marketing materials to unqualified students and that this increases their number of applications and reduces their acceptance rate.

It’s not an accident.

How, exactly, do they know they are unqualified ?

Well, my DD got an 1150 PSAT sophomore year, and the UChicago mail started. It's been once a week since the beginning of her junior year. She didn't score any better junior year (extenuating circumstances) and even though she has a 34 ACT and a great GPA, she's not getting in. She knows this and we laugh about it before we toss the mailing. It's still at least once a week. She has no interest in UChic.

This does not answer the question. How does UChicago know your daughter got an 1150? You know that the names are sold in wide bands and they have no idea who got 1150 and who got 1550, or who will improve their score with a retake.

You also prove the point by mentioning she has the ACT score and grades to qualify. How does UChicago know she has no interest? You know the point of the marketing is for kids who have no interest, right? So you are exactly the household who should get it.

The fact is they don’t know if your kid actually has a chance until they get an application. Yes that is the point, to get you to apply. You, however, do have an idea if they have a chance by looking at the data, and of course only you can know if you are interested in attending at all.

So what part of this is sinister, exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's gross and wasteful. My kids is at a magnet school where the kids are bombarded with UChicago marketing materials. In the Bethesda Magazine article, it was reported 55 students at this school applied last year and 0 were admitted. It's often about inflating application numbers, nothing else.

Are you suggesting that the folks in marketing who are responsible for encouraging as many students as possible to apply are sending out marketing materials with the intention of getting the maximum number of students to apply?

Is that really some kind of conspiracy? I mean, how is the college supposed to know you won’t get admitted unless you apply? Do you expect them just a guess because of the school you go to?

Do you get this mad when stores you don’t shop at send you advertising?

It’s well known that U Chicago sends loads of marketing materials to unqualified students and that this increases their number of applications and reduces their acceptance rate.

It’s not an accident.

How, exactly, do they know they are unqualified ?

Well, my DD got an 1150 PSAT sophomore year, and the UChicago mail started. It's been once a week since the beginning of her junior year. She didn't score any better junior year (extenuating circumstances) and even though she has a 34 ACT and a great GPA, she's not getting in. She knows this and we laugh about it before we toss the mailing. It's still at least once a week. She has no interest in UChic.

This does not answer the question. How does UChicago know your daughter got an 1150? You know that the names are sold in wide bands and they have no idea who got 1150 and who got 1550, or who will improve their score with a retake.

You also prove the point by mentioning she has the ACT score and grades to qualify. How does UChicago know she has no interest? You know the point of the marketing is for kids who have no interest, right? So you are exactly the household who should get it.

The fact is they don’t know if your kid actually has a chance until they get an application. Yes that is the point, to get you to apply. You, however, do have an idea if they have a chance by looking at the data, and of course only you can know if you are interested in attending at all.

So what part of this is sinister, exactly?

Again, you will not receive a substantive response to this question. There is nothing sinister about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's gross and wasteful. My kids is at a magnet school where the kids are bombarded with UChicago marketing materials. In the Bethesda Magazine article, it was reported 55 students at this school applied last year and 0 were admitted. It's often about inflating application numbers, nothing else.

Are you suggesting that the folks in marketing who are responsible for encouraging as many students as possible to apply are sending out marketing materials with the intention of getting the maximum number of students to apply?

Is that really some kind of conspiracy? I mean, how is the college supposed to know you won’t get admitted unless you apply? Do you expect them just a guess because of the school you go to?

Do you get this mad when stores you don’t shop at send you advertising?

Well pre-covid, when everyone had to take the SAT/ACT, UChicago and a few others were well known for marketing to anyone with at least a 1100 SAT. My own 1150/3.5UW/no AP kid got tons of material from them. No way in HELL would my kid have had a chance at admission. I knew that, my kid knew that, the guidance counselor knew that, and U Chicago knew that. They market to everyone. It would be different if they just sent their material to kids who scored 1400+ or 1500+. You know, the kids who actually fall within their 5-100%. But marketing strongly to kids who have absolutely no chance is wrong.

Huge difference between normal advertising and targeted college advertising---just like we don't target tobacco and liquor ads to kids/before 8/9pm on TV, we shouldn't be advertising colleges at kids who can't "have it" and yes a kid with a 1100 is NOT going to UChicago, that's ok, but no need to make some parent/kid (often first gen/not knowledgeable about the process) actually think their kid has a chance. It's false advertising and dangerous and not needed.

The lists they buy don’t list the scores for each student. It’s just a batch of scores and names. They don’t know who scored where. They can’t buy any subset of list that they want. Think about it for a second. Do you think it would be OK if Chicago said I just wanna buy the list of the students who got 1590 or higher? Of course that would be unacceptable, right?

