Pushing 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

Some potential college students don't wait until the winter holidays to get into the spirit of giving.

For example, a student applying to Syracuse University last year sent the Office of Admissions a crate of oranges with a note attached that read, "Orange you going to include me in the freshman class?"

In another instance, a set of twins submitted a video of themselves in a fireside chat, complete with song and dance.

A female applicant even sent in a small braid of her hair, which left the admissions office puzzled.

"We didn't understand the significance of that," said Charlotte Tefft, associate director of admissions. "Was it supposed to be like a lucky rabbit's foot for her?"

In today's highly competitive admissions atmosphere, some college-bound hopefuls send gifts or, more commonly, thank you notes to admissions offices to set themselves apart from the common application crowd.

While Nancy Rothschild, assistant dean of admissions at SU, said gifts "are really not necessary and sometimes inappropriate," she and other admissions officials from Barnard College, Fordham University and Tulane University said thank you notes seem genuine and are appreciated. The notes are generally sent in response to a campus visit, thanking officials for answering questions or for giving interviews, tours or information sessions.

"When we get thank you cards, we think it's a nice thing," said Laura Kaub, an admissions officer at Barnard, an affiliate of Columbia University. "The thank yous are very short and simple, nothing plotted out and strategized, just the polite thing to do."

Leila Labens, an admissions counselor at Tulane in New Orleans, agreed.

"Admissions counselors don't always put a face to the name," Labens said. "But if you get a note from a student and then you get their application, it'll set off a bell in your head. You'll remember meeting with them."

Labens said she has a file in one of her drawers where she keeps the notes.

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.

What really impresses SU Admissions are notes that show extra effort, where a student tries to pick up on something he or she discussed with an official at the school, Rothschild said.

For example, associate director Tefft said she interviewed an "interesting and well-qualified" student from Maine. Tefft was very interested in an annual potato harvest the student participated in for several years. The student then sent a post-interview thank you card with a picture of the potato harvest. She is now in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

However, Tefft and Rothschild stress that thank you notes have nothing to do with a student's admission status - they are just seen as a common courtesy, an attempt to build a relationship with an admissions officer, Rothschild said.

While a thank you "certainly doesn't make or break an application," counselor Labens said it could help a student who is being considered for a scholarship from Tulane. A note, she said, could help make that student's name and face more recognizable.

Richardson, associate director at Fordham, also thinks a good thank you note can aid in recognition.

"It's nice when it's from a student that genuinely cares, where Fordham is their number one choice," she said. "That one outreach, that one little thank you note, really sets them apart."

But being memorable is different from getting accepted.

While Rothschild and Tefft said they understand why students send thank you notes, gifts or any other "extras" to their application (including posters, photographs or collages), such offerings do not influence the ultimate admissions decision in any way.

"We look at them as a courtesy, and that's the bottom line," Rothschild said.