<p>I'm aware that demonstrated interest makes a difference to some schools. If a student visits or makes contact with admissions office, professors, etc, a file is kept and your contact is perceived as a big plus when acceptance decisions are made. Can anybody share with us which schools value demontrated interest? ....Example: Washington University at St. Louis is one school that really values interest.</p>
<p>Of the colleges where my daughter applied - </p>
<p>Pro demonstrated interest for admissions - Bowdoin, Carleton, Hamilton</p>
<p>Pro demonstrated interest for scholarships - Allegheny, Rhodes, Southwestern, Tulane</p>
<p>Colleges where demonstrated interest seemed to make no difference - Davidson, Macalester</p>
<p>Not scientific, just based on my daughter's experience.</p>
<p>Based on D's experience, American and Trinity (SA).</p>
<p>I agree with fireflyscout. Davidson did not seem to came about demonstrated interest.
Dartmouth cares.
Furman cares.
Many (most) Ivies and large universities do not care.</p>
<p>here's a thread from this past winter on this subject (w/ college lists) & the fact that the latest annual CDS' now note the admissions importance of demonstrated interest.
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=145077%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=145077</a></p>
<p>Its important, however, to do some more research on each target school to understand what that term means to them. For instance (as described in the linked thread), Brown values demonstrated interest, but they want that translated in the application, not particularly as frequent or substantial contact pre-admissions. OTOH, Emory tracks contacts, as do many of the LACs. Emory happens to write down what they mean (see 6th paragraph: <a href="http://www.emory.edu/ADMISSIONS/admission-aid/admission-considerations.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.emory.edu/ADMISSIONS/admission-aid/admission-considerations.htm</a> ), but others are not so straightforward. I have been taking the frontal approach, and asking the admissions people directly what demonstrated interest means to them.</p>
<p>Common Data Sets can be found here:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76444&page=9%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76444&page=9</a></p>
<p>one other note.....seems like many of the schools that value demonstrated interest are commonly used as backups, so demonstrating interest is one way an applicant can perhaps show otherwise.</p>
<p>I posted this a while back in a similar thread..although the hyperlink to the pdf doesn't seem to work now, you can probably access it by going to the Nacac main page. It's an interesting article, the first of its kind that I've seen. The funny thing is, I don't know how reliable you can consider an admission department's claim that they don't consider DI. My main experience is with Williams, which according to its Common Data info, does not consider DI. I say, "horsefeathers." I can't speak as to what they actually talk about when they're giving an applicant a "read"--but I can tell you that our HS guidance counselor--a former Ivy admissions officer and very savvy--told us that Williams was one school that tracked visits/contacts, and kept track of it in your folder. And I can tell you that when crunch time came, and they had a coach call my D to make the sale--they knew exactly how many visits she had made (3), who she'd talked to (professors, coaches, players), etc. I also agree with Papa's comment in #6, and it also applies to schools that aren't safeties in anyone's book. Again, using the school I know best--Williams is nobody's safety--but virtually every RD acceptee has also been accepted to a few Ivies, and the admissions committee knows full well of that competition, and weighs the demonstrated interest in their own school in making a decision. IMO, anyway.</p>
<p>I'm curious about U Chicago and Northwestern. Anybody have any information about whether these are schools that highly favor those who have visited? I understand that Wash U, for example,strongly favors prospects who have shown interest by visiting. Does calling qualify as demonstrated interest---is a phone conversation going to get you the same note in your file? How do those who are unable to travel long distances get the same advantages as those who have the time/money/parental support to visit the campus? Are these things REALLY tracked?</p>
<p>In my experience with UChicago it doesnt matter- I got accepted there without once visiting, calling, or making any contact except sending my app, while a couple of my friends for whom uchicago was their first choice, spent a lot of time making contact and didnt get in. Granted i had an overall stronger app than they did, but they were quirkier than i was, and isnt that what uchicago looks for?</p>