The fact is, they have absolutely no idea they wouldn’t except your kid until they see the application. Just like they can’t tell whether or not you can afford a Rolex or a BMW based on your zip code.

You, of course, know whether the kid has a chance or not. I respectfully suggest you save the indignation for some other transgression.. It’s neither warranted nor worth it on this issue.

In case it’s useful, a summary of this book is available on Hoopla through most libraries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For us it was Case Western. A glossy brochure at least once per week…sometimes twice.

Really turned my kid and the family off of the school. Just felt like wasting so much money when most kids don’t consume print media at all.

They are the worst! Seriously, do not bother with this school. They play so many games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's gross and wasteful. My kids is at a magnet school where the kids are bombarded with UChicago marketing materials. In the Bethesda Magazine article, it was reported 55 students at this school applied last year and 0 were admitted. It's often about inflating application numbers, nothing else.

Are you suggesting that the folks in marketing who are responsible for encouraging as many students as possible to apply are sending out marketing materials with the intention of getting the maximum number of students to apply?

Is that really some kind of conspiracy? I mean, how is the college supposed to know you won’t get admitted unless you apply? Do you expect them just a guess because of the school you go to?

Do you get this mad when stores you don’t shop at send you advertising?

Well pre-covid, when everyone had to take the SAT/ACT, UChicago and a few others were well known for marketing to anyone with at least a 1100 SAT. My own 1150/3.5UW/no AP kid got tons of material from them. No way in HELL would my kid have had a chance at admission. I knew that, my kid knew that, the guidance counselor knew that, and U Chicago knew that. They market to everyone. It would be different if they just sent their material to kids who scored 1400+ or 1500+. You know, the kids who actually fall within their 5-100%. But marketing strongly to kids who have absolutely no chance is wrong.

Huge difference between normal advertising and targeted college advertising---just like we don't target tobacco and liquor ads to kids/before 8/9pm on TV, we shouldn't be advertising colleges at kids who can't "have it" and yes a kid with a 1100 is NOT going to UChicago, that's ok, but no need to make some parent/kid (often first gen/not knowledgeable about the process) actually think their kid has a chance. It's false advertising and dangerous and not needed.

The lists they buy don’t list the scores for each student. It’s just a batch of scores and names. They don’t know who scored where. They can’t buy any subset of list that they want. Think about it for a second. Do you think it would be OK if Chicago said I just wanna buy the list of the students who got 1590 or higher? Of course that would be unacceptable, right?

The fact is, they have absolutely no idea they wouldn’t except your kid until they see the application. Just like they can’t tell whether or not you can afford a Rolex or a BMW based on your zip code.

You, of course, know whether the kid has a chance or not. I respectfully suggest you save the indignation for some other transgression.. It’s neither warranted nor worth it on this issue.

Nope. They do get a list with cutoffs.

My kid scored perfect in 3 sections of the ACT on first try and since then has been getting phone book size mailings from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, etc. Tons of top 10 schools.

The cover letter for Yale said “based on your scores”…

By definition are there “tons” of top 10 schools? Or just ten?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid has hit the NO NOT SHARE or similar button on every test he's taken. Top student and only gets mailers from the colleges he's visited.
So it looks like you or your kids asked for it.

Select the option not to share your data! It works!

It does work. Both of my kids decided to opt out and only received mail from colleges that they reached out to by themselves. The younger one is an NMS with a 1580 SAT. At the same time, I'd be curious to look at the pile of promotional materials and somewhat missed them when my friends were telling me how many their kids received.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was Case Western. A glossy brochure at least once per week…sometimes twice.

Really turned my kid and the family off of the school. Just felt like wasting so much money when most kids don’t consume print media at all.

They are the worst! Seriously, do not bother with this school. They play so many games.

Oh, for heavens sake just tell your kid to push the button when they take the PSAT, SAT and ACT not to sell their info to colleges. It’s so simple. How do you not know this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us it was Case Western. A glossy brochure at least once per week…sometimes twice.

Really turned my kid and the family off of the school. Just felt like wasting so much money when most kids don’t consume print media at all.

They are the worst! Seriously, do not bother with this school. They play so many games.

Oh, for heavens sake just tell your kid to push the button when they take the PSAT, SAT and ACT not to sell their info to colleges. It’s so simple. How do you not know this?

Oh yes let me go back in time and tell my then 15 year old to not do this 🙄

[Anonymous]

My kid is taking the PSATs next month for the first time and is really excited to get all the college junk mail LOL.