If you’re in the middle of—or about to begin—your college applications, you have a lot on your plate: finalizing your list, deciding if you’ll apply somewhere Early Decision or Early Action, writing your application essays, getting your evaluations and recommendation letters in order, and possibly even taking another stab at the SAT or ACT. You know, all while keeping up your grades and extracurricular activities.
It can be hard to know which of these important, moving parts to focus on—especially when it feels like any of them could make or break your college applications. That’s why you might need, say, a college prep specialist with over a decade of experience—like moi—to help sort out your priorities! So today I’m bringing you a free set of tips on a part of your application that’s relatively easy to beef up…but that could have a HUGE impact on your ultimate list of college acceptances. It’s called Demonstrated Interest.
What is Demonstrated Interest in College Admissions?
In the college application process, showing Demonstrated Interest means you go above and beyond to show the colleges you’re applying to that you really, really like them and want to attend their institution.
After all, if you were a highly selective college or university—let’s say you accepted only 5% (1 in 20!) of your applicants—would you want to extend one of your coveted acceptances to a student who has the grades and the scores…but has no true desire to attend and has a gazillion other colleges competing for them? Or would you rather know that a given student would likely commit to you if you accepted them?
I know that if *I* were in the admissions office of a top-tier university, and I were pulling my hair out trying to decide which of two outstanding candidates to accept, I’d want the one that I could count on to 1) attend if admitted, and 2) fulfill a particular role on my campus once they attend.
After all, a college campus is like a tapestry of interconnected people, interests and activities, and I’d want MY institution’s campus to be well-rounded. And that doesn’t mean the STUDENTS are well-rounded: that means that my campus will have its star lacrosse players who win titles, and Oscar-level thespians for the drama department, and code-athon hackers for the Computer Science department. It means that I am inviting DIFFERENT genres of superstars onto my campus so that all the teams, clubs and departments shine. And I’m more likely to be able to create a campus that well-balanced if I know the students I’m accepting are likely to actually commit to my institution. Otherwise, if I’m sending acceptances to a bunch of lukewarm students who are all “maybes” at best, then it’s hard for me to know which campus roles I can count on filling with the next set of freshman. So I might end up with a class of ONLY Poli Sci majors and no one to participate in Bio labs. Make sense?
So, now that you understand WHY showing Demonstrated Interest can be the tie-breaker that opens the doors to your dream school, the next obvious question is this:
How Do I Show Demonstrated Interest to a College I’m Applying to?
Here are the MAJOR ways you can indicate Demonstrated Interest to the universities on your list:
1. Visit the campus.
The more time and effort you can expend to show that you’ve done your research and think you’re a match, the more believable you’ll be! If at all possible, see if you can make a trip to the schools you really want to attend. There’s so much more than just the “facts” that matter: when you step foot on campus and actually chat with students or sit in on a class, you’ll get the “vibe” of the place. Make sure to take notes on your thoughts and feelings and any relevant details, like the names of the people you spoke with, the buildings you visited, and the classes you shadowed.
2. Take a tour (in person or virtually).
Obviously, if you take the time to travel to visit your dream school, it makes sense to sign up for a tour. The tour guides not only will give you a fuller perspective on the campus and answer your questions…but also, the college will have a record of the fact that you signed up and attended! If you can’t make it in person, most colleges figured out the virtual tour thing during the pandemic and still offer them.
3. Go to an information session.
If your dream college offers an information session—basically where you get to hear about the institution and then ask questions—attend it! Several colleges have these sessions pre-recorded, so you can simply watch a YouTube video from the comfort of your home. Others might be virtual (or in person) events that occur at specific times. Whatever is offered, do it.
4. Talk to the college’s rep.
If you’re able to attend a college fair, or if your dream college’s regional representative visits your school, make the time to talk to the affiliates from the schools on your list. Make sure to introduce yourself and get their name and contact information. Even if you think you know everything there is to know about the campus and its academics, ask questions. Show your enthusiasm and your interest to the real, live human who might be able to vouch for you later on down the admissions line.
5. Sign up for an interview if it’s offered.
Not every college holds interviews, but if your dream college does, make sure to opt in. Remember, whenever there’s an “optional” task, you’re going to look like you care if you put in the extra effort to do it.
Next, here are some smaller, often-overlooked ways that you can ALSO show Demonstrated Interest. These may seem minor on an individual basis, but they can add up in your favor pretty quickly if done right:
6) Have you visited the college’s website?
So, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that basically everything we do online can be tracked and measured, right? And visiting your dream college’s website is the same! Colleges can tell if you’ve visited their website and how often. Creepy, right? Well, use it to your advantage! Make sure you actually start researching your dream schools and reading and exploring their sites. Not only will the admissions office know you’re really interested, but YOU’ll have a clearer understanding of whether they truly are a good match for you!
7) Do you follow the college on social media?
Same premise here as in #6! If you have Twitter, Facebook or Instagram accounts, make sure to follow your dream school’s profiles, and like and comment on their posts and tweets! (Also: make sure YOUR social media profiles are clean, and that you don’t have anything detrimental to your acceptance on them! One option is to not use your full or real name on your primary account—the profiles you use to interact with friends—and then create a separate, rated-G profile that uses your full name. That SECOND, 100% wholesome profile is the one that you’ll use to “follow” and “like” colleges’ content.)
8) Do you open the emails the college sends you?
I know this question makes it sound like Big Brother is watching…but that’s because he is! Any decent service that sends emails to a list will be able to show the sender exactly who opened each email. And yes, colleges look at these things! So, if you want to show you’re truly interested, make sure you promptly open any and all emails you get from your dream school! And if you’re not getting emails from them? That means you need to sign up for their newsletter on their website, STAT!
9) Do you click on the links in said emails?
Also super creepy is the fact that said email service provider can track whether you opened the links in the emails you read! So, when you get an email from College X, open it promptly, and click on the links. The links will likely take you to that school’s website, which means you just completed to-do items #6, #8 AND #9 in one fell swoop ;)
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So, that’s Demonstrated Interested for you. Did you notice a trend? Basically, the same things you would do to show Demonstrated Interest to a university are the same things you should do to see if you even WANT to attend in the first place! So you have almost nothing to lose and everything to gain from taking these actions.
While showing Demonstrated Interest can tip the scales in your favor in situations in which admissions officers are making close calls between relatively equal prospective students, it won’t take the place of earning excellent grades, scoring high on the SAT or ACT, or writing killer application essays. If you need help in any or all of these arenas, you’re in luck—this stuff is the air I breathe, and I’d love to work with you.
