<p>I keep hearing about showing interest in the school? How do you do this? Visiting, calling every week? Give some examples that you felt helped.</p>
<p>You certainly do not need to call every week. Visiting, doing the info session, doing the interview show interest, and also give you a better idea about the school, so it helps both ways. If you can't visit, try to arrange an alumni interview. Aplly for their scholarships if there are any that fit your profile.</p>
<p>I have a feeling that this whole "showing interest" advice gets totally overblown.</p>
<p>Please no flames! Here are my 2 cents:</p>
<p>WashU is famous for its happy students and I think the admissions office deserves a lot of credit. One way to ensure that the student body is happy is to select wonderfully qualified students who <em>really</em> want to attend this school, rather than take a large percentage of wonderfully qualified students who would much rather be at HYPS but didn't get in, so must end up at a great school they now feel is beneath them. Campuses filled with students trying to transfer out to an ivy, or disappointed with their outcome bring a negative vibe to a school. If WashU or Tufts or Duke or Northwestern are careful not to accept otherwise excellent kids who truthfully do not want to be there, can anyone blame them? Would you marry a woman who claims she has always loved another man and always will? (heh) Actually, since yield numbers are not used by USNWR in their rankings, I think building a happy class is a big factor in why some top candidates who do little to show interest are often waitlisted.</p>
<p>Those who do want to attend should take every opportunity to make this clear in their application, by sending emails (not too many) to admissions staff, by attending regional admissions presentations (and signing in--they do keep track of those cards), by taking the time to apply for scholarships, by visiting campus if feasible (those who live within driving distance in particular), by requesting an interview if they are available in your area, and--most importantly--by applying ED. </p>
<p>With so many terrific students spending hours filling out essays for their top choice ivies, there may be less time and energy left to apply to the next tier (match and safety) so they just don't bother to do the extras for them. Schools are wise to this and judge a lack of effort to mean exactly what it means--a lack of interest.</p>