How to Demonstrate Interest in a College

You want a seat in that classroom. You're working hard on those applications. And maybe you've even submitted some applications for early decision, or early action.

So now is the time to double down. Make sure you've done everything possible to enhance your application. "Demonstrated interest" is a piece of this puzzle.

So what does this mean? You want to show, or demonstrate, to a college that you really want to attend that school. Colleges care about their "yield," or the percentage of admitted students who accept an admissions offer. So theoretically, a school is more likely to look favorably at your application if you show that you will help them with their yield rate.

How to demonstrate interest:

• Apply Early Decision or Early Action. This is the ultimate way to demonstrate interest.

• Sign up for the school's mailing list.

• Visit campus in person. Make sure you formally register for a tour through the school's website. You want them to know you were there. If you simply wander around campus on your own, the school doesn't have any way to know you visited.

• Attend an online virtual tour or webinar. If you can't attend in person, or even if you already did, a virtual option is just as powerful.

• Meet with an admissions representative who visits your school. Sign up for any formal visits.

• Follow the school on social media.

• Talk to current students. If you don't know anyone at a particular school, find a friend of a friend, or an alum of your high school.

• Email a professor at the school. Is there a subject you want to study? Find a professor in your intended major and reach out. Ask to talk, or if there are any students who might be willing to talk to you. When you write an essay, you can reference your interest in this professor's area of focus.

• Talk to alumni from the college. Do you have a neighbor or relative who attended the college?

• Sign up for an admissions interview if this is offered. Few schools still offer this, but it is possible in some cases.

In addition, I recommend using an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of these steps for each school. Of course not every school considers demonstrated interest. In fact, some explicitly say it's not part of the evaluation.

Even so, there's an advantage to doing all these extra steps. Your application will actually be better if you spend more time interacting with a school. You'll write a better "why us" essay. You'll have a better sense of what the school is looking for, and this will come through in your application essays.

So go for it. Sign up for that extra webinar, even if you've already applied. It might just help you make a decision on what offer to accept further down the road.