College data mining (back to AP) and some questions

[Jane in NC]

Those of you who keep up with our situation will recall that during the last school year my then 10th grader studied AP Biology. When it was over, I had wondered, given the breadth of material with an outcome based on a single three hour exam, if it was worth it.

One aspect of the test that I had not considered until now is that it appears my son is on the radar of certain colleges because of the AP test.

When letters from colleges arrive in the mailbox, one usually does not know precisely what led to the letter unless the college explicitly states how they mined the data. For example, the University of Dallas contacted my son after his performance on the National Latin Exam, stating that this is how they know he is interested in classics.

Yesterday a letter arrived from the University of Chicago which explicitly stated that they are contacting him because he did AP in 10th grade. Now here is the question. Does it matter? At this point, is it possible for a student to place himself on the college's radar? Or is it really all about the student putting the college on his radar?

Secondly, does the College Board release specific scores to colleges when they are mining data? Do colleges purchase lists of all 10th graders who took an AP exam or do they fine tune their list to all 10th graders who took the exam and scored at least a ___? How much privacy does a student have with these or other test scores?

As alway, thanks in advance.
Jane

[JFS in IL]

My ds took an AP in 9th grade and the college materials have been coming ever since. He hasn't heard from University of Chicago, though - how cool for your kidlet!!!! Just keep the info from any place your kidlet might be interested in down the road....and watch your email. DS gets a lot of colleges emailing us too, now. I think it is more about colleges looking to be on the radar of bright kids who take APs early on in high school. I suspect some colleges are doing the same for high school sports stars, too.

Update 9/8/08 - University of Chicago did the contact due to AP exam in sophomore year this weekend. We wrote back noting he also did AP as a freshman ;-)

I think U of C is contacting every AP sophomore!!!

[Jan in MO]

This is all quite interesting. My dd has taken 5 AP exams (during freshman and sophomore year) and hasn't seen anything from any universities. She got 5s on all of the exams (and one of those exams was AP Biology). I wonder if she would have had to indicate some university choice(s) on her AP paperwork in order for her to hit their radar.

Just adding to the data points...

[Gwen in VA]

I have a rather cynical view of this process.

Unfortunately, the colleges and the students have different interests in the college application process.

The COLLEGES' goal is to get your child interested enough in the college so that he will apply. Even if he has NO chance of getting in, his rejection will make them appear more desirable and improve their rankings.

Your STUDENT's goal is to figure out which colleges are truly best for him and then to apply to ONLY those schools. Students want to apply to FEWER schools.

[Jane in NC]

I have a rather cynical view of this process.



A good reminder, Gwen. I must confess that I was a bit wow-ed yesterday to see a letter from the University of Chicago. :ohmy: There is also the parental ego aspect of the sales pitch!

Jane

[MaryM]

This is all quite interesting. My dd has taken 5 AP exams (during freshman and sophomore year) and hasn't seen anything from any universities. She got 5s on all of the exams (and one of those exams was AP Biology). I wonder if she would have had to indicate some university choice(s) on her AP paperwork in order for her to hit their radar.

Just adding to the data points...

Our ds took them as a freshman and got no mailing but as a sophomore they are finding him. I wouldn't feel left out though because Gwen hit the nail on the head! I doubt that any admissions office really knows who is getting mass mailings...

Mary

[Jan in MO]

Our ds took them as a freshman and got no mailing but as a sophomore they are finding him. I wouldn't feel left out though because Gwen hit the nail on the head! I doubt that any admissions office really knows who is getting mass mailings...

Mary

Thank you but we definitely don't feel left out. College mailings would only end up in the recycle pile so they are saving trees by NOT mailing us stuff. Does anyone really make a college choice --- or even feel swayed --- via those mailings???

I was only adding another piece of data to the musings.

[Gwen in VA]

Case Western's mailings are absolutely wonderful. If CWRU is anything like its mailings, I want to go there!

Dd1 applied there as a result of the mailings and might have gone there if W&L and UDel hadn't been much more generous with $$$.

So there is at least one family who fell under the sway of careful packaging!

[Jan in MO]

I guess we've been missing out! I don't think any of the mailings we've gotten (for older dd) have been that cool.

[Kareni]

My daughter has received no mail other than from colleges with whom she initiated contact. I've always asked her to mark "no mail" when taking standardized tests; we like our privacy and don't care for extra fodder for the recycling bin!

Regards,
Kareni

[threetreasurs]

My daughter takes the cynical view of the mailings!

[Ms. Riding Hood]

College mailings would only end up in the recycle pile so they are saving trees by NOT mailing us stuff. Does anyone really make a college choice --- or even feel swayed --- via those mailings???

Yes, our stuff gets a look and then is tossed. I don't know if anyone is swayed, but like Gwen, I have certain favorites based on mail. Harvey Mudd is by far my favorite! They do much better than the average, imho--very creative and out of the box. Northwestern is the one that peeves me. They are soooo expensive, right? They don't offer any merit scholarships, right? Yet once a month (or so it seems) we get this big, thick viewbook, printed on the heaviest paper--absolutely gorgeous. I can't imagine what it costs to print, much less to mail the thing. How about this Northwestern? Print less, mail less, charge less. I get tired of seeing the glossy viewbook telling me that while they offer no merit scholarships, "at least 20% of students qualify for financial aid--and great loan packages." (I'm being a little facetious here...only a little.) :001_smile:

[threetreasurs]

Our favorite is University of Chicago!