NYTOVA

W&M Admissions – My junior received an e-mail from Dean Broaddus with the subject line “You’ve got what it takes, …”. At the bottom it states “We received your email address from a previous contact.”

Does that mean a contact he made when he put his name on the admissions web site? Or do you have lists of prospective students from other sources; what would those be? The e-mail has a very encouraging message and I’m not sure whether to read it as targeted to him or if this is commonly sent to interested students?!?

Thanks for your help.

plue00

I would also like to know since I got that email too...

roxlo

I'm going to guess that it's a typical "likely" email.

plue00

Could roxlo or anyone else go into further detail about it?

Thanks

UVaHoo87

While I'm not sure how this works, around the time my son's PSAT results came back when he was a junior, he started receiving those e-mails and college mailings. Ask your child what e-mail he or she used as a point of contact for the PSAT. Is that the one these e-mails are being sent to?

I'm pretty sure the PSAT is the source for many of these e-mails and letters, because I know a kid who swapped his first name and last name when filling out the PSAT form and he now gets letters that say: Dear [LAST NAME]: You might have what it takes to go to Ivy U!

NYTOVA

Interesting guess about the PSAT…don’t know if that it is a good likelihood since guidance doesn’t release the numbers to us until December. Do others already have their PSAT results? W&M would had to have gotten them and acted immediately to get material out before even students got their numbers – but I guess it could happen. I’m sure others got this email (and subsequent letter in the mail) -- just can’t come up with how W&M would surmise S “has what it takes” when I’m not so sure…

UVaHoo87

I know our kids haven't received their scores yet, but since it is so close to December, I can't help but wonder if the College Board forwards them out to colleges on some sort of timeline. I found this quote from an East Bay college admissions advisor, which doesn't confirm my suspicion, but does lend it credence:

Among the purposes of the PSAT:
•A College Junk Mail Attracting Tool: Colleges use the personal data and scores to begin sending out guidebooks to prospective students. If you wish to receive free information from colleges, indicate on the PSAT test answer form that you want to participate in the Student Search.

W&M Admission

The email you received is likely the result of W&M purchasing names from organizations like the College Board which administers the PSAT. W&M, and most other schools, purchase names of students who meet certain early criteria so that they can communicate with said students.

It could also be from adding yourself to the mailing list but by the tone of the email I would guess it's from the former.

NYTOVA

Thank you for the response W&M Admission. Now I am really curious as to what PSAT scores S received, as guidance still has not released them to us. Scores must be much better than I expect!

plue00

If that means my PSAT scores were good, then it's good news, since my sophomore year PSAT scores were horrible. But if they just send it to everyone, then that just sucks.

AL34

^ get used to it, you'll get hundreds of these from every school imaginable... it's marketing and they'll try and encourage and flatter you into applying. All is fine as long as you're realistic and look at the stats for the soliciting schools. Figured that out quickly after DS was the kind of student MIT, Yale, U Chicago was "looking for." Oh Really?

keil

From sophomore to senior year (and still getting around 10 a day) I've got over 2,000 emails from colleges...multiple from each one
and I got a few from W&M, and now i'm going!
Most of them will be random colleges you've never heard of, while a few will be good ones. Brown has e-mailed me in the past, along with Uchicago, etc. I know I could never get in there, it's nice that they e-mailed me. But the other emails- no. haha

raggydilo

Colleges only send out these mass emails to spark interest in their schools and increase the size of their applicant pool, which decreased their acceptance rate. They only do it so that they can bring their acceptance rate down.

I hate to burst your bubble but it probably doesn't mean much if you getting emails from colleges. No offense, but they are probably much too busy to be worried about underclassmen.

And PSAT results mean nothing to colleges unless you're good enough for national merit scholarships. It's simply just a way for College Board to make more money.