While young bucks like yourself normally try to play it cool in most arenas during high school, we can attest to the fact that every year we see some applicants go WAY overboard with demonstrated interest. Forget goblin mode — we’re talking, like, full stalking.
Besides the fact that this is red-flag behavior that will get you rejected faster than viral audio gets replaced on TikTok, it’s just not necessary. Yes, displays of demonstrated interest that pester admissions or cross boundaries will hurt your chances, but, besides that, even appropriate behaviors don’t help much. It’s too burdensome for colleges to collect, analyze, and organize data on prospective students performing small actions like signing up for email updates or attending a virtual Q&A.
Even if they could, these signs of interest are easy boxes to check, and if everyone does them to increase their odds of being accepted then they don’t really mean anything. They’re not reliable indicators of whether someone will actually attend or not, so they’re a waste of time for admissions and applicants. Lastly, but crucially, demonstrated interest isn’t an accurate depiction of an applicant pool because not all students have equal access to summer programs, in-person visits, and counseling, so using demonstrated interest as admissions criteria when evaluating applications is both imprecise and unfair.
Williams’ Policy
In recent years, most competitive colleges have taken these arguments into consideration and make their policy transparent. Fortunately, Williams is among these schools, and their common data set clearly states that “level of applicant’s interest” is “not considered.” There’s no catch here. That’s the full policy. They don’t track demonstrated interest, nor do they care.
What This Means for You
You can stop worrying about demonstrated interest! But don’t go radio silent on us just yet — you still need to do the work for your Williams application. Basically, you don’t have to waste a bunch of time trying to send unanswered signals to the admissions office, but you’ve still got to do your research. Why, if they’re not following it? Because — ultimately — demonstrated interest is for you. It’s not to win points with the Big-Brother scorekeeper who’s making a tally every time you visit the website; it’s for you to gather information on Williams that lets you get to the know the school.
The dual purpose of this is that it allows you to confirm that your interest is Williams is grounded in reality (its academic structure, social culture, and unique programs) and not a dream version of the school, and it gives you specifics to use in your application. Remember, the only place demonstrated interest really matters is your essay, and the more personal details and individual research you include in your writing, the more convincing, relevant, and interesting your application will be. And that’s that on that.
We make sure our students know what really matters and help them put together stellar applications. Contact us today for personalized counseling.