<p>I’ll sell you some pictures of the moment if you want, just let me know :)</p>
<p>It was an online decision’s page, and waiting for it to load was nerve-racking, but it was pretty clear with the first three letters bolded and italicized :)</p>
<p>"December 10, 2010
Dear NAME, </p>
<p>Hurrah, hurrah Pennsylvania!</p>
<p>Congratulations! Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania and the College of Arts and Sciences Class of 2015! On behalf of the entire Penn community, we are delighted that you chose Penn for your undergraduate education. Our Admissions Selection Committee members appreciate the efforts made by you and those who have supported you. We also appreciate the hard work and individual excellence reflected in your application. </p>
<p>Penn received over 4,500 Early Decision applications, our largest number ever. You and your fellow Early Decision applicants are the most widely accomplished in Penn<code>s distinguished historyscholars, scientists, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. You hail from 44 states and 32 nations. I look forward to welcoming you to campus as part of Penn</code>s 259th class since Benjamin Franklin founded the University. </p>
<p>Through your search for knowledge, devotion to service, and engagement within your community, you will contribute to the vitality of the university and to the city of Philadelphia. In your academic and personal pursuits, you excel at the highest levels. In all these ways, you already demonstrate commitment to the goals and philosophy of this university. Happily, this is only the beginning! </p>
<p>I urge you, as one of the newest members of the Penn community, to make these next four years a springboard for lifelong learningtake risks, explore, discover. </p>
<p>This is the beginning of a spectacular journey. </p>
<p>For the Red and the Blue,</p>
<p>Eric J. Furda C’87
Dean of Admissions"</p>
<p>I really liked Marquette U 's acceptance letter. On the front of the big blue envelope it says"your parents were right, hard does pay off ". And on in the inside there is a really cool folder that has Marquette 's crest in the middle. The letter was actually signed by the dean (not copied) and I could tell they actually read my essay because they talked about it in the acceptance letter 
also it was nice that someone hand wrote “MU wants you” with an exclamation mark over congratulations .</p>
<p>I think that a polite rejection letter cushions the fall a little, but I don’t like when they spend 3 paragraphs dancing around the subject:</p>
<p>“Dear Applicant, we received many applications this year, and it was our largest applicant pool ever, and we had many qualified applicants, and it was an extremely difficult selection process, and we thoroughly evaluated everyone’s application…”</p>
<p>You know that you were rejected when you don’t see an immediate “Congratulations!”, But they allow you to hold onto that last little bit of hope, and they draw out the rejection process into a slow, painful, desperate process. Better to just rip off the band-aid and say “Dear applicant: no acceptance for you! We had other applicants that we liked more than you. Luv <3 <3 <3, University.”</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Yeah, I think it’s best when they start with “We regret to inform you…” and then they can go on to whatever else they want to say.</p>
<p>it is a cruel and unusual punishment to make you suffer like that …</p>
<p>I got my first rejection letter today from SUNY Farmingdale… They said they couldn’t accept me due to a “strong applicant pool” and “no more available spots”. I applied on a whim, so after a few weeks of no confirmation, I kind of forgot about it. A MONTH later, they send me login info and what I need to complete my application. I sent them in that day, and a week after that, my status my updated as “cancelled.” The next day, my transcript received date was updated. A week later, received a letter, dated the day AFTER my transcripts received date, stating they had to cancel my app due to no transcripts. Now today, I receive this rejection letter, which consisted of three short sentences, and NO SIGNATURE. Not even a printed name at the bottom.</p>
<p>My worst, long ago (I still have it) from Georgia Tech grad school (after I had verbally been told by the Dept Chair that I had been accepted) - the form-iest of form letters:</p>
<p>Dear ______:</p>
<p>You have been </p>
<p>___ Accepted</p>
<p><em>X</em> Rejected</p>
<p>for admission to the _______________ program in the Department of _________.</p>
<p>^ Now that’s pretty damn cold; THAT I would mind…</p>
<p>University of Maryland sent me a postcard type acceptance letter. I almost thought it was junk mail or an invite to see campus until I turned it over and it said “Congratulations!” It was actually a nice surprise :)</p>
