Students who are immersing themselves in the college admission process have heard the term "demonstrated interest" but may question what it is and how to do it. Let's break it down!
All colleges care about what they call their "yield," higher education's term for how many admitted applicants accept the offer and follow through with attending in the fall. It's part of the convoluted formula they must navigate each year when determining how and to whom they need to advertise, how many spots to offer, how many to put on their waitlist, etc., in order to end up with just the right number of students showing up on campus in August and filling their residence halls, without overloading them. One of the ways they evaluate this is by guesstimating who will accept their offer of admission, if extended. And if an applicant is neck-and-neck with another, but they give the school reason to believe they will attend, it could give them a boost.
Not all colleges consider this in their process. To find out which schools do, this information can be found under Admission Considerations on a school's Common Data Set (just google Common Data Set and the school's name) or for VP College Consulting clients, it can be easily found on the school's Stats page on CustomCollegePlan.
It's easy to demonstrate interest in a college and it also provides information that can help you decide if the college is right for you. Here are a variety of options:
Open and read emails. Colleges use systems that let them know who opened their emails and even if they clicked the links inside of it. So go to their admissions page and find the email list sign up such as THIS PAGE on TCU’s website. When you receive an email from a college, open it, click a link or two, and you've demonstrated interest.
Attend information sessions and webinars. Sign up for an information session or webinar and attend. Better yet, try to interact with an admissions counselor or representative. Most high schools host admission rep visits during the school day. Or look for regional or national in-person or virtual events, such as THIS ONE offered by Elon.
Visit the school. You can do this virtually (if it’s live and requires registration) or visit campus in person. If visiting in person, consider these TIPS for making the most of your visit.
Follow and interact with the college or university on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.
Use your essays. A lot of colleges ask the “Why Us?” or “Why Us for Major?” supplemental essay questions. Make sure that you're individualizing those essays to the school. Reference a specific class you're excited to take or a program within your program of interest, talk about a campus event or extracurricular activity, or a professor you're interested in taking courses from. Take the time to research the school carefully before writing these essays.
Apply Early Decision. This is probably the best way to demonstrate interest in a school. But only apply Early Decision if you're sure that the school is your top choice and you'll be comfortable with the financial aid package they may give you. Check the acceptance rate for ED vs. RD to determine if it’s an advantage to apply early.
Accept the offer to do an alumni interview. These are typically offered by the most selective of colleges and only if there is an alum available for your region.
Email an admissions officer. This one comes with a major caveat, though. Make sure you have a good question or reason for emailing that is not already easily answered on their website. If you have a good reason, make sure you use an email with a professional address, use complete sentences, address the admissions officer correctly, and sign off with your full name and applicant ID (if you're a senior who has already applied). To find the email address for the admission representative that works with your region, you can check out the school's admissions website. There's usually a list of contact information there.
None of these options for demonstrated interest are in any particular order, so pick and choose the ones that work well for you. However, the non-negotiable on the list is using your supplemental essays to express your interest and desire to attend the school.
Carving out time in your schedule to take some of these steps at the very least provides valuable information about the school, and could move your application closer to the acceptance list.
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