D was admitted to her ED school and is very happy, as are we. It’s a great fit. Just wondering if it’s normal not to hear a word from them now though. Some of her friends who did not go ED and were admitted to several schools have gotten glossy brochures, admissions “certificates,” stickers, and other fun things to congratulate them. (My D got them too from a couple of her rolling schools before her ED admittance came in.) D got her letter of admission and that’s it. I realize that those other schools have to compete for the kids while her ED school does not, but it would be nice to feel a little love! I figure they must send out something to the RD crowd so why not include the ED crowd?
Wondering if this is due to her particular school or if it’s always that way for the ED kids? Thanks!
My sense (and it’s only that – nothing based on data) is that the glossy brochures and the swag with the school name on it are part of the courting process. D and her ED school are married – no more flowers and fancy dinners. Just be glad they’re not squabbling over who’s going to cook dinner and do the laundry.
I’m going to guess that after the RD commitments have been made, there will be a new flurry of correspondence over substantive things, like housing and class scheduling. Right now, though, there’s nothing the school needs to communicate to her. Does her school have a FB page for admitted students? That’d be one way for her to feel a connection and “love”.
I’m not sure about all colleges, buy my D was accepted ED to a SLAC last year and had the same experience. I think there was an email sometime in the Spring telling the ED kids to hang on and that they would be getting their big folder when the RD kids got theirs. And that’s pretty much how it worked. This college isn’t one to send out lots of spam mail in the first place, but it was very quiet after the acceptance. The EA schools, on the other hand, sent all sorts of things until my D told them she would not be attending.
“D got her letter of admission and that’s it.” Yes! That’s it! She is DONE and can enjoy rest of senior year! That gift is worth more than any swag. You’ll hear from them when it’s time to hear from them.
I think it’s very school dependent. Some just don’t do these things at all and others send multiple swag boxes and lots of emails, phone calls, personalized letters from admissions officers, etc. We have had 1 rolling admissions safety school go from sending emails/cards, posters, and phone calls to nothing. I’m pretty sure they picked on Facebook that my son has 99% decided on another school. Since he posted that nothing nada so some of the personalized stuff is courting but some is the standard for that school and everyone gets it.
D2 got a T-shirt when she was admitted, then radio silence until after RD results were out. She started to get emails on “to do list.” This all made sense to us because they wanted to give out information at the same time. The only upside as an EDer was I was able to reserve hotels for move in and parents weekend before RDers.
DS has had very little contact from his ED school since his acceptance. There have been a couple of small mailing, and they have a facebook group for admitted students. It didn’t occur to either of us to expect anything. For one thing, this school did not send out many mailers or even emails, in contrast to other schools who absolutely inundated him.
One disappointment is that he will not be able to go to the admitted students weekend. Because of space constraints, they reserve this for students who still have to make up their minds. Makes sense, but it would have been nice to go. They reserve several Amtrak cars from Washington north, and kids are picked up all along the way. I imagine that ride is a lot of fun.
After the acceptance letter came in the nice folder, most of the information for D1 came via the university portal. I didn’t think to get access to it (D1 needed to authorize me) until August when it seemed like maybe tuition needed to be paid. Lol.
“Wondering if this is due to her particular school or if it’s always that way for the ED kids?”
Hmmm, not sure but I’ll share my daughter’s communications since her acceptance. My D received her acceptance packet the first week of December from her ED school. They encouraged following the Class of 2020 Facebook and Twitter pages, which she has, and they regularly post things to get them excited about next year. She also recently received a pennant from them. (They had sent a sticker prior to acceptance which she placed on her door and made me nervous about how we were going to get that sticker off her door if she was denied, lol.)
Schools just vary. Lots of swag at UCLA open houses and a big buffet, pins and lame posters at Berkeley. Gift boxes from some schools, nothing from others (GaTech).
If you need swag, you can either just buy it on-line (and be glad that ED means only buying one school’s stuff), or attend open house admitted student events. Maybe treat yourself to some T-shirts and car stickers now, or that $50 sweatshirt that you can wear for 4 years.
We also get tons of swag, including copious T-shirts from specialized events, now as freshman and parents …
None of this is really “free” either, likely in student activities fee or even rolled into meal plan pricing or even tuition.
If your child is admitted into her ED school and is happy then that is all you need for now. We did have a similar experience with my kid’s ED school. After the acceptance there was a lull in hearing from the school. To me that seems appropriate as the admissions department turned its attention to reviewing and making decisions on the RD applicants.
If she wants some college swag, then order it online. My D’s school was not that far away so we actually drove down one day and hit the college bookstore (she was also eager to show off her school to her big brother when he was home from college and he graciously came along for the ride).
Finding and getting into the right school is the most important thing. Much more important than getting a glossy brochure or a free t-shirt. Keep in mind that your child will never deal with admissions again once they start as a student in the school.
And congrats on your D being successfully finished with the college application process!
Agree, once the kiddo has made a decision it’s over and they get to really enjoy senior year! Housing info will come in the spring and then the bill and the drop off but I’m happy when colleges have enough sense to let the kids enjoy their senior year. It comes and goes so fast I always think it’s a shame if the entire year gets spent on college talk. Two of my three were done with everything in January and that was fine with me. We did not talk about college stuff until after graduation. As far as showing the “love”…well it’s really all about getting the kids to sign on the dotted line isn’t it? Then they start with next year’s class.
D’s ED school did send a very nice hoodie when students sent in their deposits to secure their place in the class of 2019. We call it the $800 dollar sweatshirt.