Pause unwanted recruitment mail during a gap year

Colleges do not necessarily offer a gap-year pause for recruitment mail, so ask each one. Write to the admissions office of each school that keeps sending brochures. Ask what mail preferences it can record for this year, including stopping printed material.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated October 2, 2026.

Ask each school what it can do

Decide whether you want the mail stopped permanently or only for the gap year. Say which one you mean in the request.
Find the admissions contact on the school's official website and check for communication preferences that cover postal mail.
Ask what options the school has for a student taking a year off before applying. Do not assume a pause setting exists.
If you started an application or account, say so and ask that it stay unchanged.
Record each school's reply, or note that none came, so you can compare it with later mail.

Weigh a pause against a full stop

If you ask for full removal, a school you later want to apply to may stop contacting you, and you would need to reach out first. A temporary pause is only possible if that school offers one. This is why the request asks what the school can do.

College Board says organizations that already have a student's information may keep contacting the student after a Student Search opt-out. It suggests contacting those organizations directly. ACT Recruit Me is a separate voluntary program with its own form. Do not close test accounts or erase scores to reduce mail.

Example request asking about options

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

[Student name as printed] at [mailing address] is taking a gap year and receives printed recruitment mail from your office. What options do you offer for reducing or pausing postal marketing this year? [There is / There is no] application account on file, and it should stay unchanged. Please tell me what preference you can record for mailed material.

Check the list partway through the year

Partway through the year, review which schools still send mail and which never replied. Send a shorter second request only to those schools. If the student decides to apply, contact the schools they care about and ask to receive information again.

Official sources

Stop college mail that continues after Search opt-out Opt out of College Board Student Search marketing Keep email offers while stopping paper mail Reduce brochures after touring a campus Schools and student recruitment All practical mail guides

Have an unwanted advertisement ready?

Photograph one piece you are authorized to handle, with the sender and full mailing label visible. Review the details before submitting. The first request is free; the sender controls the response.

Try one request free