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Only 10? Just wait… WUSTL is notorious for their mailings, and you’ll literally end up with pounds of stuff from them.</p>
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This is one of the unsavory parts of college admission. Mail is flattering but don’t overestimate it as an indicator of any college’s interest. They simply buy lists of who take College Board tests and send out mass-mailings as a marketing tool. It doesn’t mean they’ve taken a personal interest. Kids are often surprised/delighted when they get such mail (eg. “Harvard wrote me a letter!”) and take it as a sign they’re being recruited, but its simply a sales tool and means no more than getting a credit-card application in the mail.</p>
<p>The colleges (or, more often, the marketing company they’ve hired) couch the mail in terms that come as close as possible to implying you’re a shoo-in or that you’re being recruited, without actually saying so. Expect letters saying things like “X is looking for students like you” or “we are impressed with your accomplishments so far and know you’ll do great things at X”. These letters lead to so much disappointment because kids take them at face value and do exactly what the colleges want – send in an app with high hopes.</p>
<p>And the criteria they can search on is pretty broad. On the CollegeBoard site <a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools; it says "You now have access to more data on College-Bound Seniors, including academic interest, religion or “best” language, ethnicity, gender, academic performance, and average household income, … "</p>