Received a letter and a brochure today (9/19/2006) in the mail. This one's sort of a fluke, simply because I chose "writing" as one of my interests. This institute is more of an artsy place, i.e. creative writing; however, I rather like nonfiction, journalistic writing.
Read more...Received a letter, a brochure and an application for admission to Patrick Henry College today (9/18/2006). I've been interested in them for awhile, and I sent my info in at an Ohio homeschoolers' convention maybe a couple years ago. Plus, since I got four free score reports with my SAT, I decided to send 'em one. No harm in doing so, right? Of course, I've gotten all of... four? five? things in the mail since that homeschool convention... they're not too up on promotion, methinks. Unfortunately, they're in northeastern Virginia, so I don't think I'll end up going there.
Oh yes, got another e-mail from University at Buffalo Saturday (9/16/2006). (What are they doing sending e-mails on Saturday...?) I'm invited to a special online chat, apparently. At least they don't ask me to drive to New York City.
Received a letter today (9/18/2006) from Scripps College. Just a letter, no reply form, no "business reply mail" envelope. Because it said that the admission counselor "will be interviewing in the Cleveland on Monday, October 9th." Reread that. I did not overlook a typo in that sentence! It's obviously a mail-merge letter (look in your Microsoft Word Tools tab).
Read more...Washington & Jefferson College sent me a snail-mail letter this time, which I received today (9/18/2006) with a reply form and envelope (of course). Same offers as last time.
Read more...Finally, a college I've actually heard of. (Okay, I'm exaggerating. But still!) Princeton sent me a nice little brown-and-orange postcard on 9/15/2006, informing me that "you and your parents are cordially invited to attend an informational program about Princeton University" in NEW YORK CITY. I'm in OHIO. Can't they read a map? Or do they just assume that I'm sooooo anxious to learn about Princeton that I'll drive seven to nine hours just to talk to the assistant dean in a hotel conference room?
Anyway..... Princeton is in New Jersey. And none too conservative, last I heard.
Tulane must really like high test scores. I received a letter on 9/15/2006 informing me again of their "personal application" process that's free and easy and quick. Of course they also sent me a reply form and a "business reply mail" envelope. Just to make it easier.
And they sent me an e-mail the same day, with the same information (sans the business reply envelope, of course). Wonderful.
Received a letter, an info page, a brochure, and a bookmark today (9/14/2006) from the University of Michigan. Yup, a bookmark. That's something new, at least.
And I actually like this brochure. It tells me generally interesting stuff, like:
--James Earl Jones went there
--So did Arthur Miller
--And Clarence Darrow
--Over 500 students are from California (why??)
--They have 24 libraries on campus. Isn't that overkill?
--And pretty tulips. Yellow ones, but the color can be forgiven.
I'm not going. But it's a nice brochure.
And this time, they've sent both an e-mail and a real live snail-mail letter.
E-mail received 9/12/2006 from Loyola had the same "Fast-Track Application" offer as before.
Letter received today (9/13/2006) had a cover letter and a reply form/business reply envelope.
You know, to read this letter, you'd wonder how in the world a person could go anywhere besides Chicago for college....
E-mail received 9/11/2006 (moment of silence.) from Stony Brook University. This letter receives top honors for promotion: They get "...named one of the top 100 universities and top 50 public universities in the nation" from "The University tied for 98th in the U.S. News rating of 'best national universities', and tied for 46th in the category of top public national universities."
And, I'm not going here: One of their headlines in this e-newsletter...
World Renowned Anthropologist Richard Leakey to Convene the Stony Brook Human Evolution Symposium and Workshop...
And since I'm a convicted creationist... it just wouldn't work.
Also got an e-mail from Tulane again. Same offers as before. Still won't go to New Orleans. It's just too far from Ohio!
Finally, some letters that didn't result from my high SAT scores. I've been getting mail from Crown College (in Minnesota) and Huntington University (in Indiana) since I filled out response cards at some convention or camp (can't remember which). Got some more mail yesterday (9/8/2006).
