Search Data Sources
Email Addresses
Student Search Service (SSS) verifies email addresses by sending an email to all students participating in SSS before we make their information available. If our email message cannot be delivered, we remove the email address from the student record.
For your convenience, the default setting is “Students with a verified mailing address. Some will also have a verified email address” (radio button 2b). This is consistent with how the system worked in the past if “Include ALL” was selected.
The “old” equivalent of “Include Students with Email Only” is radio button 2a – “Students who have both verified mailing AND verified email address.”
We verify postal mailing addresses by using address cleansing software certified by the US Postal Service. Not having a verified postal address does not mean that the student did not provide a mailing address, it simply means that the USPS-certified software we use cannot verify that the mailing address exists. This is not uncommon in either rural areas or in large apartment buildings.
In the past, these students were excluded from the pool; moving forward, you will have the option to include students with email addresses only by selecting radio button 2c – “Students with a verified email address. Some will also have a verified mailing address.”
Here is a summary of the “E-mail and Mailing Addresses” options:
|
Radio Button |
Selection |
Verified Mailing |
Verified Email |
|
1 |
Include ALL |
Some |
Some |
|
2 |
Include ONLY… |
|
|
|
2a |
Both verified mailing and verified email |
YES |
YES |
|
2b |
Verified mailing; some with verified email |
YES |
Some |
|
2c |
Verified email; some with verified mailing |
Some |
YES |
College Board research on email addresses indicates that bounce-backs may still occur caused by changes to email addresses after submission, changes in Internet providers, and changes requested by parents who do not want their office or home email used for this purpose.
Please note that the AP Exam does not collect student email addresses. However, an ALL Students order seeking AP test-takers may include student email addresses if the student(s) previously took a PSAT or SAT exam and provided an email address at that time.