Showing the Colleges Your Love

College Search

By Lee Shulman Bierer

By Lee Shulman Bierer, College Admissions Strategies – Founder

Do colleges and universities care how much you want to attend their school?

Yes
No
Sometimes
All of the Above

The answer is D – “All of the Above” – some schools care a whole lot, for others, it is “considered” in the admissions decision and for others, it doesn’t matter at all.

What does this all mean?

Remember, colleges and universities are businesses – they need to remain solvent and they must recruit a compelling and complete class. They want to know if you’ll really choose to attend or are simply adding their school onto your list, just because. Their Enrollment Managers are trying to figure out just how likely you are to enroll if they admit you. In order to determine the likelihood of you attending, many schools factor in a relatively new concept known as “Demonstration of Interest” or DOI. With so many applicants who look so similar on paper, i.e., similar grades, similar test scores, similar activities, it is important to show schools that you know about them and you are serious about your intentions to attend.

One of the silver linings of the Covid pandemic is that it now easier than ever before to demonstrate your interest from the comfort of your own home. If you can visit a school in person that is a bonus, but certainly not necessary or expected.

Here are my Top 10 ideas on how to demonstrate interest:

Open Emails. Colleges now have sophisticated technology that tracks how many of their emails you open, how many clicks you make on their websites, etc.
Follow. An easy way to demonstrate interest is to follow all of your colleges on social media. Joining their Facebook and Instagram pages. Like their posts.
Sign up. It’s a great idea to sign up for notifications from each of your colleges. You’ll learn about when admissions reps are visiting your area and you can request access to more information.
Do your homework. When you’re writing your supplemental essays, specifically the often-asked “Why this college?” – be sure to include information that is specific to that institution. Use this information as it relates to your particular interests. Scour the schools’ websites and see if there are any classes or professors who share your passions.
Take advantage of opportunities. If one of the schools on your list is visiting your high school, do your best to attend, ask a question, request a business card and send a thank you note.
Visit virtually. Check out the opportunities to take a virtual tour and participate in virtual information sessions
Interview if given a chance. Many schools offer students alumni interviews. For some schools you’ll need to apply by an earlier deadline to qualify for these interviews, so stay on top of your deadlines.
Thank Everyone!– Be polite, be concise – but thank everyone you come into contact with at each school. Email is fine.
Proofread all your communications. Don’t be a “Candy Stripper” – that would get by spell-check. Proof your work carefully before hitting submit.
Go Early. The best way to show a school you love them is to apply Early Decision or Single Choice Early Action. That is the strongest indicator of your interest.

Demonstration of Interest is all about “high-touch.” If you can set yourself apart from other applicants by demonstrating that their college is a great fit for you, you’ve done what you can do.

Here’s a list of colleges and their current policies on Demonstration of Interest – please check each college’s website to verify their information.

Demonstration of Interest – Very Important:

American University
Cooper Union
Dickinson College
Hampshire College
Ithaca College
Morehouse College
Quinnipiac University
Syracuse University
Thomas Aquinas College
United States Air Force Academy
United States Naval Academy

Demonstration of Interest – Important:

Allegheny College
Auburn University
Bates College
Bentley University
Boston University
Brandeis University
Butler University
Denison University
DePaul University
Eckerd College
Fairfield University
Florida Institute of Technology
High Point University
Kenyon College
Lehigh University
Loyola University Chicago
Michigan State University
Oglethorpe University
Reed College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Roanoke College
Seattle University
Seton Hall University
Skidmore College
The College of Wooster
Trinity College
United States Merchant Marine Academy
United States Military Academy
University of Arizona
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Wheaton College (MA)

Demonstration of Interest – Somewhat Important:

Agnes Scott College
Babson College
Bard College
Barnard College
Baylor University
Beloit College
Berea College
Bradley University
Brigham Young University
Case Western Reserve University
Catholic University
Clark University
Colby College
College of Charleston
College of the Holy Cross
College of William and Mary
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Connecticut College
Cornell College
Davidson College
DePauw University
Drew University
Drexel University
Duke University
Elon University
Fordham University
Franklin & Marshall College
Furman University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gettysburg College
Gonzaga University
Goucher College
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hofstra University
Howard University
Juniata College
Kalamazoo College
Knox College
Lafayette College
Lake Forest College
Lawrence University
Lewis & Clark College
Loyola University Maryland
Marietta College
Marist College
Marquette University
Middlebury College
Mount Holyoke College
Muhlenberg College
New York University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Oregon State University
Pitzer College
Purdue University
Rhodes College
Rice University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Saint Joseph’s University
Saint Louis University
Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
Sewanee: University of the South
Simmons College
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Spelman College
Olaf College
Stevens Institute of Technology
SUNY, Binghamton University
SUNY, Stony Brook University
Swarthmore College
Texas A&M University
Trinity University
Tufts University
Tulane University
Union College
United States Coast Guard Academy
University of Central Florida
University of Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Delaware
University of Denver
University of Florida
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of Missouri, Columbia
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
University of North Texas
University of Notre Dame
University of Oklahoma
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of San Diego
University of Texas at Austin
University of Vermont
University of Wisconsin
Ursinus College
Villanova University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington and Lee University
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Wheaton College (IL)
Whitman College
Whittier College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Xavier University
Yeshiva University

Demonstration of Interest – Not Considered:

Albion College
Amherst College
Arizona State University
Belmont University
Bennington College
Berry College
Birmingham Southern College
Boston College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
California Institute of Technology
California Poly, San Luis Obispo
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Centre College
Chapman University
Claremont McKenna College
Clemson University
Colgate University
Colorado State University
Columbia University
Cornell University
CUNY, Baruch College
CUNY, Brooklyn College
CUNY, City College
CUNY, Hunter College
Dartmouth College
Drake University
Earlham College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Emerson College
Emory University
Florida State University
Georgetown College
Georgetown University
Georgia State University
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd College
Hendrix College
Hope College
Indiana University
James Madison University
Johns Hopkins University
Kettering University
Loyola Marymount University
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Miami University
Millsaps College
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Mississippi State University
North Carolina State University
Ohio State University
Ohio University
Penn State University
Pepperdine University
Pomona College
Princeton University
Ripon College
Rockhurst University
Rutgers University
Saint John’s University (MN)
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
Scripps College
Smith College
Stanford University
SUNY, Purchase College
SUNY, University at Buffalo
Temple University
Towson University
University of Alabama
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Cincinnati
University of Georgia
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Houston
University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
University of Iowa
University of Kansas
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
University of Maine
University of Maryland
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
University of Minnesota
University of Mississippi
University of Missouri, Kansas City
University of Montana
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of New Hampshire
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of Oregon
University of Redlands
University of San Francisco
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida
University of Southern California
University of St. Thomas (MN)
University of Utah
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Washington State University
Wesleyan University
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Williams College
Yale University

Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte. Send questions to: lee@collegeadmissionsstrategies.com; www.collegeadmissionsstrategies.com

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