<p>I think that’s a valid point, SDonCC. Still…I don’t think it’s unique to Oberlin.</p>
<p>My son (accepted) didn’t get those letters – but maybe that’s because we’re overseas and they chose to save on postage. I don’t think he got ONE mailed letter from Oberlin from the application date to decision date. But I did see some from other colleges. And I do know that other college forums here on CC had threads started by hopeful applicants inquiring if the correspondence they received was a “likely” letter or if it signaled good news in some way. And for people who aren’t regular consumers of this web site (or, maybe, similar web sites), I absolutely, positively agree that it is easy to get sucked in and assume that there’s something special that they see in you (or your favorite applicant).</p>
<p>Here I need to point out that you’re speaking to post-application correspondence…and that makes me wonder: what “sucking in” is going on in the case of people who have already completed (and paid for) their application? Yes, I can see that hopes are raised and optimism abounds…making it cruel to have it then dashed away with a WL or rejection decision. But piles of post-application communications, regardless of how high they’re stacked, lend zero weight to the OP’s theory (and the one his/her guidance counselor proffered) that it’s all part of the numbers racket to bolster standing in the various rankings and to increase revenues from applications.</p>
<p>If anything, with the revenues already in, they’d all want to minimize their post-application communications (apparently, in Oberlin’s case, starting with cutting off the overseas mailings! (I jest.))</p>
<p>But it’s true that most people who don’t have savvy guidance counselors and/or aren’t paying close attention to this web site are ill-equipped to interpret these broadly tailored communications that colleges send out. There’s a tendency on the part of hopeful applicants to read between the lines and possibly get more invested in a particular college than is warranted. There were several forums where applicants asked for input as to whether a letter from the college signaled an impending admission decision…and the bottom line answer is that if you have to ask, it’s all just marketing. But that doesn’t stop applicants from trying to divine what’s going on in the various admission offices by interpreting other communications (or lack of communications), such as whether they were offered (or not offered) alumni interviews, whether the financial aid department asked for more information (acceptance?) or said the file was sufficiently complete even though a W-2 was missing (rejection?), and how fast they posted the application file status (for those colleges with on-line systems). All of this speaks to the vulnerability and general “antsyness” of applicants counting down the days until April 1. In fact, many of the boarding schools have a “black out” for communications during this window because it’s such a great time to let these extremely vulnerable applicants develop a connection that could pay off in terms of higher yield if the applicant should be accepted. But those are mostly 8th graders. I’m not sure that high school seniors warrant that kind of insulation.</p>
<p>As a parent myself, I know that it can hurt to find out the hard way that it was all part of the marketing and selling of the college and not a specific, personal statement of affinity…but this won’t be the last time that happens in their lives. And unless someone was so convinced by the marketing that they turned down an actual offer of acceptance in anticipation of an Oberlin offer of acceptance or they bought nonrefundable plane tickets for the accepted students weekend, I’m not so sure that this wasn’t one of the easiest possible ways to learn some lessons about the power of direct marketing. For example, just wait until the credit card companies start showing some love to the twins…and the problem there is that they WILL be accepted!</p>