In the last few years, the college landscape has changed quite a bit when it comes to demonstrated interest. Historically nebulous and opaque, demonstrated interest didn’t have a clear definition, nor did universities disclose how much it factored into their admissions decisions. Recently, more top-tier universities have come out to say they do not consider demonstrated interest when evaluating applications, but each school has a slightly different policy. Northwestern’s might seem a bit complicated at first glance, but we’re here to cut through the noise so you can focus on what matters most this college application season.
Demonstrated Interest at Williams
Demonstrated Interest at MIT
While oldheads are out here complaining about TikTok this and ChatGPT that, the truth is that some things about adolescence never change. For example, applying to college has always caused high school seniors a significant amount of stress. And young, eager college hopefuls have always wondered if demonstrating interest — if finding a way to show how much they really care — would make it just a little bit easier to get into their dream school.
Demonstrated Interest at UChicago
Demonstrated Interest at Brown
Demonstrated Interest at UPenn
Hello, and welcome to the “demonstrated interest” support group. If you’re a bewildered college applicant, you’re in the right place. Demonstrated interest is confusing. For one thing, there’s no data that can tell us in cold, hard numbers how much it impacts admissions decisions, and colleges don’t have a clear definition of what behaviors they interpret as meaningful displays of interest.
Demonstrated Interest at Columbia
If we had a dollar for every time we got a question about demonstrated interest, the millennial housing crisis would be no problem. Unfortunately, this scenario is just as far-fetched as the idea that following Columbia on Instagram will automatically get you into a school with a 5% acceptance rate.
Demonstrated Interest at Princeton
If you landed here, the odds are you’re scouring the internet for anything to give you an edge on your Princeton application. Unsurprisingly, the question of demonstrated interest comes up a lot, because most schools don’t strictly define what their idea of demonstrated interest is or how much it factors into their decisions. Luckily, that’s started to change, and Princeton has made its policy clear.
Demonstrated Interest at Dartmouth
While it remains shocking that a school whose official mascot is just the color green but big (and whose unofficial mascot is “Keggy the Keg”) has maintained its position as one of the most competitive colleges in the U.S., numbers don’t lie. With an acceptance rate of just 6.2%, Dartmouth is not only an Ivy League but one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in America, founded in 1769. If you’re thinking “cut to the chase already,” we’ll give it to you straight. If you want to one day see a somewhat worse-for-wear foam beer keg tap itself at sporting events all over Hanover, New Hampshire (sidenote: is that auto-cannibalism?), you’ll need to set yourself apart in every possible way before applying. (We wish we were joking.)
Demonstrated Interest at Harvard
Honestly, we should be applying our clown makeup as we write this post, because Harvard is Harvard. Who doesn’t want in? Interest is implied. You don’t get brownie points for wanting to go there because, um, duh. You want to go there, your neighbor wants to go there, every teen rom-com protagonist wants to go there, and — we’re pretty confident in this assumption — even your imaginary friend wants to go there. Yeah, we’re talking Rory Gilmores out the wazoo.
Demonstrated Interest at New York University
Everyone’s favorite dream school has gotten more competitive. Gone are the days of being a Violet (or a Bobcat or whatever their mascot is) as second-choice to Ivy League dreams. NYU’s acceptance rates have more than halved in the last ten years. HALVED!! In 2013, NYU had a 35% acceptance rate, which went down to 28% in 2017, down again to 19% in 2018, and finally for this last admissions cycle they’re down to 12.2%. And if we follow this math, it’s only going to get harder and harder to stand out amongst the piles of applicants.
Demonstrated Interest at Duke University
Duke is one of the most popular schools with our clients. It has a great culture, robust academics, and it seems like everyone wants to go there. Their most recent acceptance rate? 7.7%. That makes Duke more popular with applicants than schools like Dartmouth, Cornell, and UPenn. So how can you set yourself up with the best chances possible when applying to Duke? Demonstrated interest. Which sounds simple enough, but here’s where it gets confusing. Duke says that they don’t track demonstrated interest:
Demonstrated Interest at University of Southern California
USC is so hot right now. With admissions rates that have steadily declined over the last decade, USC has become one of the most popular colleges that our clients want to apply to. We think it’s in part to their approachability versus other top colleges, along with admissions policies that make it easier than ever to apply.
How to Show Demonstrated Interest During Covid
There are a lot of things that are important in the college application. We regularly emphasize the fact that grades are of the utmost importance. In a normal year, tests matter a lot, too. If you want to beat out the competition to a highly competitive school, your essays are going to be key. Then, there are all the ancillary things that add up to help put you over the edge in a very competitive college admissions environment. Demonstrated interest is certainly an ancillary component—in fact, it doesn’t matter all that much but it’s something that parents and students care a lot about. It’s also one component over which you can exert a lot of control.
Demonstrated Interest at The University of Michigan
The final installment of our demonstrated interest mini-series is focused on the ever-popular University of Michigan. If you’re wondering why everyone seems to love the school so much, start here. If you (or your child) have recently set your sights on The Big House you’ve come to the right place! Keep reading for the low down on demonstrated interest on everyone’s favorite campus.
How To Show Demonstrated Interest in a College
As we’ve mentioned in our previous blog posts on this topic, we always suggest doing your best to figure out your school’s stance on demonstrated interest before you go to great lengths to prove that you want to go there. As you’ll see in this blog post, there are many schools that no longer consider demonstrated interest as an important factor in their application process. None of this means that you shouldn’t demonstrate interest if it’s in your means to do so, but we think it’s important to shed light on how the admission process works. And because things like going on a school tour or attending a summer program don’t guarantee admission, it’s important that you spend your time wisely.
What Does Demonstrated Interest Mean?
Which Colleges Care About Demonstrated Interest 2019?
The Best Questions To Ask On A College Tour
Is Demonstrated Interest in College Admissions Dead?
Demonstrated interest is a fancy admissions term for showing that you are interested in the school beyond just applying with the school name spelled right. Ways of demonstrating your interest can include touring, going to an admissions information session, doing an interview if it’s an option, taking part in their summer programs, or basically anything else that puts you on their radar before they hand down judgment on your application.