If you are a senior, or perhaps a junior, you have undoubtedly suffered through the onslaught of college emails and letters.

Today, colleges and universities use many different mediums to reach prospective students.

This is how it works. If you ever took the ACT, SAT, PSAT, ACT Aspire or any other national test, you probably bubbled your personal information in at some point.

Your email and phone number and address are sent off to colleges that fit “your match”. Then come the tidal wave of paper and messages.

Personally, I have been contacted by colleges and universities via email, mail, text messages, over the phone, and even on Facebook messenger. One time I was on Facebook and a Marine Recruiter sent me a message asking if I was interested in enlisting, but I told him that I wasn’t.

Dude, I saw Jarhead, it’s not for me.

This increased connection that our generation has enjoyed is being overrun by admissions officers and recruiters. It feels like every time you open your inbox you have to delete a majority of the unread messages.

I always have to laugh at the subject lines of the emails:

“You’ve impressed me… Is this Evan’s Email… The Clock is Ticking… You’re Invited to Become a Dean’s Scholar…We Want Your Application TODAY…I’m Trying to Reach Evan…It’s Here, Evan…”

The list goes on.

I think the weirdest part is when colleges use text message. I’m fine with mail and the phone calls, but texting? That’s just too much like an adult who is trying to be “hip”. It’s even funnier when the representative puts their title after the text. Something like:

“Hey Evan, Don’t forget to apply by Feb. 1st.-John Smith Coordinating Director of Student Admissions for the Southern Oklahoma State Community University”

Sometimes, I just want to text back, “New phone who dis?”

Another time, I got a letter from a parent of a student who went to some tiny university in Kentucky, saying how much they loved it and how I would like it too. I blocked the number.

In the mail, colleges send these piles of letters that have a special passwords and a log in to take some quiz but there is zero information about the place along with it. At least tell me about yourself before you want me to take a test.

I think that colleges need to reevaluate how they reach students. It is far more effective in my opinion to send me a mail out flyer with pictures of the campus and how much it costs than sending me an email scavenger hunt that starts with a special quiz.

Students are busy.

We want information to come in colorful, shiny envelopes and have pictures, not a letter from a parent.

From now on, I’m clicking unsubscribe before I click delete.