Right now we are opening mail. Lots and lots of mail. We are opening so much mail that I don't even have time to take a picture of the mail.
So, here are pictures of last year's mail, which looks a lot like this year's mail. That post includes the famous Envelope Monster that everyone keeps referencing.
Yesterday a first-year student who was one of my favorite applicants from last year came into the office to do some volunteer work, and said "Wow, I had no idea you had so much mail. Now I feel bad for sending you 14 extra things." And she had seen the envelope monster!
Right now the question that is taking up most of my time in emails and on the blog is "Can I send this" and "When is it due." The answers are "Yes" and "Never." We wouldn't be much of an admissions office if we told you there was something you couldn't send us, and that we would not accept whatever you were willing to send us. We are making decisions up until we send them in late March. If you have relevant new information, you should absolutely show it to us.
A great place to give us updates is the Midyear Report, which will be available later this month.
Instead of asking if you can send something, you should just send it. It takes up a lot of time to answer all those emails with a "Yes." In admissions, it is easier and better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Maybe also in life.
How often do I read the comments?
I'm emailed every new comment, so I check them every day and tag the ones I want to address in the next post.
Plagiarism
Typically if we find that two essays are suspiciously similar, we will call the involved parties and hear out their versions of the situation. We try to only punish those who took others' original work, but of course, it is never a good idea to show an admissions essay to an unknown public.
Were you supposed to be witty in the Baker Island email?
Yes, and you made me sad by not being so.
