Anonymous
Post 09/26/2014 10:17     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I always thought there was a distinction between SLACs and LACs, where the "S" meant "selective" as in Williams, Amherst, usually Swarthmore, and then draw your own line for selectivity where at the regular LACs. All SLACs and LACs are small in a relative sense, being colleges not universities.


Nope, it's generally understood to mean "small," and that's been the case for a long time. The "S" as in "small" was intended to highlight the lower enrollments of private LACs, in particular, compared to big state universities.


How is "small" liberal arts "college" not redundant?
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2014 10:08     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

We were really excited when DC1 went thru the process many years ago. We were like "what? MIT wants him? P too? H, and whatever..." With DC2, we learned out lesson and didn't think much of it. With DC3 (current senior), our attitude is like "f**king a-holes"... So, yeah, don't get excited.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2014 09:57     Subject: Re:Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

While at first glance one might view it as "creepy"...honestly, as a PP noted, its really supposed to be a joke. DS is getting same sort of email and the hard mail is literally overwhelming. We are flooded daily. I wouldn't get too worked up over it. Just view it as a "right of passage"....through DC's senior year!
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2014 08:53     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:OP - Schools are not after your DC, they are after your DC's application. More applications they receive, the more selective they become, and higher the school will be ranked by USNews or whatever. It's all just a game... Don't get too excited.


This. And don't forget the application fee.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2014 08:42     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

DS got one from Penn.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2014 06:21     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:The funniest one we received last week was a letter from a no-name institution congratulating DS that, based on information he provided to the college board (which cannot be much more than his email address at this point, since he hasn't released scores), he is "eligible" for a 19K per year "scholarship" worth 76K over four years. This reminds me of Jos. A. Bank ads: buy one, get three free!!


I wonder if admissions staff giggle about desparate pleading applicants
Anonymous
Post 09/25/2014 10:36     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:I always thought there was a distinction between SLACs and LACs, where the "S" meant "selective" as in Williams, Amherst, usually Swarthmore, and then draw your own line for selectivity where at the regular LACs. All SLACs and LACs are small in a relative sense, being colleges not universities.


Nope, it's generally understood to mean "small," and that's been the case for a long time. The "S" as in "small" was intended to highlight the lower enrollments of private LACs, in particular, compared to big state universities.
Anonymous
Post 09/25/2014 10:17     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

I always thought there was a distinction between SLACs and LACs, where the "S" meant "selective" as in Williams, Amherst, usually Swarthmore, and then draw your own line for selectivity where at the regular LACs. All SLACs and LACs are small in a relative sense, being colleges not universities.
Anonymous
Post 09/25/2014 10:13     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:The funniest one we received last week was a letter from a no-name institution congratulating DS that, based on information he provided to the college board (which cannot be much more than his email address at this point, since he hasn't released scores), he is "eligible" for a 19K per year "scholarship" worth 76K over four years. This reminds me of Jos. A. Bank ads: buy one, get three free!!


DC might have received the same scholarship 2 yrs ago without even applying - I forget the name, but the former Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, now becoming a LAC ?
Anonymous
Post 09/25/2014 08:59     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's "small" everywhere but DCUM, where it becomes "selective."


A liberal arts college is by definition small, right? The S is for selective, to distinguish the competitive colleges from the hundreds of small local colleges.


SLAC stands for Small Liberal Arts Colleges.
Anonymous
Post 09/25/2014 08:32     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:It's "small" everywhere but DCUM, where it becomes "selective."


Leave it to DCUM to make it more competitive. The s is for small... no matter how selective the school or snotty the applicant's parents.
Anonymous
Post 09/25/2014 08:23     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:OP - Schools are not after your DC, they are after your DC's application. More applications they receive, the more selective they become, and higher the school will be ranked by USNews or whatever. It's all just a game... Don't get too excited.


+100 it is such a scam and wastes everyone's time.
Anonymous
Post 09/25/2014 07:54     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:It's "small" everywhere but DCUM, where it becomes "selective."


A liberal arts college is by definition small, right? The S is for selective, to distinguish the competitive colleges from the hundreds of small local colleges.
Anonymous
Post 09/24/2014 22:02     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

OP - Schools are not after your DC, they are after your DC's application. More applications they receive, the more selective they become, and higher the school will be ranked by USNews or whatever. It's all just a game... Don't get too excited.
Anonymous
Post 09/24/2014 21:33     Subject: Desperate, pleading emails from college admissions departments

Anonymous wrote:It's "small" everywhere but DCUM, where it becomes "selective."




Also, this is nothing new. I had a perfectly respectable university mooning after me when I was looking at colleges (but not applying to this one) in the mid-80s. Didn't most of us? Or at least a lot of us?


PS I thought the letter was kind of funny, even though it seems as though the college needs to take a hint.