When Penn Admissions sends off thousands of envelopes full of bad news each spring, officials know they haven't heard the last of some of those they reject.
The Admissions Office sees it all: e-mails, calls, letters and, in one case, a red-and-blue lifesaver with the message, "Save me from the waitlist."
Applicant responses are "a rite of passage of spring," Penn Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson said, and the influx can detract from admissions officers' focus on enrolling accepted students.
Stetson said initial calls are often from accepted students who want to thank the office or waitlisted students seeking advice on how to gain acceptance.
But "then the calls start coming in great numbers from those who did not make it [and] who are really anxious to vent their frustrations," he said.
And while he said he encourages waitlisted students to contact the University, he added that it is futile for rejected students to make such efforts.
University of Chicago Dean of Admissions Ted O'Neill said a thoughtful letter is more effective than over-persistent calls or gimmicks.
"In most cases, if someone goes overboard -- delivers more and more elaborate baked goods as the weeks go on -- we tell them to cease and desist," he wrote in an e-mail.
Jacob Bery, a senior at Westhill High School in Stamford, Conn., who was rejected by Penn, said he will write to Yale and Duke universities, where he was waitlisted.
Bery added that he will not contact Penn, adding that it would be a "waste of time."
But for rejected students who do phone in about decisions, regional directors remind them of the competitive applicant pool.
"We have found over the years that it's better not to discuss specifics of why a student is not chosen, because it creates a point of tension where the student might argue with us," Stetson said.
Most calls come from parents, he added, who are usually more emotional than their children.
Parents "might think this is the first time something has not worked out for their son or daughter in their lifetime," Stetson said. "It's a reflection of how much they really want to come to Penn."
Matthew Schuldt, president of the college counseling service Go4College.com, advises that students consider their reasons for contacting admissions offices and not respond simply because they are upset.
Penn State University admissions counselor Anne Petersen said many parents mistakenly believe that contacting the president of the university will help their case, but they are referred back to the admissions office.
Northwestern University and St. John's College, however, encourage denied students to contact admissions officers about the decisions.
Allen Lentino, senior associate director of admissions at Northwestern, said such calls are usually civil and constructive.
Lentino estimated that his office receives up to 300 calls and 150 to 200 e-mails each April.
Bryn Mawr College Director of Admissions Jody Sanford Sweeney said conversations -- though sometimes emotional -- usually offer reconciliation and information about future transfer opportunities.
Contacting admissions "may be helpful to the particular student in helping to move forward with their future choices," she said.
