<p>My son applied to several small colleges, under 2000, EA (non binding). He isn’t supposed to hear till mid January, but he keeps getting information from the schools like financial aid information departmental information and even a hand signed Christmas card personally addressed to my son from the Dean of Admissions. My son wants to know if they do this for all applicants to the school. In other words, is it just standard procedure?</p>
<p>Though I would not say all smaller colleges do it, many do keep sending things like you mention to applicants in general and it does not indicate one way or the other whether admission is forthcoming.</p>