<p>Otis, I have to say I wondered the same thing when I read this post. We don’t ever do that BUT I know that people interpret what admission people say in ways we don’t intend from time to time. It is possible that this student heard one of us say that she is an excellent candidate or a competitive candidate or something like that and drew a straight line from that to “unofficially offered”. I certainly don’t want to call her out about how she got this offer, but I would caution any readers out there that Richmond Scholars is highly competitive and even with the strongest stats, all I would be able to tell a student is that their numbers would get them into the running. The award decisions, though, are made based on things other than numbers and they are made by faculty, not admission officers. That said, this student could have had intense interaction with a member of the faculty committee, I suppose, that could have led her to this conclusion. </p>
<p>Good luck to all as you prepare your applications! </p>
<p>As an aside, I read an application today where a student noted that she was an all-American in “other varsity sport” (I presume a drop-down menu option on the Common App) where no further information was given. No one mentioned her sport anywhere on the app. I’m really wondering about that but I don’t have time to contact her and ask about it. Please proofread your applications. . . . I’m begging you. . .</p>
<p>Yes, ED’s are running ahead of last year and it was 14% the day that the reporter called a week or two ago. I don’t know that I think we’ll have another record large applicant pool because of the economy, but I think we’ll have a plenty large, plenty strong one in any case. This is going to be a wild ride of a year for us as well as for students.</p>