Is it possible to demonstrate interest by visiting after applying (~late January, early February)? I applied to several elite liberal arts colleges that consider demonstrated interest, but haven’t visited them yet.
I assume you will meet with Admissions representatives or arrange to do so? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to put a face to the name on the application. Just my $.02 but I am sure others may differ.
If you do visit I would send a brief email to your admissions rep to let him/her know you were on campus and mention one or two things that you particularly liked about the school.
My D did this last year to a LAC on the west coast. Around the time apps were due it’d become her top choice (on paper) but she hadn’t visited – partly b/c her Fall was too crazy with XC season and doing her apps.
She and I went first weekend of Feb. which was after her first semester finals and when we figured it was early enough in the review process to still get taken into account. Had a great tour, she reached out to prof of interest and met her, ended up getting accepted with largest merit they offered!
Another reason we went was b/c we were worried that a plane ticket for admitted students day would be last minute and expensive – the Feb. trip allowed us to get the ticket farther in advance.
In the end, though, she chose a different college that was a better fit but no regrets about the visit!
Good luck!!
Thanks for the suggestions!
I doubt they consider “demonstrative interest” as a factor. Especially after because it kind of puts off the idea that you were only interested after you applied.
Respectfully disagre with the above post. Many LACs do consider demonstrated interest when making admissions decisions. And admissions officers do understand that not everyone student can visit before applications are due, especially if the school is far from the applicant’s home. By googling the common data set for each college and looking at section C you can see which schools look for demonstrated interest.