Nothing is more exciting and stressful for a high school senior than sitting by the mailbox and waiting for college admissions letters.
For 2,300 ladies recently accepted to Spelman College, salvation came in the form of a blue envelope. The Spelman community has been buzzing — and tearing up — recently as members of the Class of 2019 have turned to social media to share the joy of being accepted into one of the leading women's colleges in the nation.
Using the hashtag #blueenvelope, dozens of incoming freshman have posted photos and videos of getting the distinctive notification.
“The blue envelope is sort of the signifier that it is an admissions letter. That blue envelope is the tap on the shoulder that you made it into the Spelman Sisterhood,” said Ingrid Hayes, Spelman’s vice president of enrollment management. “We love the excitement and the buzz. It is absolutely something to celebrate. This is one of my favorite times of the year.”
Hayes said Spelman sent out 2,300 blue envelopes this season and expects to enroll a class of about 550.
Spelman, which annually ranks as the best black college in the nation, has an overall acceptance rate of under 50 percent. Those who are not offered admissions, Hayes said, receive that news in a standard #10 envelope.
Marian Wright Edelman and Alice Walker are listed as notable alumna.
“I want to attend Spelman College because not only is it the No. 1 HBCU, but I feel that I will reach my full potential there,” said Legend Lucas, a 17-year-old from Raleigh. “So many great, intelligent and successful women come from Spelman and I want to become one of them. The institution is very prestigious and upholds all students to such high standards.”
Lucas chronicled her Spelman acceptance and first visit to Spelman with her mother and younger sister in a YouTube clip.
Whitney McWilliams of Birmingham took a slightly different and riskier approach.
Day after day, she made the excruciating trip to her mailbox only to come back disappointed. Finally, she gets the blue envelope and breathlessly reads the letter to her mother. Neither could contain their emotions.
Neither will you.
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