University admissions officers are returning in full force to high school campuses around the world to meet potential students. By taking advantage of these visits, students not only learn specifics about universities but, more importantly, engage personally with the admissions officers – the ultimate form of demonstrated interest.
Demonstrated interest is one of the easiest and most effective ways to show universities that you are an enthusiastic and engaged college applicant. For 12th graders launching into college applications or 11th graders and younger, it’s never too late or too early to show demonstrated interest and stand out.
What is demonstrated interest and why does it matter?
Given the growing number of applications that most universities receive each year, demonstrated interest – the metric universities use to track your interactions with their school – is playing a bigger role. Not only do universities want to attract the most motivated students, but their admissions offices also want to protect their yields: the percentage of students who end up enrolling after they have received an offer. From both official sources and the Ivy Options’ internal data, we’ve seen that students who demonstrate interest have higher chances of getting admitted to their top-choice schools.
How to demonstrate interest
Start with the most simple step: subscribe to the social media of universities you are interested in. Then actively ‘like’ and comment on universities’ posts to show your interest.
Next, subscribe to universities’ mailing lists. Simply google the university name, “admissions,” and “mailing list – for example, if you type, “Northwestern admissions mailing list,” the first search result should lead you to a short form on the university’s website. Fill it out and make sure you give them the same email address that you’ll be using for all your communication with the universities. Soon, you’ll be receiving regular emails about all the distinctive features and opportunities at your favorite universities! However, you actually need to click on the links in those emails – yes, the schools track that as well!
Moving to more advanced techniques, a great way to show interest is to attend online information sessions or other virtual events like tours, student panels, or model classes. Register for at least one webinar with each university you’re considering, and never miss the event – a “no show” will reflect poorly on you. During the webinar, screenshot a slide with the email information of the admissions officers. After the webinar, send them a short thank-you email and ask one or two follow-up questions. Building relationships with admissions officers gives your applications better chances of success.
Apart from webinars organized by individual universities, there are online education fairs with events hosting a few hundred universities at a time. You can use these to your advantage as well, as universities do track the students who attend their sections (i.e., joining their presentation rooms).
Many universities also offer in-person or online visits with your school. Keep track of the university events provided by your counseling office or on your school’s portal, like BridgeU, Unifrog, or Cialfo. Attending such sessions and speaking with university representatives is a terrific way to strengthen relationships with admissions officers.
For those who are lucky enough to travel during school breaks, an ideal way to show interest is to attend an in-person admissions talk and tour, ideally meeting with your admissions officer when you are on campus. Some universities may even offer in-depth campus experiences such as day visits; for example, at American University in Washington D.C., prospective students shadow current students and sit in on their classes. Other colleges host open house events or major-based information sessions. If the university is not currently offering in-person tours, you can email your admissions officer before your visit and ask if he or she might be available for a short chat. Even if you can only drive through a university campus, be sure to send an email to your admissions officer to say how impressed you were with the facilities, architecture, and atmosphere.
Do all universities track interest?
Officially, not all universities track demonstrated interest. Yet, from the experience of our students, we see that demonstrated interest matters – to some universities more than to others. For instance, Duke, Tufts, Northwestern, the University of Chicago, Northeastern, Boston University, American University in Washington D.C., and many others indicate that demonstrated interest is either considered or important in their admissions process. If you’re applying to such schools, you will have a better chance of success if you interact with them and prove you are a serious applicant. While passion and motivation will not make up for low grades and low test scores, you can use demonstrated interest to help you shine in comparison to other equally qualified candidates.
Ivy League schools, MIT, and Stanford, say that they don’t track interest. However, we have seen that building relationships with the admissions officers at these universities does matter. We had a student who once attended a University of Pennsylvania webinar at 1 :00 a.m. that only a handful of other students attended. The admissions officer was impressed with his commitment and they established a rapport. Other students have written to their Stanford admissions officer with good questions that show how carefully the students are thinking about the university’s offerings and their potential fit – something we believe contributed to their acceptances.
Overall, demonstrated interest matters, and it matters more every year. So, follow, like, subscribe, comment, watch webinars, and most importantly, build relationships with your admissions officers. These small, fun steps may just be the deciding factor that earns you a coveted ‘yes’ at your dream university.
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