<p>^ My surmise would be that neither of your kids checked the “Send me mail” box on his PSAT registration. I don’t think it’s possible to score decently on the PSATs, check the box, and not be deluged with stupid college mail. Even in New Jersey. New Jersey is a pretty target-rich environment for colleges, especially since it has less choice and (perhaps) less quality in public colleges than other states of comparable size and income.</p>
<p>"In 2006, under a new president, Robert J. Zimmer, Chicago announced that it would join the Common Application, which many admissions deans say attracts more applicants, especially low-income and minority students. Although the university vowed to retain its essays in a required supplement, the demise of the “Uncommon Application” sparked a student protest. </p>
<p>Mr. Zimmer, who attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, told officials he wanted more applicants, especially top students from the New York area. The university commissioned market research to meet that goal. </p>
<p>Last year, Mr. O’Neill, one of the profession’s most respected members, stepped down (he’s now a lecturer at the university). In his place, Chicago hired James G. Nondorf as vice president and dean of college admissions and financial aid. </p>
<p>Colleagues describe Mr. Nondorf as a “super-marketer,” a man who gets results. At Yale, he helped diversify the applicant pool and pioneered the university’s use of a “likely letter,” sent to top applicants before official acceptances. In three years as the top enrollment official at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he oversaw a doubling of applications, which brought record numbers of women. </p>
<p>At Chicago, Mr. Nondorf’s first priority was to create a recruitment booklet that contained many photographs of students engaged in group activities, including music, dance, tennis and football. Later, Chicago sent tailored letters to students who had expressed an interest in the arts or in medicine. Admissions officers talked up pre-professional opportunities and career preparation. Visiting families received special rates from the Hilton, where a letter from Mr. Nondorf and a pouch of chocolates awaited them. Over the last year, Chicago’s admissions representatives visited about twice as many high schools as they had the previous year. Mr. Nondorf sent three to California instead of one, and for the first time, the university received more applications from the Golden State than from Illinois. </p>
<p>Chicago officials have cited many reasons for this year’s application explosion, including the popularity of President Obama, who taught at the university. But some credit should go to Royall & Company, a direct-marketing firm hired last spring to help conduct an expansive recruitment campaign. This included a series of short e-mails sent in rapid succession; some students received nearly 20 in all. This year, Royall’s clients averaged a 7 percent increase in applicants."</p>
<p><a href=“College Applications Continue to Increase. When Is Enough Enough? - The New York Times”>College Applications Continue to Increase. When Is Enough Enough? - The New York Times;