Do School Tours Help With Admissions?

I have now read several articles by college admissions counselors that state -showing an interest in a school by visiting campus helps with admissions. The idea is that if there are two similar candidates but one has shown an interest by visiting campus, admissions will choose them over the other candidate. I can see this happening with smaller, private schools. But does anyone know whether this is true for UCs? It seems that with the number of visitor tours and number of applicants, it would be too time consuming for admissions to check.

Check each UC’s common dataset and in section C7 it will show if an applicant’s level of interest is considered. For example UCI, an applicant’s level of interest is highly considered. If possible, I highly recommend visiting any UC you plan to apply since “fit” is very important in your college decision regardless if level of interest is considered.

http://www.oir.uci.edu/files/campus/CDS2016_17.pdf

When you visit, make sure you sign up for the tour(s) using the student’s name and e-mail address, not the parent’s info.

Thank you. With family at the schools we have seen them all but did not do the official tours. I guess I know how I will be spending my summer.

What are ways to show interest other than taking a campus tour?

@Pointermix check to see if a representative from the school will be at your high school or at a college fair in town. Registering for local events can also show demonstrated interest.