<p>My child received an email from the Dean of Admissions stating how impressed he was with the application, etc. and ends with “keep in touch.” My husband and I have different opinions on whether a response is required. What do you think?</p>
<p>If your child is interested in the school, then by all means he/she should respond! The Dean is interested in your child and is guaging whether or not your kid is interested in the school. If my D got an email from the Dean, there is no way I would let her ignore that.</p>
<p>Certainly, if your student is interested, s/he should reply. Getting such a letter does mean that the college has special interest in your student, and replying could help the student get special opportunities like merit aid, research internships and other things that top prospects get who are also known by top administrators.</p>
<p>This could be very welcome news, but I’d suggest a little more digging before breaking out the champagne 
Go to the college website and look up the name of the person sending the letter; is it the actual head honcho in admissions or someone else? I’m thinking, for example, of the brokerage firms where every salesman is now called “vice-president”. Also look at the letter and see if there is anything being offered such as the things listed by Northstarmom. Also just how personal is the letter? Does it comment on something specific that your child has done or is it a generic letter that could have been sent to any strong applicant?</p>
<p>The reason I raise all this is that many colleges have to some extent gone over to the “dark side” of marketing. Receiving a laudatory letter is good news, marketing or not, but all too often they are letters crafted to imply someone important at the college has been shown the application of the student, has taken a personal interest in persuading them to attend, and is in a sense “recruiting” them. Now sometimes this really is the case; if I got a personal letter from a Dean at Stanford that mentioned enough to let me know they could only be sending it to me, gave a way to contact them if I had any further questions, and ending by hoping they’d see me on the Farm in September you’d have to tether me to the ground to keep me from floating away! But many times less selective colleges send letters aimed at making kids believe they’re being recruited as part of a marketing campaign to persuade students to select their school over some of their rivals, and the dean or whoever no more knows the candidate then they know the groundskeepers.</p>
<p>To answer the specific question as to whether a response is required. Required? No. A good idea? Sure, why not. Hopefully your kid is interested in learning more about this school in order to decide if its a fit. Asking some questions along those lines, asking to be put in touch with a recent alum in your area to find out more about the school, etc. are ways to show interest and at the same time provide useful info to your child.</p>