Someone in my extended family recently began a new relationship, so I’ve observed a lot of New Relationship Energy lately. Lots of hand holding and affection. Lots of joy and stars in the eyes. Lots of calls and texts. My family member is clearly interested in this new person, and it shows through their actions.
There are colleges who want students who demonstrate that New Relationship Energy for them. These colleges want students who show, through specific actions, that they are interested in attending— not just applying as a “safety” or backup school. In college admissions, we call this Demonstrated Interest (DI); it’s an important nonacademic admissions factor to understand.
What is Demonstrated Interest?
It is a measure of a student's engagement with and interest in a college as they research and apply.
It includes things like:
signing up for and clicking on links in emails
attending a virtual or local event
taking a campus tour
talking with an admissions rep at a college fair or high school visit
doing an interview
completing optional application essays
applying Early Decision (if advisable).
Colleges that track DI use it to gauge how likely a student is to enroll if accepted. This impacts a college's yield-- the % of students who accept an offer of admission. This is a critical statistic for colleges. Yield too low = unrealized financial targets (too few tuition dollars coming in). Yield too high = strain on limited resources like class seats and housing (ex: Virginia Tech in 2019).
Pro Tip: How do you know if a college tracks demonstrated interest?
Google “Does [insert college name] track demonstrated interest?” Easiest method but sometimes subject to outdated/bad results.
Google “[insert college name] Common Data Set”, then open the most recent results and head to section C7. You’ll see a chart like this:
Demonstrated Interest will never outweigh academic performance; 18 emails to an admissions rep and 5 campus tours will not cancel out a low GPA or course rigor. However, when tracked, DI can absolutely play a role in an admissions decision-- no college wants to be somebody's backup. Many of these colleges will outright deny an applicant who they feel has little chance of enrolling; this also pushes down acceptance rates (something else colleges are sensitive to).
As students engage with colleges, they’re gaining valuable information about whether or not each school is a good fit academically, socially, and financially. This is the case at all colleges; at those that track Demonstrated Interest, engagement is also a smart and strategic part of applying. Particularly in an era of continually rising application numbers, it’s important that students “show love” to each college on their list that tracks DI.
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