<p>I've heard a rumor saying that if you go to a college visit at the school you want to go to, then you will get a higher chance for admission at that school because it shows passion...Is this true?</p>
<p>Sometimes, it depends on the school. It depends on whether they value “level of interest” and there are many ways of obtaining that factor, like visiting them at a local college fair, signing in on their website, making a phone call, talking to their rep when they visit your school, etc. in addition to visiting the college. Many schools realize that visiting the campus is next to impossible for some students due to the time and expense, let alone the distance involved, so they don’t factor it in, but if the school is local and values demonstrated interest, you better show up at some point, e.g. WashU and you live within a few hours of St. Louis.</p>
<p>Some schools have a “Why us?” question and in all like hood it would be a lot easier to answer that question if you actually visited the campus and spoke with the professors. </p>
<p>You can tell whether the school takes your level of interest into account by looking at the Common Data Set for each college you are interested in. Google “Common Data Set <college name=”">", and for almost every college you will find a standard set of information about the college. There is a section where they indicate what matters to them in the admissions process, and I think it is in Section C. If the box is checked in “Considered” or a higher category, then they care. If it says, “Not Considered”, then it doesn’t make a difference. Tippy top schools are more likely to not consider it (they just figure everyone is interested…).</college></p>
<p>There are certainly ways to show interest besides a campus visit, though. Get on the college email list from the admissions website, go to any presentations in your city or track the rep down at a college fair in your area, or if you have questions not answered on the website then email the admissions office.</p>
<p>Certainly as @bomerr said, visits have other benefits. One is definitely more fodder for the “Why X” essay. But you can also get a feeling for whether you would want to attend or not – a school that may look great on paper may not feel right at all to you when you go to campus. I think if you can afford them, visits prior to applying are a very good idea.</p>
<p>Some schools take level of interest into account others don’t. If you live in Hawaii and you are applying to a school in Maine, they understand it isn’t easy for you to visit and don’t care. However, if you are within driving distance make sure to visit.</p>
<p>My daughter gets $1000/yr bonus because she visited the college before enrolling. I guess they take ‘interest’ to the next level.</p>