Demonstrated Interest? What is it and how do you do it?
College Admissions is all about Enrollment Management. This is a huge business that focused on predicting which applicants will accept an offer of admission and enroll. These numbers, known as yield rate, are important in rankings so schools take enrollment management very seriously. Enrollment managers use algorithms to predict the likelihood a student will accept an offer of admission. The algorithms look at various forms of demonstrated interest to assign each applicant a ‘score’. Here are some tips to help you increase your ‘score’ via demonstrated interest.
Once you’ve made your college list do a quick search to see which ones consider ‘Demonstrated Interest’ in admissions and where it might be more important than at other schools. You can find this information at www.collegedata.com or by doing a Google search for ‘School Name Common Data Set’. This information is in section C7.
Making an ‘authentic connection’ with the school is the best way to show demonstrated interest but you start to show demonstrated interest by simply clicking on an email set to you from the school and clicking on the links and spending time on the website (yes, all of this is tracked carefully!).
Keep in mind that the admission rep for your area is often the person who will be reading your application and essays so if you have a chance to introduce yourself to this person. This can be during a college visit, college fair, college presentation at a local hotel, or via email if you have authentic questions.
If the school participates in ‘committee style’ admissions, your local rep will be your advocate to the committee so making a genuine positive impression is important.
Keep in mind that social media is a two-way street. If you plan to engage with a school via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, be sure that you are doing so from a very clean social media account. Social media connections are tracked but engaging can backfire if you have any questionable materials on your accounts.
College visits are very important. Schools expect you to visit if you live less than a six-hour drive from the school. Not visiting could work against you unless you explain why you didn’t visit in your application or via correspondence with your local rep.
It’s easier to show ‘Authentic Interest’ in just a few schools that you are really excited about. Try to narrow your list to 9 or 10 schools by September and work to demonstrate interest proactively at these schools.
Apply early decision (ED) only if you have a clear top school in mind and you have no financial concerns about paying the tuition. Early Decision rates are definitely higher than regular decision but these are binding commitments and should not be taken lightly. Breaking an Early Decision agreement is possible in certain situation but admissions officers all know each other and word will get out.
Early Action is a great alternative if the school offers it.
When you write the ‘Why This College’ essay make sure you write something different based on substantive research you have done on the school. Write about what freshman seminar you want to take or what professors you are excited to take classes from. Another good topic is what activities and clubs you plan to participate in on campus.
If you are invited to interview, do so. Declining would lower your demonstrated interest score. An interview is a great way to add your personality to the applications. These usually help a candidate but rarely will hurt them. Be sure to practice for your interview ahead of time. Prepare answers to common interview questions, and make sure you are up to date on current events as well.
It is possible to demonstrate too much interest. Here are some ‘don’ts’:
Don’t send cookies or treats to the admissions team.
Don’t call and ask random questions that can easily be researched on the web site.
Don’t send extra stuff with your application. Follow the rules.
Don’t send stuff from before high school.
Don’t send extra letters of recommendation.