<p>Well, it wasn’t actually with my acceptance letter, but Austin College sent me a tiny kangaroo pin that is probably the most adorable thing ever.
Add that to the hand written post cards (in fact, I got postcards that crossed in the mail - first I got one congratulating me on my acceptance, and a few days later, I got one saying “just got the rest of your app, can’t wait to read it!” Lulz) that I’ve gotten and all of their general amazingness and I say their admissions office wins.</p>
<p>Binghamton’s Acceptance was really nice, the envelope had “YOU’RE #1” written across it and Brandeis’s came with a window sticker, as did tulanes. One of my friends got a hat from her school, another got a shirt</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon’s acceptance package says “This is the official FAT letter.” It made me happy to open it. :)</p>
<p>My acceptance letter from Villanova was extremely personal and made me feel very welcome! As i am an international student, in the letter they said they were excited for me to be joining them as:</p>
<p>“Having lived abroad, your international experiences are distinctive from that of students who have studied solely here in the United States. You will bring both a unique and assorted perspective on life to our community. It is indeed an exciting opportunity for everyone at Villanova to be enriched by your presence among us.”</p>
<p>This made me feel very special! haha
No fun gifts or anything though. </p>
<p>Also from Bentley University, they sent a T-shirt wrapped in blue wrapping paper! I was so excited when i received that in the mail!</p>
<p>Stanfords admission letter was really nice, probably cause it felt good to get in. I got in REA so it might be a little different, but here goes:</p>
<p>Dear ______,</p>
<p>On behalf of the Undergraduate Admission Committee, it is my pleasure to offer you admission to Stanford’s Class of 2015! You have set yourself apart by the passion, impact, and ideas you shared with us in your application.</p>
<p>______, you have every reason to be proud of your accomplishments, and we are honored to invite you to join the Stanford community. Since its founding, Stanford has been defined by students and faculty who endeavor to push the limits of knowledge, and who share a commitment to extending that spirit of exploration and excellence beyond campus. This is a community of scholars dedicated to what university co-founder, Jane Stanford, called “the cultivation and enlargement of the mind.” Your application clearly demonstrated that you have the intellectual energy, imagination, and talent to flourish in this environment.</p>
<p>In a few days you should receive your admit packet in the mail; the materials in the packet are designed to assist you with the response process and to provide important information for you and your family as you consider your enrollment options. Whatever decision you make, please know that you have until May 1, 2011, to confirm your choice.</p>
<p>Over the next few months, we will send you additional information about Stanford and Admit Weekend, a three-day program scheduled for April 28-30, 2011. We encourage you to visit our admitted student website, developed by Stanford students, and the Admission Office, just for you. Should you want to contact us, please do not hesitate to call our office at (650) 723-2091 or email us at <a href=“mailto:admit@stanford.edu”>admit@stanford.edu</a>.</p>
<p>Please note that your admission is contingent on continued strong academic performance in the program of courses you presented to us in your application. Should you have compelling reasons to modify your previously planned course schedule, please contact us before initiating any changes.</p>
<p>______, we are all confident in the unique and extraordinary contributions you will make to our community. We congratulate and applaud you on your admission to Stanford University and look forward to welcoming you to our family! (Yes, it is okay to read this letter again…welcome to Stanford!)</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Richard H. Shaw
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid</p>
<p>Further to my post above^^</p>
<p>When i opened the Bentley Admission packet, the first thing you read is WELCOME TO THE CLASS OF 2015 on a piece of card that is basically like a Certificate. And as u pull it out it has your name in bold, and then underneath it has a very heartwarming letter reading:</p>
<p>“Congratulations on your acceptance to Bentley University. You have earned this honor through your hard work, leadership, and strength of character. We welcome you as a lifelong member of the Bentley Community.” (all in caps lock) </p>
<p>Made me feel very special and as if all my hard work has been successful 
</p>
<p>(The T-shirt came a few days after i received the packet btw)</p>
<p>Both my husband and I went to Brown. Our extremely qualified student was unfortunately just rejected. BUT, to add to the insult, they sent a special “legacy rejection letter,” which says they spent extra time reading the application…but they STILL rejected it. To all of us, this made it feel much worse. We would have preferred to simply get the standard rejection letter. This special letter seemed to imply that even with spending extra time with the application, you STILL didn’t make the cut. Not very helpful at all… Our child thought it was kind of funny…but we think it was simply insensitive.</p>
