When it Comes to College Admissions Demonstrated Interest is Key!
Demonstrated Interest is a term colleges use to describe a student’s level of interest in attending their school. It encompasses every touch point that a student has with a specific college. Touch points can include visiting a school, emailing an admissions officer, sending a thank you note after an interview, completing an information request form on a college’s website, as well as Facebook “likes” and Tweets about the college. These touch points can improve a student’s chances of gaining acceptance to certain colleges. They can also help to move a wait-listed student to the front of the pack. There are specific software packages that some colleges employ to track these touch points. This software gauges a student’s level of interest in a school. Additionally, schools gain insight into how to better market their institution to students and parents given the competitive landscape of today’s search for the right college.
A college’s emphasis on Demonstrated Interest varies from being as important as a student’s GPA to not considered, whatsoever. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, 50.2% of colleges rank Demonstrated Interest somewhere between “moderate importance” to “considerable importance.” Searching “Common Data Set” along with the name of the college of interest shows you how much that school values Demonstrated Interest.
Applicants should never underestimate how important it is to demonstrate interest in a college. Every interaction matters. Ultimately, it may mean the difference between an acceptance letter and a rejection letter!