Crown spent 39 cents to send me a postcard about some college fairs coming up. Huntington had already sent me a nearly identical postcard about the same NACCAP college fair near me, sometime around the first. Can't remember.
Huntington sent me a viewbook in CD format. They took care to protect it in several layers of cardboard brochure...
Another e-mail! Got it 9/7/2006 too, only this one's from Loyola University. These e-mails are all starting to sound like high-tech carbon copies.... witness:
"Your Fast-Track Application includes special benefits not offered to everyone. With this application, you can skip the fee, skip writing a new essay and receive an admission decision by December 1, 2006." [Boldface formatting is original.]
Don't you think so?
Got another e-mail; this time from Washington & Jefferson College, on 9/7/2006. This one has almost identical quick-application offers as Tulane U., except that their application fee is only $25 and they say two weeks instead of four.
Read more...Got another e-mail... this one from Tulane University in New Orleans, on 9/6/2006. This one urged me to "take advantage of... no new essay required! No application fee - save $55! Automatic schoarlship consideration! An admission decision in just four weeks!" All that boldface formatting is straight from the e-mail; I did not add it!
Read more...I got an e-mail from the University at Buffalo on 9/5/2006. This one is sorta weird, because it lists the e-mail address as "UB5392@prsms.com".... that's the oddest college e-mail address that I've seen. Anyhow, they sent me another one on the same day that said "we're happy to learn that you're interested in majoring in 0167." Whatever that means.... I'm sure that "0167" is a code for journalism or communications or something.
Read more...Brochure received 9/5/2006 with insert & attached reply card. This time the card is a little harder to lose track of, which is theoretically good. And this college is actually in OHIO! How unusual is that? (First one...) It took me a bit to figure out where the list of majors was in the brochure - the list comprises the border. As in, they're all around the whole thing, in small print. (Not that the print bothers me.)
Read more...QuestBridge scholarship promotion letter received 9/5/2006, with brochure. No reply card this time, since it directs me to its website to apply for their scholarship. Unfortunately, the only remotely feasible colleges it partners with are Wheaton College and Oberlin College. All the rest are either in Texas, California, or New England. (And fairly liberal, to boot.)
Read more...E-mail from the U.S. Navy received 8/31/2006. It's all about the NROTC Scholarship Program (just ROTC for the navy), which says that I could get up to $180,000 for college. Of course, I also happen to be looking at schools which wouldn't touch Federal money with a ten-foot pole.
The funny thing is, nearly every sentence in this e-mail is a fragment. "Cash for college. All-out pursuit of your personal best. Tuition... it's just the start." And: "Job opportunities in the air. On land. At sea. The chance to make your mark at ports of call worldwide. Plus advanced training and experience that launch you ahead of the rest." Also: "Full tuition and fees, book allowances plus a monthly spending stipend. For up to five years - if circumstances require." Finally: "The educational opportunity of a lifetime. Second only to the extraordinary life that's sure to follow."
Doesn't that sound just like a recruiter?
Letter from the "Office of the Mayor", City of Chicago, received 8/30/2006 with a brochure about the college and a reply card (which is to be expected).
"As mayor of the great City of Chicago, I am pleased to invite you to consider pursuing your educational dreams in the heart of the Midwest. [I thought I already lived there, in Ohio!] Chicago is home to an exceptional array of fine colleges and universities."
This letter was one of the more interesting mailings. When I got this one, all it said on the return address on the envelope was "Office of the Mayor, City of Chicago" just like the letterhead. I couldn't figure it out till I actually read the letter. Apparently the Mayor of Chicago is Catholic, and promotes his local Catholic university like every good Catholic should.
Incidentally, Moody Bible Institute is in Chicago...
Smith College letter received 8/31/2006, with brochure about a scholarship program of theirs and a reply card. I didn't get a brochure about the college itself, which is weird. From what I can gather, it's a women's liberal arts college. (What's the emphasis on liberal there, I wonder? In the political sense, that is...)
Read more...DVC letter received 8/21/2006, with a profile of the college and a reply card. At least this one tells me what its initials stand for! This college has a lot of agricultural majors.
I wonder where Doylestown is?
