Hello everyone! I’ve been planning a bit of my summer and during the time when I’m not at my summer program, I have 2 weeks of free time. My mom and I plan to visit a couple college campuses (few Ivies) just to see what I’d like. (I’m also an international student so this is a vacation too)
I recently heard that these visits count towards an application under “demonstrated interest”. Is this true? If so, how do colleges know whether an applicant has visited or not?
Demonstrated interest means pretty much nothing at Ivy League colleges. And when you visit, you will likely fill out a card with your info.
Actually, Penn does consider “level of applicant’s interest”, according to http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=67 .
Showing interest is often most important when applying to schools which may otherwise be seen as “safeties” or “low matches” for you from an admission standpoint (of course, when a student gets rejected from a “safety”, perhaps due to not showing enough interest, then it was not really a safety to begin with). Not all schools consider “level of applicant’s interest”; check the admission tabs in the school entries at http://www.collegedata.com .
It is more important with smaller schools. If you visit smaller schools take the time to interview. There is no downside. At some small schools it is an important part of the admissions process. You can also interview with alumni in your area.
Are you reasonably confident that you have the qualifications for those schools? Usually it’s not about what you like, rather which you get in, if any.
However, high school students may not be too experienced in interviews, so some of them may find that interviews bring more risks than potential benefits from the interview itself (as opposed to showing a higher level of interest by having an interview).
Very few schools look at demonstrated interest because they take into account the fact that not all people have the capacity to visit.
Harvard and Yale don’t even take a record of your visit.
I believe Princeton considers the level of applicants interest as well.