<p>I’m a transfer student. I don’t know if it is different for freshmen.</p>
<p>Canisius College- Very nice, expensive looking folder with gold embossing on the cover. Included a bumper sticker. They later sent me a pair of flipflops! </p>
<p>St. John Fisher College- My first acceptance packet, so it holds a special place! Came with a cool pennant.</p>
<p>College of Saint Rose- The folder has a cool collegiate-type logo on the front</p>
<p>Robert Morris University- At first they just sent me a letter in a little envelope and I thought it was a rejection. But weeks later, I got the acceptance packet (the folder opened vertically; I thought that was awesome!) and a t-shirt! </p>
<p>RIT- Bright orange folder that said “Congratulations!” My first choice, so when I saw it I was jumping up and down, so happy :D</p>
<p>Mercyhurst College- The folder has a really cool layout. It opens like french doors, then has another top flap. (Lol sorry if that was confusing!) Also came with a fancy “You’re accepted!” certificate.</p>
<p>SUNY Brockport- Definitely the worst, it was just a letter and a certificate. Didn’t even get a folder or any information!</p>
<p>West Point’s was by far the best. I got a call from my senator earlier in the day saying I got in and the same day the actual letter came. It was basically a big high school diploma with a good letter, big certificate, and a little acceptance card to send in. I got the impression that they really wanted to make you feel good and give the impression of a happy little place on the Hudson. I guess they don’t like their “hell” reputation too much. Air Force Academy was really good too. Big envelope with a book about the first year a bunch of forms for banking, travel, and the acceptance, and a paper with the oath and other stuff. They let you know upfront that they literally own you. Only complaint is that it came about a month after my senator called (needless to say it was a little late). Still waiting on Navy (not too high on my list though). Wabash College was pretty boring, so was IU, Wittenberg’s was the best civilian school I got, they gave me a bumper sticker! Hanover’s was crap, and thats all of them. I accepted Air Force and their appointee packet was pretty similar to the appointment packet.</p>
<p>University of Maryland college park sent a nice magnet with the package.</p>
<p>I got UMDs magnet too. I liked that.
After I sent in my deposit to Elon, they sent me a tshirt, (technically it didn’t come in the acceptance packet)
I am eagerly awaiting two decisions tomorrow or tuesday, and four more April 1st. Cross your fingers for acceptances!</p>
<p><em>crosses fingers for everyone</em></p>
<p>did anyone get admission/rejection letters from:
MIT, Yale, RPI, Northeastern, BU, Wellesley, Smith, Rutgers, and UMass? (sorry, but this thread is uber long.)</p>
<p>While this is not related to admissions, it is a memorable story…</p>
<p>As I was finishing my Ph.D., I got a personalized letter from a University that essentially said:</p>
<p>We have an opening for a faculty position in your specialty.
Your credentials have been sent to us by the employment clearinghouse in our professional association.
We have reviewed your credentials.
Please do not apply.</p>
<p>So I got an unsolicited rejection letter before I even applied. Ouch.</p>
<p>@confidential2015:</p>
<p>Dear ,
I am delighted to write to you with good news and a warm welcome to the Colgate Univ. family. It is a privilege to extend an offer of admission to you and invite you to join the Colgate Class of 2015. The admission process this year was highly competitive. We have reviewed applications from more than 7.700 students for 760 places in the class. Congratulations!</p>
<p>It is a particular pleasure to inform you of your selection of an Alumni Memorial Scholar, the highest honor awarded to an admitted student at Colgate. Students like you express their intellectual curiosity and commitment to learning on a daily basis. AMS students consistently demonstrate that they enjoy the excitement of ideas, a broad range of involvement, and community interaction. The Colgate experience serves to strengthen this natural engagement with learning.</p>
<p>Goes on to talk more about AMS and Colgate plus a personalized handwritten note from Gary Ross.
If you would like, I can post the rest of it</p>
<p>My son got two early acceptance letters this week, one from Amherst and one from Williams. They are so nice not only because they really stroke the ego, but because they arrive well before they are expected. Here’s the opening paragraph of the Amherst letter:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your passion for the life of the mind? It’s tough to beat a line like that in an acceptance letter!</p>
<p>When you open the Clarkson folder it yells “WELCOME TO CLARKSON!” and plays music. Or something like that.</p>
<p>@corj93 Congratulations and thank you so much! :D</p>