For those who attended college, how did you get your acceptance/rejection?

[bcla]

I don't know what it's like now with so much info available online, but I'm from an era where everything was done by mail. I saw a McDonald's commercial where they're touting how employees qualify for educational aid, and the commercial has the subject of the commercial opening an acceptance letter from "State University".

My first acceptance letter was in a normal business size envelope. I thought it might be a rejection letter because of the size, but it noted that I would receive supplemental packages (such as the housing application) separately which came in about a week. I also received other acceptance letters in the form of a huge package that had everything in there at once. A friend gave me a ride home and when I pulled out that envelope (which was easily identifiable) her eyes looked like daggers because she wanted to attend that school badly. Around the same time I remember getting an acceptance notice in the form of a post card. It seemed a bit cheap but I wasn't going to attend anyways after I got my first choice.

All my rejection letters were single-page letters in business sized envelopes.

 

[ThisIsJason]

Got an email stating you are accepted, more to follow in the mail. Then got a business letter stating the same thing. About two weeks later I got a big supplement package with everything in it (housing, meal plans, what have you).

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I don't know what it's like now with so much info available online, but I'm from an era where everything was done by mail. I saw a McDonald's commercial where they're touting how employees qualify for educational aid, and the commercial has the subject of the commercial opening an acceptance letter from "State University".

My first acceptance letter was in a normal business size envelope. I thought it might be a rejection letter because of the size, but it noted that I would receive supplemental packages (such as the housing application) separately which came in about a week. I also received other acceptance letters in the form of a huge package that had everything in there at once. A friend gave me a ride home and when I pulled out that envelope (which was easily identifiable) her eyes looked like daggers because she wanted to attend that school badly. Around the same time I remember getting an acceptance notice in the form of a post card. It seemed a bit cheap but I wasn't going to attend anyways after I got my first choice.

All my rejection letters were single-page letters in business sized envelopes.

How many colleges did you apply to?! I grew up poor, I could only afford to apply to 3 colleges but I was accepted at all 3. I received 2 business size envelopes from my top 2 choices, the school i ultimately ended up attending sent me a huge info packet.

 

[bcla]

How many colleges did you apply to?! I grew up poor, I could only afford to apply to 3 colleges but I was accepted at all 3. I received 2 business size envelopes from my top 2 choices, the school i ultimately ended up attending sent me a huge info packet.

9. However, 3 of them were using a single application for the University of California. I think back then it was $35 for the first application and then maybe $15 for each additional UC campus. The California State University system had a unified application form, but each one had to receive an application sent by mail to that specific campus. The UC and CSU applications were all available at my high school guidance counselor's office, but I had to call in to get all my other applications. This was before all this information was available on the internet, and my parents paid for a lot of 555-1212 calls as well as long distance.

My parents ended up spending a lot on applications. I got into all the public schools but didn't get into any of the private schools. The applications for the private schools weren't necessarily that expensive.

 

[RedAngie]

I attended college starting in 1979. Everything was sent by US mail. I think three of the four colleges send a standard business sized envelope. One sent an 8 x 11 manila envelope with some additional information, but it wasn't a packet.

 

[ronandannette]

I don't even remember one anymore; it was 35 years ago. My DS though, just went through it. He was rejected to two programs and those were form-letters on a single sheet of paper sent in regular business envelopes with the University's logo on the front. He was accepted to one program and that came as a specially-designed little cardboard box with fold-outs, glossy brochures and whatnot. All of it came through the regular mail.

 

[sonnyjane]

This was 20 years ago. At that time mine were letters. The rejections were always regular envelopes. A lot of the acceptances were in big envelopes with a brochure.

