We visited every school on my daughters list that considered demonstrated interest in their CDS. A study by Lehigh University (I think) claimed it can increase your chance of acceptance by 30%. Any insiders have the scoop on how much a campus visit helps?
It depends on the college. Each college Common Data Set should indicated how much they consider demonstrated interest. For some schools it is “very important.” For others, it might be “considered.”
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Agree with the above. But am not sure demonstrated interest increases the chance of admittance by 30% - that sounds high.
Note that applying ED is considered the ultimate display of interest (IMO one should only consider ED IF family has no need to compare financial offers from different schools & the cost works per school’s net price calculator and IF a college is the definite top choice).
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There are schools where campus demonstrated interest helps considerably, but you don’t have to visit campus in order to demonstrate interest. There are other options, including virtual tours (often, you have to register for these, so the college knows you did them), requesting interviews if available, attending virtual info sessions, signing up to receive more information, touching base with your regional AO, and the like. Colleges don’t expect everyone to be able to travel for a visit (then again, if the college is within a reasonable drive, you ought to visit, I would think).
For certain schools, namely 2nd tier pushing to reach first tier based on yield, it means everything. Tufts is known for this.
When considered, it is typically more important if the applicant appears “overqualified” for the college, since such applicants, if admitted, have a lower yield rate than those who were reaching for the college.
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Depends on the college.
Princeton? Don’t care. We couldn’t even find a way to sign in for the campus tours, info sessions, etc. Everyone in admissions was lovely and helpful-- and the tour was fantastic, the guide was exceptional- but believe me, they weren’t tracking “Is Joey REALLY interested in Princeton or are we his safety school?”
At many schools applying ED can improve the chance of admission for a well qualified (but not exceptional) student.
Note that ED also benefits the college as the ED applicant commits to attend if accepted.
I think you can Google a list of colleges that tells you which colleges consider demonstrated interest and which do not. Boston College does not consider it, Northeastern does.
Can also demonstrate interest digitally nowadays. Sign up for all the college email lists and click on all the links. Tracking cookies are embedded within the emails. They will know if the email is not opened.
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Many schools have webinars and virtual open houses. Register for and attend those.
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