Hello,
In terms of choosing schools, I waited until the last minute to finalize my list, which means that I haven’t visited or shown any interest in many of the colleges I will be applying to.
Does anyone have any advice on how I can show interest now? Does visiting after the deadline still make a difference? Getting on the mailing list?
Thank you!
Get on the mailing list. If they have a “Why College X” essay, scour their website for specific facilities, majors, clubs, etc that make it seem like a good fit for you. If a visit convenient before mid-Feb, you could go that (but I would not spend the money to travel).
Oh, and log in periodically to the portal they give you after applying and open the emails they send you.
For certain schools this doesn’t matter at all, for others it does. You can check whether it does online. Many schools recognize that many people can’t afford to visit every school until they have gotten in, so likely you should be good for the schools that do not count demonstrated interest.
Thank you for your help @intparent and @shawnspencer!
I went through the schools’ common data sets and found which ones care about interest and which ones don’t. I signed up for all their mailing lists, and I will try to visit most of them by February (these are within 2 hours away). I also really focused on my supplemental essays and was very specific in the “Why College” ones, so hopefully that will help.
I’ll tell you what I told my son. The aggregation and analysis of data is standard operating procedure for even the smallest businesses. College admissions is a VERY large business. Everything that you do to interact with them during the admission process is via the internet. It takes virtually no effort on your part to click on their website, or log into their portal every week. Send some emails to people. Like their Facebook page and Twitter page. Follow their sports social media account. Reach out to clubs you may be interested in for info. If you plan to visit set up meetings with the Department Head of the major you’re considering. Follow up with thank you emails. You never really know what they track, so stay active, just don’t be a pest.
Don’t just “send some emails to people”. Admissions offices can smell a “fake” question a mile away. They are also extremely busy at this time of year. You can reduce your chances (not improve them) by doing this.
Clubs are usually run by students – no tracking there. And profs usually aren’t going to report contacts (colleges can barely get them to turn in grades, and they aren’t using automation to watch something like that). And spare the poor department heads – they could quickly be overwhelmed with prospective students.
I agree that following them on social media is a good suggestion. But be sure wherever is set to “public” on FB is appropriate – they probably won’t look, but just in case. And there is no harm in a thank you email.
Your best bet for admission is always a strong application and recommendations. Don’t worry too much about this.
I don’t think department heads want to be bothered by dozens and dozens of HS kids seeking to meet in what will clearly come across as just an attempt to boost their odds of admission.