How do you show demonstrated interest through social media? Do you follow schools? Don’t the other schools see who you are following? Besides visiting and interviewing what else do you suggest?
My son visited Colorado College in 9th grade. Will admissions consider that for demonstrated interest or does he need to revisit before applications are due?
Looking at the common data set it appears that Colorado College considers the applicant’s level of Interest but it’s not an important critera for admission. What is very important is rigor of academics. Definitely have him schedule an interview and put a lot of interest into the essays. A recent visit is always nice but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Typically, level of interest is more important for applicants who appear “overqualified” in terms of admission credentials, since those applicants are likely to have other more selective choices and therefore lower yield if admitted.
However, for a college with a distinctive feature, it may note whether the applicant shows interest in that distinctive feature. For Colorado College, whether the applicant knows about its block plan scheduling and looks at it favorably could be a level of interest factor.
I don’t know that a visit as early as 9th grade is going to help as far as DI goes. That doesn’t mean you must visit again, though. If a college in which you are interested shows up to a local college fair, stop by their booth. If an admissions rep comes to you school, go hear what they have to say. Ask questions. Sign up to get emails from colleges that interest you. Some folks suggest getting a new email account for admissions purposes, both to reduce spam in your regular inbox and because partyboy#1 may not be the image you want to present.
If you live fairly close, do visit. Ask to attend a class or spend a night in the dorms. Colleges understand distance may be to far, but a college that’s a couple hours away that considers DI might wonder about your sincerity if you don’t visit.