College promos aim to flatter

Now that the rush of applications and essays for seniors has ended, the focus on college preparation is now on juniors, and that means attention from college admissions offices. College admissions officers might be busy reading applications from seniors, but they've also found the time to compile mailing lists of potential junior applicants for next year. If you are a junior in high school, this winter or spring you are very likely to be inundated with glossy view books and slick brochures illustrating the attributes of colleges across the United States.

The view books will be beautiful. They will have photos of smiling students reading and relaxing on grass-covered, tree-studded quads. You will see erudite-looking professors leaning over eager students in impressive high-tech classrooms. You will read about graduates who have earned awards in math, science and the arts or who discovered treatments for rare diseases. You might see charts or tables with data about graduates admitted in startlingly high numbers to medical, business or law school. You will learn about students from throughout the world who engage in community service or research programs.

And it would be no surprise, if after reading the view book, you jumped up and shouted, "They want me! They sent me this view book because they'll admit me, so I want to apply there!" Moreover, if you do entertain those thoughts, then the slick, glossy view book would have accomplished its mission.

How flattering to be courted and cajoled by a well-known or highly selective college you may never have visited. It might seem as if colleges have mysteriously found you, or that your reputation for academic excellence is world-renowned. The accompanying letter from the college admissions director might say the college knows what a great match you'll be for the school, and it might identify you as intelligent, high-achieving, accomplished or talented. However, keep in mind the motive behind the mailings.

Here are the facts: Colleges send view books or paper applications to students because they want multitudes of students to apply, not because they intend to admit them. Colleges want many applicants because when they later deny most of them, their selectivity rate looks more impressive.