<p>Did you get on the mailing list or go to information sessions? And do colleges really care if you show interest in them early? And on the subject of mailing lists do they flood you with mail or is it like once a month or so?</p>
<p>bumpbumpbumpbump</p>
<p>When you visit campus, you should ask for an interview with a faculty member there. Also, I placed myself on the mailing lists of most of the colleges I’m interested in. From what I’ve heard, colleges take kindly to people showing interest in them–that shows how dedicated you are to applying/getting in. I could be wrong about that. </p>
<p>I’m on Carleton’s mailing list now, and they send me stuff every two weeks or so, just because I visited them about four weeks ago. I’m assuming the mail will slow down after awhile, but then when summer time rolls around, they may start sending more information. Emory, on the other hand, didn’t send me all that much after I signed up to be on their mailing list–it may just be because they sent me so much stuff before I signed up that there’s nothing more to send me haha…I think it really just depends on the school.</p>
<p>Every school is different. Check the Common Data Set about “demonstrated interest”</p>
<p>As for Devpatel’s advice: “When you visit campus, you should ask for an interview with a faculty member there.”</p>
<p>It’d be rather embarrassing if you didn’t do your homework ahead of time and found out that the school doesn’t offer interviews, eh?</p>
<p>The very selective colleges don’t care a whit about your interest – mailing list request or not.</p>
<p>^ What T26 said. Different colleges place different levels of emphasis on applicant interest when considering admissions and the Common Data Set will explicitly indicate how much of an impact it has.</p>
<p>Something I did was talk to a bunch of different professors and the coach at a school, and then sent them all sincere thank you emails. My counselor then decided that she would send the emails and everything to the admissions office, so my interest was shown that way.</p>
<p>Demonstrated interest is not tracked or considered by many colleges (Ivies and other elites). Every school is different. As indicated by posters above, the easiest way to check whether demonstrated interest is tracked and/or important is to check the school’s Common Data Set. As an example, here is Emory’s CDS:
<a href=“http://www.oirpe.emory.edu/institutional_research/Common%20Data%202010%202011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.oirpe.emory.edu/institutional_research/Common%20Data%202010%202011.pdf</a></p>
<p>Under Part C, there is a matrix for “Relative importance of each of the following academic and nonacademic factors in first-time, firstyear, degree-seeking (freshman) admission decisions”. For Emory you can see that demonstrated interest is “important”</p>
<p>Here is Carlton’s CDS:
[Carleton</a> College: Institutional Research and Assessment: Common Data Set (CDS)](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/ira/basic_carleton_data/CDS1/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/ira/basic_carleton_data/CDS1/)</p>
<p>Looking at the 2011-12 report shows that for Carlton, the “level of applicant’s interest” is NOT considered. </p>
<p>Bottom line is that you should check the CDS and also talk to the admissions at any school you are considering to find out if and how they track a student’s demonstrated interest. Just because you have made it on to a school’s mailing list and are getting lots of correspondence from them doesn’t necessarily mean anything other than they are marketing to you and want your application.</p>
<p>visit the school</p>
<p>newyorkdreams: why should a student spend limited resources to visit a school if it doesn’t track “interest”? A visit to many schools, unless one is already in the area, is an unwise expense, and unreachable for many.</p>
<p>Here’s a good rule of thumb for colleges that value “interest”. How hard are they vying for you as a student and as a paying customer? Some generate tens of thousands of apps w/o trying. Others have to work hard b/c their “name brand recognition” may not be as great. These are the ones that generally value “interest”. But it varies school to school.</p>
<p>“Others have to work hard b/c their “name brand recognition” may not be as great. These are the ones that generally value “interest”.”
I’d have to disagree. The ones that value interest tend to be smaller schools that care more about fit. On a campus of 20,000 students everyone is going to be able to find an appropriate cohort. The same might not be true in a college population of 1200 students. Ideally, before applying to such school students should have a decent idea of whether they’d feel comfortable on campus. The best way to investigate this is to spend some time on campus. Failing that, applicants should be taking every opportunity they have to find out more about the school culture.</p>
<p>Colleges are generally sympathetic toward students who don’t have the resources to visit far-flung schools, but they do expect applicants to put in a modicum of effort in their college search and application process. After all, why should they admit a student who seems to have applied to their school simply as an afterthought? Most small LACs can arrange alumni interviews for interested applicants but expect students within an easy drive to make the trek to campus. </p>
<p>There are at least a dozen ways to indicate a high level of interest that don’t involve flying across the country.</p>
<p>Send an email to the head of the department you are interested and ask an intelligent question (that you cannot find the answer to on the website!). Start a dialogue. Apply early action.</p>
<p>Colleges that value “level of interest” are more likely to be private schools that are not at the very top level of selectivity, and/or want to avoid being used as safeties in order to keep their yield rates high.</p>
<p>The highest selectivity schools and public schools are much less likely to care, although some public schools like Michigan do care.</p>
<p>Check the common data set, section C7.</p>
<p>You write a very personal, very specific essay for the “why college X” that shows you have researched the college thoroughly and have thought carefully about how it meets your needs.</p>
<p>If anyone is interested in Denison University (near Columbus, OH), some of their largest scholarships only go to prospective students who have actually VISITED campus in person and then applied for the scholarships by the January 15 deadline. </p>
<p>If this college is a remote possibility on someone’s list, remember that plenty of other people may not realize about that requirement, can’t visit the campus, or they miss the scholarship deadline. If you’re doing family vacations in the area with a freshman, junior, etc in the family, stop by this college for a tour/info session. It could pay off in the future if the kid ends up wanting to apply there as a senior.</p>
<p>If you cannot visit a campus, ask about off-campus interviews with an alumni representative, even if an interview is not required. Alumni could be anywhere, even abroad. It doesn’t hurt to ask and by asking you show interest. Narrow your list first because you need to do some prep in advance of an interview.</p>
<p>By way of example, the Skidmore College web site says:</p>
<p>Request an Alumni Interview</p>
<p>The Skidmore College Admissions Office is pleased to offer prospective students the chance to interview with trained alumni volunteers in their home area. The calendar for first-year alumni interviews is September 15, 2011January 15, 2012. … Interviews are not required for admission, nor are alumni interviews guaranteed. We will try our best to pair up prospective students with alumni volunteers during the application process.</p>