What do you all think the real difference is between schools that say showing interest is “important” versus “considered”? “Very important” is pretty clear.
On our possible list of schools that consider interest “very important” are Bates, Colorado College, Davidson, Dickinson. We will visit these schools if our son is interested so that he can see the schools for himself and interview. Not sure what would be a deal breaker for the “considered” schools though. Wake Forest, Haverford, Rochester, Wash U, Grinnell, Lafayette say “considered” but that’s not really what I’ve read on these threads. Sounds like some of these really like the love…yet they say on their Common Data Sets that interest is just “considered”. Any advice?
Besides MIT, I think the schools that list “very important” are concerned whether or not they are high on the applicant’s list. i.e. they’re more concerned with matriculation (if an offer is extended) and yield protection.
My opinion is that everyone else who offers interviews is really only wanting more one-on-one time to pitch the school (and note any serious red flags, of course).
@T26E4 Totally agree. I know some kids, though, who were above the 75th percentile in a school’s stats and were rejected possibly because they didn’t show interest. Some of these kids were extremely high achievers with perfect ACTs. One didn’t get into Northwestern and our guidance counselor’s best guess as to why she was rejected was because she didn’t visit and NU really thought she would go elsewhere. Want to avoid that!
First of all your title refers to interviews but your post refers to interest. Which is it?
Second, I wouldn’t try to quantify the difference between adjacent categories. This is a very inexact science. We didn’t even fully believe any of it, but if a college said an interview was considered, we made sure my D got one. If the college said interest was considered, we made sure she showed interest, which could mean arranging for an optional off-campus interview.
How can anyone on cc know more about the weight the colleges place on interest than the colleges’ CDSs? Ppl have all sorts of ideas about why they or someone else got accepted or rejected but it’s all conjecture.
Don’t go nuts over this. There are ways to show interest without visiting campus, so just make sure S does so. Of course if you’re able & willing to tour campus, that’s always a great way, as well as being helpful to student decision making.
Got it. Thanks @alooknac. I guess I read “very important” to show interest to mean that you really need to interview. Maybe that’s not the case. I had a friend tell me that her child’s interview at Co College was a big part of her acceptance. I guess that’s where I was coming from.
My kid’s college counselor advised parents that it’s most important to show the love to your match and particularly likely (safety) schools. The big guns know you want to attend them. The higher admit schools want to know you didn’t just add them to your CA list at the last minute because you were panicking about not having enough sure bets. Visiting the school, interviewing, connecting with visiting reps, joining the school’s on-line community and/or writing an application supplement that shows you understand and value the school’s culture will all show the school you’re a serious applicant.
If you cannot interview at a school where it is “considered”, I would ask for a local alumni interview. Considered does mean that it counts for something, even if it is just that the applicant took the time to do the interview. I think you are right in saying the particular group of schools you are considering “really like the love.”
Personally, I think the line between those two middle answers (important vs. considered) is pretty blurry and I just took it to mean that interest is important. Especially with LACs and the list you have, I would try to show as much interest as possible, but if the colleges are far away you don’t have to visit. You can show interest locally, by attending admission sessions at your HS, in your community, etc. Also, my D was able to get local interviews with adcoms from some of these schools since they do travel around in the fall for all of those admission sessions.
@alooknac You can actually access your admission file at your school to see what the adcom thought of you, your strengths in your application, etc., basically all the factors that got you accepted to the school.
In the case I refer to, the student’s academics were below the 50th percentile for the school. And students at the same high school with much better scores and ECs were rejected even though they all interviewed. It was just an assumption on the part of the parent that the school must have really liked their daughter since it was one of the few ways she could have stood apart from those other kids. The other differentiator could have been the essay.
As well as recommendations, and/or perception of “fit” by the college. “Better” ECs is also very subjective.
I have heard of rare instances of applicants seeing their files but I don’t think it is the norm nor do I think most ppl actually do so before deciding why they were accepted or rejected.
@alooknac I think this particular student “fit” her school very, very well and it was noticed by the interviewer. And I had NO idea you could see your file!
I don’t think campus visit is relevant. With 9% RD rate, if campus visit were a factor and given that plenty of kids do that, anyone that doesn’t visit would get rejected. Yet, there are CC members that now go to Northwestern and would tell you they didn’t visit. Also, many kids that visit NU also visit plenty of others while others can’t visit because, say, they can’t afford to. Does it even make sense for any adcom to expense his/her energy to second guess interest level that way? NU already requires “Why NU?” essay; that’s a better way to tell. Maybe his/her “why NU?” essay wasn’t great?
Also, even though “interviews” are “considered” according per common data set, NU website says the following: Interviews are not a significant component of the application, therefore applicants who are unable or choose not to interview are not at a disadvantage in the admission process.
@exwire and @alooknac Accessing files once admitted is a recent phenomenon. However, you should also it’s doubtful that any college that offers interviews includes interview notes in the long term files of admitted students.
For my college, that was a big point of question for us who were alumni volunteer interviewers-- we were assured that all interview reports were deleted/shredded as soon as decisions were made and not carried in any student files, admitted or rejected.
Any hint otherwise and it’d certainly end the willingness of alumni volunteers overnight – the thought of our honest evals being read by the student one day was anathema to us.
My D interviewed for seven of the nine colleges she was admitted to. If the CDS said the interview was considered, she did an interview because I insisted. I am very sure the interview was helpful in her acceptances, and she surprised herself and thinks nearly all of her interviews went well. In fact, at the college she will be attending, she knew the interview went well, and I actually believe it might have helped her a lot. (This college regarded interviews as important.) She interviewed also for two universities with sub 15% acceptance rates and was denied, but I don’t believe the interview was the issue at all.
I think at the very selective colleges, a student has to utilize every option that might help her application. But the unexpected benefit was that it helped my shy and quiet daughter tremendously in learning how to hold a conversation with a stranger.