<p>I've been seeing alot of people posting that they have a better chance of being accepted to Princeton because they have demonstrated interest in the university. Is this really necessary? I love Princeton and it is my #1 school, but I'm not like sending the admissions office emails about how much I want to get in.</p>
<p>So my question is: is there anyone on the forum who got into or attends Princeton without showing demonstrated interest?</p>
<p>I am confused about this also. Are we supposed to be contacting the admissions office at all? My GC said that now it is just time to wait. I also thought that the admissions offices were so busy right now that they did not want us to contact them. How do we show our interest? - and why isn't applying enough? or is it?
Thanks for any input</p>
<p>Well, that's why the interview is more important than many people realize:</p>
<p>It's an invaluable opportunity to show the admissions committee just how much you care about Princeton, what it means to you.</p>
<h2>This doesn't necessarily mean memorizing tons of facts and repeating them, but just showing them why Princeton is genuinely your number one choice.</h2>
<p>In MY case, though, when I attended an info-session at the NYC Marriott, they took down names. When Princeton visited my school for an info-session, they took down names. When you visit the college itself, you have to enter your personal info into a database. When you go on a tour, you sign a sheet.</p>
<p>Schools like HYSPM SAY they don't care about "demonstrated interest," but who knows?</p>
<p>I doubt demonstrated interest is that big of a deal.</p>
<p>At my visit they said they don't track visits. It is truly not fair, because any kid from NJ or something could visit 50 times, while some kid in California never has the chance. As for e-mailing admissions, yeah it is probably just a hassle for them. It's not like they keep track of the people e-mailing them and bust out a list of names when it comes time to decide admissions. There are probably tons of kids trying to show interest through lots of contact, so it can't really distinguish you.</p>
<p>One demonstrate ones interest by their willingness to pay the
tuition and spend 4 years of their life gracing a college. </p>
<p>* You define your school not the other way round:rolleyes:?*</p>
<p>It is somewhat ironic that at my public high school the kids (previous
graduating year) who put in time demonstrating interest for Pton etc
were the ones who did not gain admittance, while the relatively quiet
ones who went about focusing on their achievements were the ones
who did.</p>
<p>lesson to be learned....?</p>
<p><em>---;)---</em></p>
<p>The schools that value demonstrated interest do so because they don't want to admit kids for whom the school is a safety. Princeton doesn't have to worry about this, and it doesn't care about demonstrated interest.</p>
<p>I second Weasel8488. To put it another way: distinguish between the numbers game ALL colleges play (i.e., attract maximum number of applications for USNWR purposes) and the selectivity of the college. While all want their application numbers to show increases, the most selective have neither the time nor the need to assess interest other than by whatever question they have on their application about "Why___".</p>
<p>deomstrated interest probably does not matter at this point, but making relationships early on in the process can not hurt.
If there is 1 more spot available, and you and another applicant have the exact same scores, similar writing strengths, and great recommendations, but you have a relation with the admissions officer, & they know that Princeton is your life goal, guess who's probably getting picked.
Its just human nature.</p>
<p>but of course they say it doesn't matter, because if they said it did, everyone would demonstrate interest, and their email & phones would get attacked constantly.</p>
<p>LizziePoo's example is often used to explain how being a legacy affects your chances. The problem with this explanation is that admissions decisions at Princeton aren't made through some sort of bracket in the mold of March Madness with individual students facing off and the winner moving on to face someone else in the next round. Each application is evaluated on its own merit. The fact that Princeton doesn't even have a "Why Princeton?" question on the application (at least it didn't when I applied) should suggest that demonstrated interest is not considered.</p>
<p>Demonstrated interest is great and all but if you don't have the grades, extra-curriular activities, community service, and personal attribute that Princeton wants, it means nothing. Even when you talk about legacy, it will typically at most give the student a full-read. Legacy only really makes a difference if your parents are super active on campus or donate a load of money, which is not every Princeton graduate. So relax everyone. Visit campus and show your demonstrated interest, but in the end, it is who you are that truly counts.</p>