If a college sends you unsolicited information, do you have a good chance of being accepted?

Question

I'm in my second year of college and was interested in transferring somewhere else for my junior year. Lately, I've started getting a ton of things in the mail from an Ivy League University. It's not anywhere I would have even thought of applying to if they hadn't started sending me things. I didn't have great grades in high school, but my college grades have been perfect. Since they're sending me all this information, does this mean they're actually interested in me, or do colleges just send that stuff to everyone? If I do apply, I have to get a lot of recommendations and pay an expensive application fee. I just don't want to go to all that trouble if I don't really have a chance.

Answer 1

They send it to anyone they think might possibly apply, whether they'll accept them or not. I'm not entirely sure why they'd be sending information to someone who's already in college though. If you got on the mailing list for any schools (not necessarily that one), or did something else that would create a record somewhere of your wanting to transfer, then the probably got your name from that. Most often, they don't even _look_ at your grades or other records before sending you information about their school. They want as many people to apply as possible, and don't really care if most of those applicants aren't qualified. When it comes down to it, rejecting more people boosts their rating, which is their goal. Often times, when schools send information to prospective students, it doesn't mean that "we want you to come to our school," but rather "we want you to apply to our school so we can reject you."

That said, if it's someplace you think you want to go, there's no harm in applying. It's work and it costs money, but in the long run, if you think that transfering there would improve your next two years of school enough, the recommendations and application fee aren't going to make much of a difference in the long run but two years of school sure will.

Answer 2

As far as I can tell (I have a sister who is an Assistant Director of Admission at an exclusive college), sending you unsolicited mail does not indicate in any way, shape or form the interest a college has in you. I still get unsolicited mail from undergraduate institutions once in a while, and I graduated from law school last year. If someone puts you on a mailing list, the mail comes to you. There are a lot of things that can trigger it (in your case, well-meaning friends or family who put you on a list comes instantly to mind). Colleges also send mailings to people who do well on standardized tests, who win particular awards, who have alums in the family, etc. Actual academic recruiting is rare and usually does not happen until after a person is admitted, and then it would probably be a phone call from a professor or something like that.

Most of the replies posted here so far are speculation- some of it is very reasonable speculation that will probably help you, so at first I planned to rate the good ones and move on, but then I decided I might as well just give you a piece of advice: Before you invest all that time and effort into applying for a transfer, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Find out: Does this Ivy League school actually accept many transfer students? All kinds of statistics are almost always available online on the college website- number of transfer applicants, number accepted, number who matriculated... This will give you a much better idea of what your chances are. Also, the transfer applications are sometimes different than the regular ones- what kind of 'extra' stuff will you need to do to show them that you belong there? What kind of things do you need to say to stand out from the pack?

I was at Stanford, and I remember distinctly that the chances of getting in as a transfer were far lower than the chances of getting in as a regular applicant. The total number of transfers joining my class was miniscule- somewhere close to the single digits (class size 1600ish). If this is anything like the situation at the school you're dealing with, then I would say that to get in, you'd have to be really interested in this school, really committed to going there if you get in, and really lucky. A lot of it is luck. So good luck!

Answer 3

Some colleges do send out a lot of info, but it's sort of odd that a college is mailing things when you're already in college and hadn't contacted them. Interesting.

Call them. Why not? That doesn't cost anything. You could always tell them your concerns - they're people. Find out why you're on their mailing list - maybe you're just what they're looking for! Were you thinking of transferring, or is it the prestige factor? Are you majoring in something they have as well?

You could also make a list - pluses and minuses and then check it that way. Sounds silly, but I've used it and it helped me clarify. If it's not REALLY important to you (recommendations and cost involved) you might already have your answer.

Answer 4

In theory, anyone has *a* chance, but that doesn't mean that you/they have a *good* chance. Unless you already applied to that school and sent them your transcript, they couldn't possibly know how well you are doing at your current institution. Therefore, it's safe to assume that they aren't soliciting you based on that data. Schools need money to stay afloat, too -- so even they have marketing departments. Treat this solicitation like any other mailing. Then think about it objectively: People with terrible credit often get unsolicited mail for credit cards for which they'll *never* be approved. This is no different.

Answer 5

We discussed in Micro-econ the idea of college fees and money and how/why colleges charge different rates for different incomes. It boils down selling a product (knowledge) at varied prices (along the supply curve). In short, it's to make money. You've already paid those fees. Another point to consider, perhaps, is take a fact: Loius the 14th was King of France. You bought this fact at what ever price you paid for it at your current school. Would a new school teach a different set of facts? I personally feel if you've hammered school this far, your more apt to be a success. Another incentive to consider is the school must decide 'what is applicable under thier degree plan', again more money for the same set of facts.

Answer 6

I would assume that an ivy league school either mass mailed... or sent it to people they wanted.

You could always call their registrar and ask if it was a mass mailing.

My thoughts are that if its not a mass mailing then they may want you for some reason (heard about you through the grapevine) and you would have a decent chance.

Answer 7

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