I’m a sophomore and I took the Psat’s last year. I got a somewhat decent score (199), and didn’t think much about giving colleges mailing rights, so i did. Now my house is being bombarded with college spam mail, and while i know that its just a formality, and is like any other spam, my parents don’t seem to. They wont stop saying that "this is an ivy school, do you know how good you are?’ I’ve tried explaining that mail does not mean admission but they wont listen, and only come up with “no schools like this mailed me when i was younger.” I don’t want them to be angry or disappointed in me when i do not get into these schools, so how can I explain the situation to them?
encourage them to get their own CC account and post here. We’ll be sure to set them straight in no time. 
They probably know it’s spam but still think you don’t realize how good you are. Even SPAMMERS have a lower threshold to who they contact.
Study for the PSAT next year (new format), and try to raise it up to a >150 (new scale)- you are definitely within “spitting distance” of being a National Merit Scholar.
Congratulations!
Just show them some of the threads here or Google “college mail.” There have been numerous articles in all regarded publications that explain what they’re doing.
Consider asking your guidance counselor to give them a call. There’s no reason for them to take the word of a bunch of strangers on a forum, particularly when so many of them are students. But your guidance counselor can probably give them a better idea of what to expect.
@redhering - Show your parents this video with Katie Couric interviewing Frank Bruni of the NY Times. They should especially watch the part at 6:26 called Ivy Tower Porn.
My DD got a ton of mail from WashU. This was before email was used a lot. She didn’t have an ice cube’s chance in hell of being accepted at WashU.
We jokingly told her she should apply using a paper application…and include all of the mailings (we had a box we tossed all the college junk mail in) and her cover letter should say “enclosed is my application to WashU. As you can see from your enclosed mailings, I am the perfect student for your college.”
She didn’t do it…but it would sure have been fun!
Companys pay 35 cents a head for lists of students and scores/EC’s etc… Bakes our kids seem pretty worthless 
Tell them that you have a pretty good score ,but most likely not Ivy material. The Ivy’s (and other colleges) look the most exclusive by having a low acceptance rate. To have a low acceptance rate, you have to have many many students apply so you can turn them down. Your parents are doing what the Ivy’s want them to…think “Hey, maybe I have a shot! May as well apply!”
Also tell them it’s not Admissions Counselors who send the mail: it’s the marketing department!
Tell them your friends are all getting the mail too. It’s nothing special.
Have them read this thread, LOL! Explain that,yes, you are good but you still have a lot of work to do to be great (you’re just a sophomore). Let them know if you have the grades, scores, extracurricular activities and the desire you will apply when the time comes but for now, this is just marketing on the part of the schools. You’re score shows potential, but at this point that’s all. It’s too early to know if you are a contender, but not too early to start working towards that goal if that is what you want.
Have them look at the other junk mail in their house. Do they REALLY think Victoria’s Secret or J Crew or Pottery Barn REALLY cares about them specifically, or that they bought a mailing list of people in a certain demographic who they think are interested in lingerie / clothing / household goods? Do they REALLY think the pizza place one town over or the car dealership down the road cares SPECIFICALLY about them? Of course not. They get that the pizza place and the car dealership bought a list of people within X miles of their store. Exact same concept here.
Ugh, I know a couple families that took all the mail seriously and then were angry and heart broken when the rejections came in. Selectivity wasn’t such a huge part of rankings when they (we) were kids. Schools weren’t trying to attract borderline and under-qualified kids to apply just to boost their selectivity rating. Your parents just haven’t recognized how different the system is now. They will. They probably don’t have as many people to talk to and compare current experiences as you do.
I’m tired of the trope that selectively is a huge part of rankings. SELECTIVITY IS 1.5% OF THE US NEWS RATING.
Here is a table of the weighting of their factors http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2014/09/08/best-colleges-ranking-criteria-and-weights
@pizzagirl OK, so would you say that schools don’t care about their selectivity? What is your explanation for highly selective and already well-known colleges using this method.
Please turtletime…there are already at least three current threads discussing elite schools vs other. Could the selectivity question go on one of those?
To the OP…it’s called junk mail for a reason. I get tons of ridiculous solicitations everyday in my email.
Turtle time - that’s an odd leap. I didn’t say schools don’t care about selectivity. I said that bumping up applicants via lots of junk mail is a long run for a short slide, since any bump in selectivity only accounts for 1.5% of the USN rating.
And “well known” is still highly regional.