<p>Reed puts confetti in their acceptance letter :)</p>
<p>It’s actually a brilliant idea, because they chose the static/sparkly kind that gets all over the house and glitters to remind one that one has been accepted :)</p>
<p>Haverford had a lovely rejection letter, I found myself admiring whoever wrote it.</p>
<p>Bowdoin and Williams, however, were terse and not at all as eloquent as one would expect from schools with such fine reputations for writing.</p>
<p>I got 2 rejection letters from FIT (this year and last year) and it was simple, something along the lines with, “We are unable to offer you a spot, etc.” Basically, it was like, “We don’t want you here.”</p>
<p>Kind of a blow because I’ve always wanted to go there, but can’t do anything about it.</p>
<p>Best acceptance letter - by far! So personal. They really “got” my daughter.</p>
<p>^^^^**This special letter seemed to imply that even with spending extra time with the application, you STILL didn’t make the cut. Not very helpful at all… Our child thought it was kind of funny…but we think it was simply insensitive. **</p>
<p>Surely you must believe that they meant well. I’m sure it is disheartening to see your child rejected as a legacy but so were perhaps 75% of legacy applicants. I’m sure she got some other good choices and is less bothered by this than you are.</p>
<p>I’ve read the reactions to the Stanford acceptance and rejection letters, here is the waitlist letter:
</p>
<p>The letter actually was pretty nice and made me feel pretty good about my effort.</p>
<p>LOL. id prolly laugh because of how blunt thatd be haha</p>
<p>I liked Lafayette’s acceptance letter because it was really personal. My friend and I both applied to Juniata, and she got a personalized letter; I didn’t, but that’s because I never visited and didn’t meet anyone from admissions so I really was just a generic applicant. I kind of applied for the heck of it. Rejection from Brown was nice; it was short and to the point, which I liked, without saying “you suck”. </p>
<p>My favourites are definitely the ones from UCAS: They send you a generic email saying, “Something has changed on your application,” followed by a list of what it could be (Accepted, Rejected, you cancelled/changed your course choice).
The UCAS letter of admission is generic too - but that’s fine; I just need to know if it’s a yes or a no!</p>
<p>I wanted to commend RPI for the amazing personal touch. DS got a follow-up to the terrific, but of course form acceptance. A handwritten note from the admission officer that had read his application, telling him what specifically stood out in it, and telling him to consider her his personal contact there.</p>
<p>DS has just said YES to another school. He had great offers. But this small gesture really shined. Someone should give the RPI admission officers a raise!</p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot about Carnegie Mellon’s acceptance and rejection letters (the interesting envelope for acceptance and the bluntness of the rejection), but could someone post a sample of one or the other, please? I’m curious as to what they look like specifically (I’ve been looking all over the internet without much luck).</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon’s fat letter was very nice, but it arrived almost a month after they mailed it! I literally got it a couple of days ago… What gives? The FA letter already got here, and I wasn’t going to go after that, so they might as well have saved the trees.</p>
<p>I feel like all of my rejection letters were the same. They all said (probably both true and relevant) stuff about how all the applicants were great, but the class was too small, but after the 2nd or 3rd one they were just more bland platitudes. Stanford’s, in particular, stung- not because it was a bad letter (I applied EA, so it was the first one I got and I wasn’t tired of reading the same letter from different schools), but because they enclosed a link which, when opened, brought you to an article titled something like “Rejected From Stanford? You’ll Live.” Thanks, guys. So nice of you.</p>
<p>(On one of the accepted student facebook groups I joined, though, somebody posted a fantastic rejection letter from him to his other colleges. If I didn’t know I’d eventually feel guilty about it, I would absolutely send this to my state school and the schools I was waitlisted at. I feel like I need to turn the tables somehow.)</p>
<p>I’d like to give general impressions of my acceptance packets. I received e-mails from the major program directors before the actual envelopes came in, so the shock had subsided enough for me to actually sit down and read the letters.</p>
<p>University of Miami - This acceptance packet looked pretty cool. The front of it was nice and modern, and the inside was filled with a car sticker and a bunch of little coupons in the back. The nice thing about this one was the fact that the booklet was a part of the folder itself. You turn a page and there is a huge photo of one of the buildings among gorgeous green grass, blue sky, and palm trees to accompany some info. More lovely photos on the following pages. The letter itself was a little bit too eager. It was nice and encouraging, but it felt like they assumed that UMiami was my first choice school. “You are now a Miami Hurricane…” Sorry guys, I’m not going to attend.</p>
