I think they have ways to track things even down to the level of whether or not you open any emails they send you – how long you spend reading the email, etc. Definitely they keep track of who attends info sessions. And who visits the campus for a tour, etc. Always register/sign in for any visit you make to a campus that you know tracks interest (I think you can tell by looking up their published Common Data Set – it has a check box for whether or not they consider demonstrated interest).
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My son gave me permission to create and monitor a college list only email. He knows the decision is his but trusts that I understand the Tuition Exchange and FACHEX rewards system more than he does.
Hes attended 2 online virtual sessions thus far. I refuse to do them without him. He has to get information and give input.
Between his busy ec’s and split custody schedule, getting in visits isnt easy. And hes a kid who is going to need to visit inperson to get the vibe.
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If visiting/touring, remember to use your student’s name and email address to register.
Also, if a college sends a rep to visit your high school, make sure your student signs the “attendance sheet”. They can also send a follow up email after the meeting/presentation. Make sure your student gets their name and contact info, including their title.
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My son’s school only allows students to apply to 10. They use SCOIR which is like Naviance to help students and parents to narrow down the list. My son has around 8 schools on his list so far.
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D23 sets up time weekly to click into the e-mails and links for the schools she is applying to and we have visited in-person or virtually all but one that was just recently added to her list.
She is also going to summer programs at her two reach schools, one is for a week and it isn’t cheap. Not sure how much more proof they would need that she was interested.
Note that many of the expensive summer programs at elite schools aren’t even run by the university. They most likely will not help you gain admission, unless it’s a competitive entry program. The best you can hope for is a more well crafted “why us” essay.
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It is definitely run by the actual schools, they don’t miss out on money.
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Which school out of curiosity (for the summer program)?
Some are, some aren’t. The ones that aren’t run by the schools are paying rent for the space, and licensing fees for the use of the college’s name—so yeah, the colleges aren’t missing out on the money, but it isn’t always the tuition (or tuition-like) revenue that they’re bringing in.
Having fun at college camp has no bearing on admissions at all.
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Rather than answering in absolute terms - my daughter applied to those colleges where she was interested in attending, and then putting solid effort into those applications (less than 15), trying to have relevant essays, answering their prompts, etc. It was a lot of diligent work, even at THAT “low” number, to prepare and manage those applications - and quite exhausting, in addition to keeping up school work.
I would be concerned that eventually quality suffers over quantity - and the question becomes, are <15 very good applications likely to yield better results/outcome - than >20 boiler-plate “Mac-apps”?
Don’t drive yourself crazy with thinking that reading emails or visits to their website makes any direct difference regarding demonstrated interest. There are far more meaningful things you can do.
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Most important is your “why XYZ college” essay. It has to be more than just “I’m interested in attending because of your top undergraduate business program”.
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Register for info sessions and other online events sponsored by the school
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Visit or look to see if they have any local recruiting sessions
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Contact your local AO. (These are the emails that would be worth reading and following up)
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Connect on social media (admissions, any clubs or academic departments you are interested in.).
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Apply early!
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Sign up onlin
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There’s an engineering summer program at Cal Poly SLO that gives a taste of different types. Not sure about the details of the Purdue program and how it compares but my daughter considered the Cal Poly program ages ago. Deadline is April 15! https://epic.calpoly.edu
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Sadly someone posted in the Purdue thread that their STEP program was cancelled again for this summer 
Thanks! That looks promising!
I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s updates and posts over the past month and just jumping in to check in. It has certainly been an interesting application/acceptance cycle for the Class of 2022. My heart breaks for these high stats kids who are waitlisted or rejected from even their target schools. One mom of a top-notch student told me her kid applied to 16 and only got into 3 safeties that she didn’t have any desire to attend (she’s waitlisted to a few Boston schools but not feeling hopeful.) Ugh. Other parents are excited their kids made the cut for top-tier schools but received zero merit/assistance and now they have to decide if it paying $250,000 over 4 years is worth it (personal opinion-it’s not!) The reality of this cycle has completely reshaped my S23’s strategy and he’s taking nothing for granted. He has a 4.0 unweighted GPA and 1450 SAT (will retake in June to try to bump up) with great volunteer work, honors band (percussion) level 10 gymnast (USA Gymnastics Academic All-American Award recipient) and may qualify as a National Hispanic Merit Scholar as per his PSAT. But it may not be enough for his target (now reach) schools like Emory, Rollins, Case Western and Northeastern. Luckily, he actually loves his safety schools and can see himself at any of these (LeMoyne, St. John Fisher, SUNY Buffalo State College, UB, UMASS Boston.) He has a few more schools he would like to apply to but not sure we will visit first, might just see if he gets in and/or merit offered first (schools like Nova Southeastern, Florida International, Fordham, CUNY schools for Macaulay Honors, Loyola Chicago and a big reach-University of Chicago.) So I take comfort in his strategy because he feels doing the honors program at ANY of the schools on his list will give him the rigor he wants and he doesn’t want us to spend a fortune on undergrad since his end goal is PhD in Clinical Psych, so is very aware of grad school costs.
