WUSTL and Chicago were both the heaviest mailers to my D. My D did apply to WUSTL, but was waitlisted and subsequently admitted. I liked Chicago’s mailings, but my D didn’t view herself as quirky/nerdy/smart as the Chicago mailers seemed to portray the student body, so she didn’t apply. My alma mater also sent a lot of mail but not once did any letter mention or acknowledge that I graduated from there, not even after they admitted her. How strange that they would ignore the bigggest hook that they potentially had with my D.
Chicago has been sending stuff to my D since she was 14. It has been a bit excessive but, I have to say, she probably wouldn’t have had it on her radar otherwise. She loves the nerdy, quirky tone, the top ten lists, etc. But she is under no delusions that she has a better than whatever the published admit rate chance of getting in. She’s expecting rejections from all schools with such low admit rates, even tho she’s academically qualified. It’s just reality.
She refused to consider WUSTL after the story about the bear cub in the petting zoo surfaced. She just couldn’t get over the idiocy. One, maybe two, students getting scratched is understandable. But the fact that they keep handing the little beast to students after the third, fourth… tenth student was hurt told her that these people just weren’t too bright.
UChicago is a big undergraduate stalker; as a PhD hopeful, I wasn’t stalked by UChicago nearly as much as undergraduate applicants were.
On the other hand, Notre Dame’s behavior towards me was considered stalking, and same went for UC Merced, UC Riverside, RPI, Berkeley MIDS. The only one I caved in to among these graduate stalkers was Notre Dame, and that was after checking their website and contacting professors as I would with any other school.
My S, a 2014 high school grad, received seemingly endless unsolicited mailings from Columbia, Chicago, Creighton, and St. Olaf. He almost applied to St. Olaf, but didn’t. After the application period closed, Columbia even sent an email asking him why he didn’t apply.
Cumberland University sent my son at least 3 dozen contacts from emails, letters from alumni and students, brochures, letters that stated that he would automatically receive large merit scholarship if he just applied as well as telephone calls. Where they go our phone number I have no clue. One letter from a Cumberland alumni was from the alumni’s law firm. We nearly panicked that my son had a letter with a return address from a law firm, only to open the envelope to see it was a recruiting letter for Cumberland.
Like 313phant, son received an obscene number of contacts from UChicago and finally gave in and sent an application when UChicago sent him two t-shirts saying he was the right person for UChicago and they really wanted him. Son actually believed that his chance of admission was better than the average admit rate because of the letters and t-shirts.
Here is PBS article about colleges recruit to deny.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/colleges-ratchet-recruiting-applicants-just-turn/
UChicago, Southern IL, DePauw, various Christian colleges (we’re Jewish, so, no, she’s not applying), Fort Lewis College for awhile, and even a $16,000 scholarship offer from a college that we’d never heard of and found that it looked more like a finishing school than a college. Never got any mail/e-mail from Columbia U. until October, and then it was a barrage.
UChicago must have felled an entire forest just to send my daughter letters, catalogs, postcards, etc. They’d come every week - sometimes more than once in a week! We were tempted to have her write back: Hi! I’m SO EXCITED about attending UChicago. You’ve convinced me! This school would be a great fit. Since you’re so positive I’m perfect for your institution, I’m sure you’ll agree there is no need for me to fill out the application. Please let me know where to send my deposit. See you in the fall!
It was ridiculous. Carleton continued to send things even into my daughter’s freshman year at college (but they did send her some cool things). George Washington University send HUGE glossy mailings every other week as did WUSTL.
Biggest offender for me has been Tulane but I did show some interest and apply so I can understand it.
The University of Arizona (no contact with the University, ever) actually solicited my cell phone with several text messages that included my name. When I responded asking how they got a hold of my number, the messages stopped. If you ask me, thatt is a stalker school right there…
DS had stalkers at both ends of the spectrum of selectivity. Although almost all were ignored (no matter how flattering), DS appreciated the follow up from Case Western after the ED decisions had been posted. DS was reminded of all the reasons why DS had liked CW in the first place, which had been forgotten in the selection of an ED school. It was also helpful because DS changed his intended major mid-way through the application process based on his Fall classes and CW had become a potentially great fit. I don’t think CW was truly a stalker given that DS had initially used one of his free reports to send his SAT score. I am glad they continued to stay in touch after the EA deadline.
Tulane is a big one. After applying and getting deferred she still receives emails to apply. Chicago is certainly at the top. There are so many of them but Tulane really gets me at this point. The mail is starting to die down now that applications are closing.
^^ @bengalmombengal, Oh that’s just mean…sending emails asking her to apply after deferring her! I can imagine each time an envelope arrives it could create a little glimmer of hope. Shame on them.
D used to get a lot from Vanderbilt, but those have subsided. Lots from Washington in St Louis, and a lot from High Point…all of those we did express some initial interest in, but no follow up.
But also lots from Liberty, with absolutely no reason for them to think she’d be interested.
D1 was applying 3 years ago and interested in science schools. She received a lot of contact from several schools but nothing was too stalkerish. One of the colleges D1 received a lot of information from was Case Western. We thought she should look at it, but we couldn’t get her interested. Too engineering-geeky, which evidently is not the same as science-geeky. So Case Western’s early action approaches and she gets many emails: “M, apply!” Nope. Day after the deadline, she receives one that says, “M, why didn’t you apply? Just for you - a one-day extension and no fee!” A little weird, she thinks, but hmmmm, think Mom and Dad and we say, “Apply! Why not?” So M clicks on the link and a new screen opens up, spelling out her name in large capital letters: “M, WE"VE BEEN WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU!” Her response: “Now that’s just plain creepy!” but she applies. Two weeks later, she receives an acceptance and a $25K a year STEM scholarship. “Great!” say Mom and Dad. Does she go there? Nope, she went to…UChicago.
UChicago is in general more insistent in areas of the country where they are trying to improve their draw, btw.
D2 is a junior and starting to sign up for standardized tests at school. “Wait! Don’t put your email address…” Too late. We are inundated. But she hasn’t heard from Case Western.
How do you think many of these schools have climbed the rankings at USNWR? They’re just playing the ratings game. It’s obviously working for them.
U Chicago, Mount Holyoke, Taylor U., and a local community college contacted me way too much, and some were still contacting me the August I began college. I never applied to any of them! 
Oh well, I really enjoyed the beautiful posters U Chicago sent, at least.
Ah the junk mail. At the end of b-school, I received a reject letter from a company to which I had never even applied, written, whatever! It was almost as if they were saying “Don’t even think of applying here…” So I guess I should be happy my kid didn’t receive any pre-emptive denies from a college! That will be the next bad trend.
UChicago, University of Nebraska, Northeastern, and a few tiny christian colleges
Yes, Chicago tops the list. It’s closely followed by Tulane, Dickinson, and Hofstra. The one that shocked me the most was probably Caltech. I never had a snowball’s chance in you-know-where of getting into Caltech.
How about Necro-stalking ??
NYU denied son was still inundated and encouraged to apply as he enjoyed his Freshman year at a W&M, where, when he was still considering his other acceptances ( Columbia, RPI, PSU) the President of the University called and asked him if he had finally decided where to attend. After a long conversation he told us he wanted to go there, “to go where they really wanted me…”
He never got anything form them in any form, he liked what he saw on their site.
I think my daughter has received a piece of mail every week for over a year from Case Western Reserve. We’re from Minnesota and she has no desire at all to relocate to Ohio. It sounds like a great school though.