<p>Those of us who have rising HS seniors could use help from parents who've been here before regarding which colleges and universities don't really give a darn about a student's interest (for example, the head of admissions for Stanford said as much to a group of parents), and which colleges DO care. Could you add your intel to our list? The parents of HS '11 salute you.</p>
<p>Colleges that track interest (added* means really care about this):
WashU *</p>
<p>Most LACs do want to feel the love. Ivies and public universities don’t. Generally private universities just below the HYPSM level do like to see signs of genuine interest because they want to protect their yield/boost their admit rate, so they’re wary of making offers to people who are just using them as a back-up (or, heaven forbid, a “safety”). Of course, the most convincing way to say “I love you” to a college or university is to apply ED. It’s like a marriage proposal. They may accept or not, but they’ll know you’re not just toying with them.</p>
<p>Add Lehigh to the list of schools that want to see the love. Their supplemental application asks specific questions about when you visited, who you spoke with, etc.</p>
<p>My son made one campus visit to George Washington University and then had virtually no contact with them. They offered him admission with generous merit aid, he is not attending.</p>
<p>fendrock, Being in Texas and having a son that was only applying to one school in Texas, this was a concern of ours as well. I truly believe that colleges understand this and if a student cannot make the trip, then it’s not counted against them.</p>
<p>In fact, I think schools who do care about this would rather the student strike up an on-going conversation with the admissions office via phone or email rather than put all their effort into one visit. A few questions across time surely shows more interest than one afternoon at the campus.</p>
<p>I think one visit to GW is plenty, but none is not enough. At least two years ago a higher ranked young woman didn’t get in (and really wanted to attend) while someone with stats quite a bit lower did get in. Our GC called and asked why and was told it was because she didn’t visit. It’s a four or five hour drive from here. (Or you could take the train.)</p>
<p>With Rochester it seems to be the interview they really, really, really, really really care about. (That’s how many times the admissions counselor said really when he spoke to students at our school.)</p>
<p>For those of you who have been on CC long enough, you must realize that while Wash U “talks the talk” about demonstrated interest, they really do not “walk the walk”…</p>
<p>So many kids have been admitted without any demonstrated interest. while many who have showed the love (even applied ED) have not…they should really eliminate that as a “factor” at this point; they are more like Ivies in terms of this…I think this is an old story for them, in particular…</p>
<p>If you go by the application, Syracuse University seems to care a lot. Specific questions about what you like about the school (thus, D did not apply, it was one of her “extra” - the application did a good job of weeding her out since she wasn’t that interested).</p>
<p>At American University, they told us during the admissions talk that it is a good idea to find out who the admissions officer is your geographic area and send an email regarding your interest. (D did this and was accepted - but not going there.)</p>
<p>I think that some schools (WUSTL) included are actually looking at “likelihood of enrolling” rather than “demonstrated interest” in particular.</p>
<p>These are two different but related things.
My S did not show ANY demonstrated interest in WUSTL prior to applying. He simply did the app and sent it in. He was accepted, and I think that based on his stats he was deemed as “likely” to enroll (and in fact was all set to until he got off the waitlist at his 1st choice). This is because WashU was making the educated guess what WashU would be one of the best schools to which he was likely to be admitted (and they were correct!). If his stats had been <em>higher</em> and he showed an equal lack of interest he might have been waitlisted or rejected as he would have been identified as “unlikely” to enroll.</p>