<p>NEV, my son’s reasons for interest at Colorado C was similar to your son’s except minus the wheel chair bound friend. We have family friends in Denver which was a reason for our visit there. Upon visiting the college, he was intrigued and decided to apply, barely getting his app in for EA, in fact switching from RD to EA via phone. It’s hard to say what is the factor that does not get a kid in a particular school.</p>
<p>He was accepted there, but was rejected from a program that seemed tailor made for him, and that his counselors felt he had a great chance of being accepted as others from his school have been with stats similar and below his. That was , in fact, the only app vetted by the school counselors. They did not care for his other essays and apps. It was one of the few rejections he got, so who knows what the heck happens in the admissions office. He also got into a program that he indicated as second choice and a classmate with similar stats who really wanted to get accepted there was turned down. And the essay he wrote there was roundly critisized by all as giving no indication of what he was like… it was a boring subject essay with very little self in it, more of a term paper,but it was the closest fit he had. The program that rejected him was considered close to ideal in what a student essay should be. So how much demonstrated interest counts is really a mystery, and sometimes it is something else that is the reason why a kid is not accepted.</p>
<p>S1 did a couple of “under the radar” visits to his top choices, but always dropped in on admissions once he was there to sign in/say hello. By that point he could say he had already arranged overnight accommodations, had made appointments with profs, etc. He never had a problem doing this. A couple of the schools gave him food vouchers anyway, even though he wasn’t official. He had friends at each of these schools with whom he stayed, and they generally gave the heads-up to the RA and roommate.</p>
<p>The only caveat is not doing this during exams or when there are already big activities scheduled on campus (i.e., for accepted seniors).</p>
<p>S talked about his visits to campus in his essays and interviews, and I don’t think he ever mentioned whether it was “official” or not – but it was clear from what he wrote that he had indeed BTDT.</p>
<p>I know that Emory values student interest very highly. It is considered alongside with things such as low-income, talent, ECs, work experience, etc. within the holistic admission process. I think that, if you are somehow held back by various factors (cannot handle the expense of long-distance travel, other things), it will not truly make a difference. I got into Emory and I took care in one of my essays to explain that my family could not afford an immediate (it was very close to the deadline) 5 hour trip to Atlanta to visit.</p>
<p>I was told this was definitely the case with Northwestern where my D is now a freshman. It has to with yield, I’m told; if an out-of-towner is interested enough to visit the place, there’s a feeling that the student is more likely to come if accepted, hence keeping the yield up.</p>