My daughter “discovered” two schools very late in the process. She knew of them and had glanced at them before, but as the semester went on, she realized both were an amazing fit, and one rose to the top of her list.
She submitted RA applications for both this month.
Since she has very, very little demonstrated interest until now, should she send an email/ltter expressing all of this? She’s on a gap year right now and has learned a lot about herself, enough to realize that she wishes she could have applied ED to this school. We couldn’t for financial reasons, but at least she could have done EA.
Would a letter be advisable? Her “Why _____” essays for both are good, and the one for the new top choice school is outstanding and really enthusiastic. I wouldn’t want her to come off as pushy, but she is concerned that by not having expressed interest earlier, she may have shot herself in the foot.
Does she know for sure that demonstrated interest is a factor in admissions? I don’t see how a letter could hurt, but if the college is close and DI is a factor, I would go visit.
She can’t go visit. She’s abroad for the whole year. It’s a State Dept. program, so she’s not allowed to return to the US until the program ends in May.
Common Data Set, but you can call admissions too to verify. If she is overseas and DI is a factor, then she should probably send an email explaining her situation.
Although it is a weaker form of DI, she CAN follow the college on social media and sign up to receive their emails.
There’s no elegant way to say, “Hey, I missed you before, but I’m really, really interested now.” If it’s a competitive college, the point isn’t how long you had them in your sights. Rather, the care in self matching, how much you understand them and what matters to them (not just what you want,) why they should want you. Your match and showing it.
And demonstrated interest? What says it’s as simple as a visit? That’s the least of it. Anyone can take a tour. IF your daughter is truly “interested,” she’ll have learned about the school in many ways, from many directions, right? More than superficials or ranking or that they have your major, etc. You “demonstrate” this interest in how you show your match. Some of it is in the basics of your record. Some is in how you choose to answer written questions. The Why Us should underscore all this, not be generic, (as if any college will do.)
Remember the principle throughout applications: “Show, not just tell.”
In the end, what the Common Data Set says doesn’t really matter. It’s not policed for accuracy and the bullets are pretty obvious. If we’re talking a competitive college, holistic, of course they care. The exception is if these are colleges that primarily just want to see the stats.
Sure. We know all about how to be interested in a school and how to make a good match. That’s not the question.
She’s been reading about the school late into the night. She knows specific professors and projects she’d like to work with/on, and this came up in her Why … essay. She has done virtual tours of the campus art institute, and notes particular featured artists of this museum in the “why” essay as well. She’s found connections in the liguistics depts activities to her language studies w NSLIY, and the artists she noted in the museum were actually featured in the museum where she completed an internship.
However, she came around after the EA deadline. She’s concerned that applying RD might not express her interest well enough. This is the heart of the matter, in this particular case.
So the question isn’t really “how do we determine how important DI is.” Quite simply, she is wondering if sending a letter could hurt.
She is competing with kids who did this research and discovered the fit before the deadline. I am not sure what sending an additional note that the “why” essay won’t already convey. Most likely, the folks reading the essay will see the fit if it is as strong as you suggest.
Thanks for the responses. It’s up to her to decide how to proceed, so we’ll see how this all turns out soon enough. Luckily, she’s really excited about all of her acceptances and scholarships so far, and she’ll be happy wherever she goes.
Yes, send the letter. I don’t think anyone has come out and said it can hurt. How much it may help is impossible to tell. At best, it helps you exactly as you wish it might. At worst, the letter is ignored. Either way, there is no bad result for your daughter.
I think if the letter basically says “I discovered you guys late”, it could look sloppy, and I’m not sure what else you could really say in a letter like that. On the other hand, if the essay shows good fit, I doubt the AO will wonder why the application wasn’t EA. Plenty of people obviously get offers RD without AOs second guessing why they only applied RD.
I have to laugh… My daughter after her study abroad junior fall year, she took, as we call it a gap semester in Southeast Asia. She applied to 2 college while doing it and never visited. She is very determined person, so she set up live sessions via FaceTime or the like with admissions /professors.
Even with a 12 hour difference she made it work.
Why I am laughing is when she got back in May she had a few months till she went abroad with the state department https://clscholarship.org/
She finds out in a few weeks if they will accept her this year also…
Good Luck.
So I think reaching out is a good idea. How many students will be calling from… Xxxxx… Where your daughter is at5. That will make her stand out and show dedication ?
Ahhh, I think you just hit on the crux of the anxiety here. It’s that we’re both worried that her lack of visit, interview, etc, will present as a flaw. My husband’s take on all application flaws is “if you have a flaw, draw attention away from it, not to it” unless the flaw is something really glaring like a huge crash in grades one semester or a disciplinary issue, and she has no glaring flaws.
Sometimes, the GC is the better person to confirm this interest and explain the gap year. One educator speaking to others.
It’s clear you’re viewing no visit as a problem. Adcoms will note that she’s been away this year. The State Dept programs are generally strong. And if she truly nailed her app, she won’t be overlooked because she wasn’t stateside for a college visit. My continued point is that the match she shows in her app is the more important aspect in “interest.”
If she wants to send a letter, focus on the post grad year she’s on, that she’s doing this college search long distance and is following the school online, mention some things she likes, etc. It may not help but it won’t hurt.
You said she wishes she had applied ED. Some schools will allow you to turn an RD application into ED if you are willing to be bound at your end.
If this school does this, and if it’s her first choice, this could be an option.
To show DI, she can follow on social media, for example. But I don’t think any mention of having discovered them late in the process could be helpful. There are just too many ways for that to look bad!
I wouldn’t mention you discovered them late also but again my daughter applying overseas when hiking through South East Asia was a very strong talking point. She visited the college right when she got back and was awarded a $30,000/merit Presidential scholarship to boot…
It’s all how you frame it. I am in the camp of betting on yourself. Every time my kids do that, good things happen. Some say it’s being assertive and going after what you want. Not a bad thing.
Why not write a note to the person who’ll be reading her application that says something like: “I’m overseas doing this amazing program and have been unable to visit, but these are the things that are so fantastic about your school and that make it my first choice but I have a question about…” Come up with a question to ask that has a purpose for the email - but that also allows her to express her interest in the school?
I’m not sure that it will really look to the schools like she discovered them late! As far as they know, she’s an RD applicant with what sounds like a strong “Why” essay, who hasn’t visited or interviewed. Right? Just because she’s RD doesn’t mean she’s late or not interested. Applicants use RD for many reasons, including if they EDd somewhere else…I don’t think RD shows a lack of interest. I also don’t think you have to check every single box to show interest.
Do they know from her application that she’s abroad now? Are interviews required/recommended/optional? (Check CDS). Maybe that is where you can post some explanation in form of an email to her local AO…if they are required or recommended, she can explain her situation and ask if she can Skype. If they are optional, it really seems like she is covered!