Showing a college you are smitten with them. Having no contact with a college until you apply for admission. That is the difference between Demonstrated Interest and a Stealth Applicant. What does it mean to demonstrate interest to ensure one is not a stealth applicant?
Campus Visit
The best way to demonstrate interest in a college is to visit campus. This will be two hours at minimum. Often times, your visit is extended to lunch in the cafeteria, meeting with an admissions representative, talking with a professor in an academic discipline of interest, and/or sitting in on a class. Make sure to register so the school is aware of your visit. This is especially important if the campus is accessible by car. Colleges want to know you took time to learn more about their campus.
Open Emails
Now that you provided your email address to colleges, your inbox will be cluttered.. Do not just hit delete, open them! Why? Blast email technology allows schools to track if emails have been opened or links clicked. This shows extra demonstrated interest because colleges can now determine levels of interest. This only takes a minute, so click on the email to help your chances of admission.
Get to Know Your Admissions Representative
This might be the hardest of all the ways to show demonstrated interest, but admissions representatives want to get to know their potential students. This is easier at a smaller college because of the fewer amount of applicants. At a large school, make yourself stand out. Be polite and reintroduce yourself to admissions representatives when you see them at college fairs or in your school. Send thank you emails and most importantly, make sure to accept as many invitations as possible. Many times colleges will have local events and invite prospective students. Attend and reintroduce yourself.
Why Do I Need to Show Demonstrated Interest?
Demonstrated interest can be summed up best from a Sewanee, University of the South’s e-newsletter:
Finally, fit is about showing mutual interest and respect. We work hard to get to know prospective students, and we ask that they work hard to get to know us, too. Students who have engaged with us on campus, at college fairs, and via email can more confidently say that they fit at Sewanee—and we can more confidently agree with them.
What does this mean? Increased chances of acceptance for borderline students and potentially more in financial aid. Colleges want to admit students who will accept offers of admission. Developing a rapport will allow admissions representatives to state your case to the admissions committee and financial aid office.
If you interested in learning more ideas on how to show ‘demonstrated interest,’ contact us.
Thomas Jaworski is the lead consultant of Quest College Consulting. He is an Independent College Counselor with over ten years experience in the college admission process as an Certified Illinois Teacher (Type 09) and Counselor (Type 73) while also a member of IECA and NACAC. For more information, you can visit his website at QuestCollegeConsulting.com or email him at tjaworski@QuestCollegeConsulting.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_QuestCC or on Facebook at Facebook.com/QuestCollegeConsulting