 

[gtpoohbear]

It's been so long since I did my undergrad degree that I can't remember, though I'm sure it came in the regular mail somehow. Last year, however, I started 2 different grad school programs (and applied at several others) and all of the acceptances came as some sort of email. I say "some sort" because some just said right in the email that I was accepted, others said that there was a change in my application status, and I had to log into my account on their website to view it. A couple also sent follow-up letters in the mail a week or two later, but the mail letters definitely read like they were assuming you had already gotten the "news." I'm surprised that colleges still do any acceptances through the mail - I feel like so much of ours gets lost and mis-delivered that it makes me nervous we'll miss something when DD starts applying later this month!

 

[brooke789]

My Alma mater does this so the kids put up social medic pics of their envelopes.
(Random image from Google).
When I got mine 19 years ago it was just a business size envelope and looked like it could have been any decision inside!

 

[fly girl]

By the good old USPS. My memory cannot recall the size of the envelopes ... it was 27 years ago.

 

[bcla]

For some reason I remember the TV show Head of the Class where one episode near the end of the show discussed where everyone was accepted to college. They had the one rich preppy guy who always talked about going to Harvard and had a large envelope from Harvard that he refused to open.

Still - I distinctly remember being underwhelmed by a couple of my acceptance letters - especially on a postcard. My first one was actually UCLA in late February. Then came UC Davis in a big envelope. Then there was finally the UC Berkeley and Cal Poly SLO ones on the same day. There was no mistaking it.

All my rejection letters came later - any time from late March to even late April. Mid May was the typical deadline to return an intent to enroll.

I also remember this one classmate who had already gotten early admission to Harvard. He got the notice in December after the traditional deadline for Fall admission applications. And he wasn't too happy when he got rejected by UCLA even though he was already accepted by Harvard. They had some sort of form asking if he wanted to be wait listed with a place for notes, and he wanted them to know that he was going to Harvard.

 

[Moliphino]

It came in the mail, but I don't remember anything about the envelope. I was at a family party and my mom (who was at home) called to tell me I had something from Georgia Tech and did I want her to open it.

 

[disneychrista]

I attended the local community college - no one gets rejected.

 

[design_mom]

I actually got a phone call from my top choice offering me admission and a scholarship. Unfortunately, it's not where I ended up going. I was the first in my family to go to college, and I didn't fully understand in-state vs. out-of-state tuition costs. The scholarship was not enough to offset the out-of-state tuition difference, so I ended up at a school in my state. My other schools sent a "thick envelope."

My son is a college freshman this year. He found out first online with all of his -- two of them were a notification of a "status update" on the application portal, and one was an e-mail. All of them followed up with a "photo op" mailing. (A glossy brochure to hold in social media photos, but that didn't really include a lot of info.) All the housing, meal plan, orientation, etc. info is all online now.

 

[DisLiss]

All via mail, with rejections in regular business size envelopes and acceptances in large manila envelopes. Mind you mail was the only choice back then, LOL.

 

[bcla]

I attended the local community college - no one gets rejected.

I did that once. However, I just wanted to take a specific class just for myself. I remember there was the requirement to have a high school degree or GED, although that could be waived since some HS students attend. This was after I already had a bachelors degree and was already in a masters program. I remember it was cheap too - maybe $12 per semester unit, although I was charged a special free ($50 a unit) required if one already had a bachelors degree. That fee was eventually rescinded, but I never understood it as anything other than a money grab.

I'm not sure what to do with that if anyone ever asks me for transcripts. I've got the obvious two degree programs, but another class I took just for the heck of it. Do I really need to cough up a transcript for a single class I took that I didn't need for any degree requirement?

 

[disneychrista]

it was cheap too - maybe $12 per semester unit,

Those were the days...It is nearly $50 a unit now. It was $12 when I went but I qualified for the BOG grant and didn't have to pay.

 

[low-key]

I just drove thru campus checking out the girls , all that was required is a car

 

[cvjw]

Both sons got a notification that they had a status update on their online application portal. When they entered the portal, fireworks were going off - letting them know they were accepted.

That was followed by the glossy mailing for both and official acceptance letter.

 

[Mirielle]

Honestly can't remember...soooo long ago. I do remember, however, the letter that came saying I'd passed state board for nursing.