Does calling admissions help with acceptance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We didn't write any thank you notes and my son was accepted to GDS, Sheridan and Sidwell and waitlisted at Maret and rejected at Beauvoir. This was 2 years ago.

I do write thank you notes for every gift, vacation house freebie, dinner party and random unexpected nicety that comes my way. Like when my neighbor picked me up at the Sibley ER last year as a favor. I force my kids to write thank you notes for gifts although, I am sad to say, they hate it and complain all the way.

I will urge DC to write TYs to a college recruiter who spends time interviewing them, really talking to them, etc.

I make no apologies for not "thanking" the admissions staff for hosting a cattle call tour, playdate and Q and A session known as an "open house."

Your DC didn't get my DC's spot.

Sooner or later, karma will catch up to your DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no arguing what's known to the most successful people: always write a thank-you note after every interview (private school, college, internship, job, etc.). I always write a thank-you, and so do my children. My children and I have gotten into every school to which we have ever applied, and I mean HYP. . . .

They say that George H.W. Bush got to be president by 30 years of writing thank you notes to every county chairman, state agriculture commissioner and cabinet member who ever did something nice for him.

I've heard the same about Bill Clinton.

[Anonymous]

Dagnabbit! This explains our Sidwell waitlest placement. DS was accepted to Georgetown, SSSAS, Maret and Lowell w/o a thank you note or connections. Maybe it is just about test scores, teacher recent, and the play date.

[Anonymous]

One recently retired admissions officer (not DOA) at a top school said that they don't read the thank you notes, they just stick them in the file!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One recently retired admissions officer (not DOA) at a top school said that they don't read the thank you notes, they just stick them in the file!

Hey, in the file is exactly where I want my thank-you letter. Thank you very much.

[Anonymous]

You can't go wrong with a short, gracious thank-you note. I had an AD personally thank me for one when I ran into her at a social event.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's no arguing what's known to the most successful people: always write a thank-you note after every interview (private school, college, internship, job, etc.). I always write a thank-you, and so do my children. My children and I have gotten into every school to which we have ever applied, and I mean HYP. . . .

Yup.

[Anonymous]

So write one, people, or don't. For those who think it matters, it will give you a sense of control over a bewildering process. And for those who don't, rest assured that your child will be unlikely to be denied admission as a result.

[Anonymous]

Didn't want to start a new thread as I have a sort of related question.

What if the Admissions office reaches out to you before decisions are made, is this a good sign or is this the norm? All the schools (5) we've applied to have contacted us over the last couple weeks informing us of when the decision date.

[Anonymous]

You must be special. Nobody called me.

[Anonymous]

13:12- was that in the context of a call for another reason, or 5 ADs called you out of the blue to tell you "by the way, we'll let you know in March" ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:12- was that in the context of a call for another reason, or 5 ADs called you out of the blue to tell you "by the way, we'll let you know in March" ?

by email; it was a mix bag, some just touching base to see if we had any additional questions, one pertained to the urgency of submitting 2011 tax returns since we checked FA on the app', another was to ensure we keep our interview date for a potential Art scholarship, etc..., all ending with the notification date.

[Anonymous]

Oh, by email seems pretty normal then. If they were standard follow up emails then I don't think I'd read much into that. A call would seem unusual. The waiting is hard- it's so easy to try to look for signs along the way that point to the outcome.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused, shouldn't the school be courting YOU?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, by email seems pretty normal then. If they were standard follow up emails then I don't think I'd read much into that. A call would seem unusual. The waiting is hard- it's so easy to try to look for signs along the way that point to the outcome.

lol...ok, then I won't too much stock in it.