Can’t compare to anything else, since this is the first acceptance so far, but NYU Shanghai’s acceptance letter was amazing. The best part of it being an invitation to a fully funded Admitted Students Weekend in Shanghai.
Nothing can top that off imo.
Plus it was sent out much earlier than expected.
I have gotten a few, but nothing special. Just typical letters of Congratulations. No big envelopes or anything. Hopefully the “GOOD” one will come at the end of the month!
“Stanford has the worst rejection letters.”
Haven’t seen one recently, since the only students of mine who applied (not many) were accepted.
So what does the current one say, if anyone knows?
As a parent, I like the personalized acceptance letters that refer to an interest or activity that the applicant has mentioned in the application.
Best: Drexel sent out a little paper frame with #DrexelAccepted on it that you put around your face and take a selfie and tweet it. D just got a magnet in the mail yesterday from Drexel with a reminder about their accepted students day.
Temple gave out really nice texting gloves with their logo on them at their accepted students day. They were a huge hit since it was 20 degrees and snowing that day. In 2011 they gave out really nice insulated coffee mugs, I still use mine.
The UC’s have nice rejection letters (e.g. You will do great things someday kinda thing) but Cal Poly 's is sort of stuck up like “you should be happy we are even emailing a rejection” type of thing. But Azusa Pacific University 's is nice. Its a big white envelope with a bumper sticker and a certificate of admission and stuff like that.
Also should mention Cornell’s likely letter. It was incredibly bland… The first sentence talked about my admittance to Cornell and obviously was a template (“You exceed academically”) and the rest of the page-long letter just talked about housing and diversity. It also came with a cardstock that pretty much had the exact same info, some stuff word-for-word, from the letter itself. Penn’s was much better and personalized.
UTK’s letter sang Rocky Top when I opened it
Not sure if anyone has posted about Lesley University’s acceptance yet but it was really nice - at least it was for me. I applied early action and the admissions officer called me not even 2 weeks later to tell me that I was accepted. She told me specific things that she’d liked about my application and why she thought Lesley would be a great fit. She also told me that I’d receive a scholarship and was invited to join the honors program. Then she said to look out for my letter in the mail. It’s really hard to describe, but I’ll try!
1 week later I got the envelope of stuff from Lesley. It comes in a large green cardstock-type folder. On the back, it says “Are you ready?” Then you break off the tape and open it, the way you’d open a sketch pad. The top section says “YOU ARE” and the bottom section has a bunch of adjectives (aware/independent/original/inquisitive/creative/bright…). Then you fold the bottom down and there’s now three sections, reading from top to bottom - YOU ARE / GOING TO / MAKE AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN. The middle section unfolds, and it now says “ACCEPTED”. On either flap, there’s information on orientation, as well as what steps you need to take to enroll. Then the bottom section has a small pocket, where you’ll pull out the enrollment and housing forms, an envelope to mail them, and the actual acceptance letter.
The letter for Presidential Scholars is cute - it tells you to look in the mirror and see a Lesley student. Then it tells you to take a break from your victory dance to hear more good news, which is when it starts to explain the scholarship and the honors program. It then tells you what forms to fill out and when to send them in (May 1). At the bottom, the Dean of Admissions hand signed my letter and even wrote a little note, saying she was happy to see that my application had come through (I interviewed with her in October so it was nice to know she’d remembered me).
Pretty cute and sweet, made for an excellent first acceptance. No tee shirt though 
Found this when looking for something. Looks fun. We’ve gotten 3 acceptances so far, one ordinary acceptance packet. One with a fold out type thing from U of New Hampshire, that you’re supposed to take a selfie with, that has the logo, then “I’m in! #new2unh”. The other was a video from U of Pittsburgh, with city and school scenes, with my daughter’s name added in various places, including a photoshopped banner hanging from the Cathedral of Learning. By far the most interesting “packet” though it was emailed–funny thing though, the email went to the spam folder, the acceptance letter was just a letter in a small envelope, very surprising to open!
Bump!
Colby’s rejection letters sucked. Like, this was the largest applicant pool ever and you just weren’t quite good enough. It was harsh. I haven’t gotten an outstanding acceptance letter yet though. They’ve all been pretty mediocre, and I’ve scored some pretty large scholarships too.
Bump
Washington and Lee’s rejection letter for the Johnson Scholarship was kind of harsh.
Lafayette College sent my D a lovely and very personalized acceptance letter that specifically referenced her HS achievements, her essay, and her activities.
Wharton’s was the best. The message was all about welcoming the student and relishing the moment of his accomplishment and support of teachers, friends and family. Not a word about deadline for acceptance, no bold font or underlining. And 100% cotton stationery with an understated Penn crest. Perfect.
Don’t know what they did this year but last year University of Maryland admissions officers plus the school mascot got in a bus and drove to the homes of some of the area admitted students to deliver the news in person. That is probably the most unusual I have heard of.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/25/just-look-at-their-faces-a-bus-full-of-admissions-staff-and-a-turtle-mascot-surprises-applicants-with-good-news/
Pomona’s acceptance letter is pretty amazing!
UCSD’s package was really colorful and came with stickers and a do it yourself card board cutout of King Triton…ahh, elementary school memories. I haven’t gotten any admit packages from UC Irvine, Davis, SB, yet…what are they like?
I’m interested in whether any wait list letter is worthy of praise? I didn’t care for Carleton’s. The dean states he is “truly sorry” and “the College’s small size, one of its great strengths, is my greatest frustration.”
He wants MY sympathy for dumping my daughter on his wait list??? No.