It’s about that time of year when many juniors begin to receive nice mailings from colleges encouraging them to apply. These mailings are called “search letters” in the college admissions world, and there are two different but equally important things to keep in mind as you receive them.
1. There are over 2,000 colleges in this country, and most of them are able to admit far more of their applicants than they reject. That’s good news.
2. Just because you receive a search letter does not necessarily mean the college wants to admit you (this is especially true for more selective colleges).
Marilee Jones, the former dean of admission at MIT, explains the truth about search letters in this post on her blog. Students have every reason to be optimistic about their chances of finding a college that’s right for them. But you should also be realistic about what search letters really mean, and whether or not you should take their warm invitations to apply as a sign that you’ll be accepted.