Showing the Colleges Your Love
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