The LACs are getting so many applications. To weed out prospective students, they look at whether a child has visited the school. Visit the colleges that truly interest you. Schools want good stats and would prefer to offer a spot to someone who has visited and preferably interviewed than a person who is throwing darts at a board. Great kids with wonderful test scores, grades and ECs are getting deferred or waitlisted at schools they have not visited. Many schools also have software that shows if a prospective student is reading the emails that are sent out and looking at the college website. We were visiting a college and after my son’s interview, the jovial admissions officer turned her screen around and showed me how the colleges can track the interaction a child has had. She said it is important to contact the admissions rep for your area. Write thank you notes if you have an interview and follow up but don’t be a pest, if you have any questions or want to show interest. I told a friend this process reminds me of blind dating. The other “person” (in this case the college) wants to know if you have swiped left or right on them before they show a lot of interest in you and vice versa. Exhausting!