My 1st choice school is definitely USC. I love everything about it. I think I have a shot at it as well. However, USC doesn’t have early decision or early action so I can’t apply early. On college data under USC it says that level of applicants interest is not considered when admitting freshman. Would showing interest in the school through attending events, visiting the campus, emailing, etc. not help at all? Or would it put me on their radar and give a slight edge? USC is my dream school and I want to show as much interest as possible because I’m very interested but according to that website, it isn’t even considered.
Well, I think you answered your own question. Don’t expect an edge for showing interest I’d surmise.
Visit campus and interview. Also, interview with an alumnus in your home city.
Colleges that state they do not consider level of interest do not consider it. Do not assume they are lying about that.
All indications, both in public statements and anecdotally, are that USC truly doesn’t consider level of interest. That said, visiting campus and interviewing will likely be beneficial for you as you’ll get a better feel for whether it truly is your dream school.
When we visited USC they told us that interview is rarely benefits applicants since majority of the applicants do not have any interview experience and will not interview well.
So when a school takes this position, is this a way to gin up applications?
Well, someone always told me it couldn’t hurt. Think about it this way: if those people in admissions committees are debating whether to let you or another applicant in and your AO recognizes your name, it could only help that they remembered you were really interested in their institution.
^ I’m trying to figure out what part of "Not Considered’ is hard to understand…
Given how fraught the whole higher-end college admissions process has become, I’m thinking that it’s become quite hard to understand for many people—it gets hard to believe that there isn’t some sort of secret handshake necessary to get noticed.
You’re very interested. Let them know by the usual ways. Don’t expect it to give you a boost. Whether you get in or don’t, you’ll never know why, so do what you think is best but don’t obsess about it.
It is always a good thing in life to do something with no downside but potential upside. What the website says about interest is irrelevant.
I think that you should certainly try to attend any admissions events in your area (if you are not from SoCal), and mention in your application that it is your first choice. Beyond that, there probably isn’t any special benefit.
Even if the college says it’s “not considered”, these highly selective admissions processes are always a fluke. Anything that you can do that might possibly have the chance of helping you, do it. If it is of little to no cost to you, where is the harm?
And like I said before, there is always a chance that an AO will recognize your name as having come up. I’m aware that the chances are slim to none, but once again it can’t hurt.