<p>I am curious. Is [e-mailing the adcom at your favorite university, telling them how much you hope to go there, and asking what you can do early on to increase your chances of admission there] perceived as demonstrated interest or shallow? If it is demonstrated interest, would you put ample information in the email so that they remember you down the road, or word it in a certain way?</p>
<p>Asking how to increase your chances of acceptance is always a bad idea. As far as showing interest, it depends on what school you’re talking about.</p>
<p>Ask them, “Yo, bros, what should I do to get accepted?” They will give you detailed instructions that lead to guaranteed acceptance.</p>
<p>Okay, I thought that I’ve read before that you should e-mail the adcom and ask questions. I didn’t know what kind of questions though. Generally, how would you show demonstrated interest?</p>
<p>^Ask thoughtful questions that shows you’ve done considerable research of the school and/or shows you’re really considering it.</p>
<p>Many universities – particularly public schools and the most competitive colleges, places like Harvard, don’t factor demonstrated interest into admissions.</p>
<p>Those that do will not be impressed if you ask questions that are answered on the website or if you pester them with questions and comments, so be judicious.</p>
<p>If you have an actual question that you cant answer using the website, call or email. Otherwise, don’t.</p>
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<p>It comes across as pathetic, SheenR. Especially from a freshman in high school. Chill. Just work hard in high school, join clubs / do activities that are of interest to you, and go from there.</p>
<p>What if you have a specific question about being properly prepared for their college/university? Not e-mailing to find the silver bullet to admission, but simply to see how to properly prepare yourself and what they prefer to see you spending your time on…(that can’t be answered by their website).</p>
<p>Some top unis do factor in demonstrated interest. Emory is one of them. Even if your stats are 2300 + 4.0 GPA and you have never demonstrated interest in Emory, there is a huge chance you will get rejected/waitlisted. So it depends on the school.</p>
<p>Well, if you show your interest (great interest if possible), it might increase you chance, but not that much.</p>
<p>Like WashU, showing interest is an important factor</p>
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<p>They tell you on their websites what they recommend – typically the core subjects for as many years as you can, at honors levels, plus whatever extracurriculars interest you.
Can we please all stop with the “what they prefer to see you spending your time on”? What do you think they are going to say – we prefer chess over drama club, hockey over tennis? They don’t want to SEE you molding yourself into some form of “what I think the adcoms are looking for.” They want you to be you.</p>
<p>Student23832, it seems from other posts you have a significant illness that has precluded you getting “normal” schooling, which I am sorry to hear. But you needn’t worry. There is no point in e-mailing them to say “But I can’t take foreign languages because of my unique circumstances, will that work against me?” They are human beings. They will understand when you get your application (if you explain it appropriately) that you had certain limitations that precluded you from being able to do x, y and z. So honestly, don’t sweat it. Do the best you can and that’s enough.</p>