We are visiting Case Western Reserve over the April break. It’s a big question mark so far. Many people said if he loved Northeastern (he does) he’d love Case Western Reserve as it has a similar vibe and academic focus. But is it TOO academic? Is there school spirit and social activities and do they even have time for fun? My son does not want a party school and is fine with an academically rigorous school so maybe this is exactly what he wants. Doing an open house, so will be a full day to explore what the school has to offer and the Cleveland area. Should be interesting to see what my son thinks, I honestly don’t know. It’s a STEM school and my son loves math & science, but not sure how a Psychology/Spanish major (or any non-STEM major) would fit into a school like CWRU.
Last year my son spent the summer in Mexico with family and did an upper-tier gymnastics program (almost 100% in Spanish) and plans to do the same thing this summer. He returned last year nearly fluent and should be fluent by the end of the summer, although he’s pretty much there now thanks to the Spanish class he is taking in school this year and all the practice he does with the language.
I can’t believe it’s April already! This school year is flying by and I know our kids will all be in “application mode” in no time! My son wants to do most of his applying in early Fall (EA & rolling admissions where possible) so he can just enjoy his senior year. He’s my youngest of two, so I am already feeling sad that we are so close to senior year
Keep posting your great updates and reflections. Really appreciate this page!
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Maybe worth checking out for a summer program?
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College list updates! (Portfolio-based fields, you have to start early. D23 started laying down tracks for the polished versions of stuff she’ll include in hers over spring break, and that honestly means that she’s a little bit behind schedule.)
We talked at some length with my D23 last night about her application options, including looking in some detail at the portfolio/premajor requirements for those colleges on her list that have them.
The two firm decisions made: Belmont and Memphis are off her list. Belmont was eliminated even though it has a very well-regarded audio tech program (and the only one in the country that’s ABET-accredited!)—and it isn’t even because it’s administratively a conservative religious place and she’s an out lesbian, that’s not an issue because the student body is apparently welcoming of LGBTQ+ students in ways the administration is uncomfortable with; rather, it was because their diversity index score is way lower than any other place she’s looking at. Memphis was on the list as a (very) deep safety, and there was just no real reason to keep it.
She has a few other places on her list that are on purely as fallbacks (Clemson, Rowan, Troy—the latter only as a financial safety), and they’re probably off the list, too, just not officially yet.
That leaves nine, which for a fine arts-adjacent applicant seems low but reasonable: In zip code order (the way her spreadsheet is organized), Seton Hall, American, Savannah College of Art & Design, Florida International, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Colorado Denver, San Diego State, and San José State. (Audio tech is a field where a fair number of regional publics have carved out a space with really good programs, which makes things a bit easier applicationwise—university admission is basically a given most of those places, so she only has to worry about program admission.)
Of these, San Diego State probably has the program best suited to her way of doing things (it’s a generalist BMus curriculum plus what’s basically a four-year apprenticeship), but it also has a crazily intense portfolio requirement (and one where the list of requirements on the website is internally contradictory). It’s also, in terms of program admission, probably the most selective one on her list. We’re planning on visiting the campus this summer, and hopefully we can arrange a visit with one of the program’s faculty as part of that, even if only to get better clarity on the application process.
The second-best program for her is probably Middle Tennessee, and Colorado Denver (WUE tuition!!) has an intriguing curriculum—and she’ll be attending UCDenver’s residential music industry camp this summer, and so should get a better feel for it then.
TL;DR: Lots of progress, it’s starting to feel proper real.
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Yeah for narrowing lists! My s23 still isnt quite there about talking about it much. I wanted him to at least do some drive bys with us in Twin Cities but he now has a rugby game and cant come with. He did say he could be interested more in vocal performance with a minor in business or music industry studies so that could change things up here.
LoyNo, Shenandoah, UMinn-TC, Lawrence, Baldwin Wallace, U of Redlands all likely to stay on the list.
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Your DS sounds great. Why do you have Rollins listed as a reach? Seems like it would be a target or even a safety.