<p>The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music - Unfortunately, I’d already concluded that I wasn’t going to attend here either, even before my acceptance packet came in. It really is a nifty little place, though. The front of the folder has a sleek, gray artsy design with the school’s name in big bold letters tilted vertically, and the logo printed across it horizontally. Just what you’d expect from them. You open it, and BAM! NEON ORANGE FOLDER! This is seriously the brightest orange I’ve ever seen. It’s awesome. The letter, on the other hand, was fairly succinct, impersonal, and generic. Nice, but it didn’t stand out. There were also no goodies, just a bunch of forms.</p>
<p>New York University - Heeere we go. The big purple folder with a rather subtle “CONGRATULATIONS!” on the front. Maybe I just like purple and cityscapes, but this is my favorite one to look at. The folder pockets are sideways, allowing all the information to peek out and say hello. It includes an events card, an “NYU and You” booklet, and a “Next Steps” booklet along with the letter and critical instructions. All very sleek. The letter was pretty bad. The opening paragraph is a two-sentence generic congratulations with the arts school name and a quick welcome. The it goes on to talk about an insanely brief history of NYU, my online username and password, financial aid, a warning about keeping up my grades, and a little “be proud of yourself” statement. Gee, thanks. However, I did really like the fact that they called me by my preferred name instead of my full first name - something the other schools didn’t do.</p>
<p>Berklee College of Music - This was probably the worst acceptance packet out of all of them. It was a very thin folder with a photoshopped (and admittedly pretty cool) background that said “arrive. you have been accepted” I’m sorry, but, what? So I opened it up, and like most people, I read things from left to right. Starting on the left side of the folder, the first thing I see is “your next step” and directly below that, “Submit your $500 tuition deposit.” Hold your horses, Berklee, you haven’t even formally accepted me yet. So I switch my focus to the right side of the folder and read the cheesiest letter I’ve ever seen. They made it seem like it was my life’s destiny to attend Berklee, and as soon as I give them 500 bucks, I’ll be heading to outer space with a Samurai sword. I’ll post it after I finish this post.</p>
<p>University of Southern California - This acceptance packet and letter was by far the best. The front was classic cardinal and gold with the big university seal or whatever it is, and there was, of course, “Welcome to the Trojan Family” at the bottom. I opened it up and there was a very nice certificate of admission on one side with my name printed on it, and the Dean of Admission’s signature in blue. The acceptance letter itself gave me the most warm and fuzzies out of any of my acceptance letters. If it hasn’t been posted yet and anyone would like to see it, let me know. It really is wonderful. There were also three folder-sized info books tucked neatly behind the “conditions and further information” pages. This colorful little stack included one for a general welcome and info, one for housing, and one for receptions & orientation. Impressive yet homey.</p>
<p>Here’s the Berklee letter. Imagine something like the Star Wars theme playing in the background as you read, to maximize the cheese factor.</p>
<p>"Congratulations, _______!</p>
<p>On behalf of the president and board of trustees, I am delighted to announce your acceptance to Berklee College of Music as a candidate for the bachelor of music degree, September 2011, fall semester.</p>
<p>A new door has opened, and a new chapter begins in the pursuit of your life’s passion. Your acceptance to Berklee College of Music is a privilege reserved for those we determine to have what it takes: to be, rather than to seem to be.</p>
<p>Your experience at Berklee will be rich and filled with possibility. In preparation, I would like to share some traits that will be fundamental to your success in this challenging environment:</p>
<p>A pioneering spirit and boundless thirst for knowledge; willingness to explore new musical horizons; openness to the creativity around you; passion and focus; respect for your peers; and a professional attitude toward your work. </p>
<p>These are the qualities at the core of Berklee’s success, the essence of who we are. They resonate with our community and are mirrored in our creative diversity. </p>
<p>Only you can determine whether you are ready. Ready to contribute to the legacy and the legend. Ready to thrive. Ready to question. Ready to lead. Ready to fulfill the potential that is so evident to us. </p>
<p>We have opened the door. Now it’s up to you.</p>
<p>Yours in music,
(Dean of Admissions)"</p>
<p>Is it just me, or is that a little bit overkill?</p>
<p>My D got waitlisted at Vandy. If anyone else was waitlisted, what did your letter say?</p>