Why Can't I Get Any Straight Answers?

Overall, I've been very disappointed in the responses I've received from the college admissions officers I emailed 2 weeks ago. The bulk of them went something like, "Blah, blah, blah. No specific information kept on homeschoolers... thanks for your interest in applying at 'insert school name here'." (Nice of them to assume I want to apply; I mean, that's the only possible reason I would want information, right?) "Here's what we suggest for all applicants. Blah, blah, blah." I didn't receive a response from Columbia at all.

The one piece of valuable information I did get was from Yale, who said, "Homeschooled students do not receive any special treatment in the admissions process. They must demonstrate the same academic and extra-curricular dedication as any other student." I will at least take that to disprove the "affirmative action" statement that was made.

I didn't get answers from any school pertaining to admit rate or university performance. I can't really say I'm surprised, though.

Yikes! My first post. Can I take the pressure?

Ok, so I figure I've spent enough time working on my profile and procrastinating on the actual task at hand: posting something that's... worth posting. I have no idea what paths this blog will take, but hopefully it will be of interest to someone out there.

One thing I will start off with is how addicted I've become to Yahoo! Answers. It's really pathetic; I get all excited when one of my answers is chosen as a Best Answer. I generally answer questions (Silly Monkey is my screen name) in the homeschooling section. I've noticed recently that there are college professors saying some things about homeschoolers getting into college that don't really "mesh" with what I've read and heard from the homeschooling community.

One example was chosen as the Best Answer to this question. When I read it, I felt compelled to get some accurate information straight from the horse's mouth - or in this case, the horses' mouths. So I sent the admissions offices of Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, and M.I.T this email:

To whom it may concern:

I am inquiring about your policies on admitting homeschooled students. As you may be aware, there is a plethora of misinformation floating around on the Internet, and I would like to get to the real truth of the matter.

The questions I have are:

1) What percentage of homeschooled applicants have been admitted to your university in the last three years?

2) Are homeschooled applicants admitted on their own merits or are they admitted under affirmative action?

3) How do homeschooled students perform at the university level as compared to their schooled peers?

4) Are homeschooled applicants subject to the same requirements as public/private schooled applicants, or are there additional requirements?

Thank you for your time and responses.

I'm sure many have done this before me, but I'm anxiously awaiting my responses anyway. When I get them, I will post them.