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The Daily OrangePushing the envelope
In hyper-competitive world of admissions, some students take thank you notes to a new extreme
By Andrea Roxas
Posted: 10/25/07, 12:46 AM EST Section: News
Sarah Richardson, associate director of admissions at Fordham in New York, also hangs on to the notes for future reference. She said they're great "for those days when you need something positive to look at."
Richardson said her school has received increasing amounts of thank you notes in the mail lately. Yet officials at SU said the number of notes has remained constant through the years.
At his mother's insistence, undecided freshman John Giammatteo said he sent handwritten notes to the five or six schools at which he interviewed. He said his mom read that it was a good idea to send notes to potential schools, thanking anybody you come into contact with at the university.
"I was kind of thinking, 'I can't believe I have to do this,' but my mom wanted me to," he said.
Some parents do more than just tell their children to write notes - they take matters into their own hands.
Susan Donovan, dean of admissions at SU, said she recently received a handwritten thank you note from a mother who talked about what a wonderful time she and her daughter had on campus. About a week or so later, Donovan said she received a second note, in the same handwriting, from the "daughter."
"It didn't take a handwriting expert to see that they were written by the same person," Donovan said. "We thought that was outrageous."
Equally considered outrageous are over-the-top gifts (like the small braid of hair), which assistant dean Rothschild said "are really not necessary."
Some students agree.
Giammatteo said he thinks some efforts are overkill.
"A note's one thing," he said, "but a gift is kind of begging admission."
Sophomore Meg Woods, who sent thank you e-mails to the schools at which she interviewed, echoed Giammatteo's sentiments.
"I think there's a big difference between setting a good impression and bribery. A gift shouldn't be the reason why I get into a school," the sophomore psychology major said.
Richardson said her school has received increasing amounts of thank you notes in the mail lately. Yet officials at SU said the number of notes has remained constant through the years.
At his mother's insistence, undecided freshman John Giammatteo said he sent handwritten notes to the five or six schools at which he interviewed. He said his mom read that it was a good idea to send notes to potential schools, thanking anybody you come into contact with at the university.
"I was kind of thinking, 'I can't believe I have to do this,' but my mom wanted me to," he said.
Some parents do more than just tell their children to write notes - they take matters into their own hands.
Susan Donovan, dean of admissions at SU, said she recently received a handwritten thank you note from a mother who talked about what a wonderful time she and her daughter had on campus. About a week or so later, Donovan said she received a second note, in the same handwriting, from the "daughter."
"It didn't take a handwriting expert to see that they were written by the same person," Donovan said. "We thought that was outrageous."
Equally considered outrageous are over-the-top gifts (like the small braid of hair), which assistant dean Rothschild said "are really not necessary."
Some students agree.
Giammatteo said he thinks some efforts are overkill.
"A note's one thing," he said, "but a gift is kind of begging admission."
Sophomore Meg Woods, who sent thank you e-mails to the schools at which she interviewed, echoed Giammatteo's sentiments.
"I think there's a big difference between setting a good impression and bribery. A gift shouldn't be the reason why I get into a school," the sophomore psychology major said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Kate
posted 10/25/07 @ 8:48 AM EST
Not to be rude or anything but I do not see the purpose of this article. Someone sending oranges to SU and other ridiculous gifts like braids of hair are one thing and honestly make a mockery of the applying student. (Continued…)
Jeanne
posted 10/25/07 @ 5:20 PM EST
I don't know what a ridiculous "braid of hair" meant-(way TOO personal) but I DO believe that the crate of oranges was a unique and positive way to send a positive message to the admissions office. (Continued…)
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