How to Demonstrate Interest to Admissions Officers

What is demonstrated interest?

Demonstrated interest is a way of showing admissions that you interested in attending their universities. Colleges want to admit students who showcase eagerness to attend.

There is also another factor. Colleges have a yield rate (# students who enroll / # students who are admitted). The higher the yield rate, the more selective the college, which also means they have a lower acceptance rate (since they rely on high yield rate to fill seats for that year).

How show demonstrated interest

1. Open the mails that these universities send you (some colleges track whether or not you read their emails)
2. Join the mailing list to learn more about this college
3. Do the optional interview
4. Consider early decision or early action
5. Visit the campus
6. Attend admissions event
7. Email admission officer
8. Connect on social media
9. Write an amazing "Why This College" essay

This year, due to COVID-19, it will be difficult to visit a campus, but attend virtual webinars to learn more information about the college.

Also, besides showing interest to a particular college, it is also a great way to learn about a college and see if it is the right fit for you!

How Important is Demonstrated Interest?

The importance of demonstrated interest depends on the college. Below are lists of colleges where demonstrated interest is considered, important, very important, or not considered at all.

Colleges that consider demonstrated interest

• Agnes Scott College
• Alfred College
• Alma College
• Appalachian State University
• Babson College
• Bard College
• Barnard College
• Baylor University
• Beloit College
• Berea College
• Bradley University
• Brigham Young University
• Bryant University
• Calvin College
• Canisius College
• Case Western Reserve University
• Catholic University
• Clark University
• Coe College
• Colby College
• College of Charleston
• College of the Atlantic
• College of the Holy Cross
• College of William and Mary
• Colorado College
• Colorado School of Mines
• Connecticut College
• Cornell College
• Creighton University
• Davidson College
• DePauw University
• Drew University
• Drexel University
• Duke University
• Duquesne University
• East Carolina University
• Elizabethtown College
• Elon University
• Florida Atlantic University
• Florida Gulf Coast University
• Florida International 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
• Gustavus Adolphus College
• Hamilton College
• Haverford College
• Hobart and William Smith Colleges
• Hofstra University
• Hollins University
• Hood College
• Howard University
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Illinois Wesleyan University
• Juniata College
• Kalamazoo College
• Knox College
• Lafayette College
• Lake Forest College
• Lawrence University
• Lewis and Clark College
• Louisiana State University
• Loyola University Maryland
• Marietta College
• Marist College
• Marquette University
• McDaniel College
• Messiah College
• Middlebury College
• Mount Holyoke College
• Muhlenberg College
• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• New York University
• Northeastern University
• Northwestern University
• Oberlin College
• Occidental College
• Oregon State University
• Pitzer College
• Providence College
• Purdue University
• Ramapo College of New Jersey
• Rhodes CollegeRice University
• Rochester Institute of Technology
• Rollins College
• Saint Joseph's University
• Saint Louis University
• Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame
• Saint Michael's College
• Santa Clara University
• Sarah Lawrence College
• Sewanee: University of the South
• Siena College
• Simmons College
• Southern Methodist University
• Southwestern University
• Spelman College
• St. Edward's University
• St. Lawrence University
• St. Mary's College of Maryland
• St. Olaf College
• Stevens Institute of Technology
• Stonehill College
• SUNY, Binghamton University
• SUNY, Stony Brook University
• SUNY, Geneseo
• SUNY, Maritime College
• SUNY, New Paltz
• SUNY, Oneonta
• SUNY, Oswego
• SUNY, University at Albany
• Swarthmore College
• Texas A&M University
• Texas Christian University
• Texas Tech University
• The College of New Jersey
• Trinity University
• Truman State 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 Connecticut, Storrs
• University of Dallas
• University of Delaware
• University of Denver
• University of Florida
• University of Mary Washington
• 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 Scranton
• University of Tennessee
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Texas at Dallas
• University of Vermont
• University of Wisconsin
• Ursinus College
• Villanova University
• Virginia Tech
• Wake Forest University
• Warren Wilson College
• Washington & Jefferson College
• Washington and Lee University
• Wellesley College
• Wentworth Institute of Technology
• Wheaton College (IL)
• Whitman College
• Whittier College
• Wittenberg University
• Wofford College
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Xavier University
• Yeshiva University

Data from College Transitions

Colleges where demonstrated interest is important

• Allegheny College
• Auburn University
• Augustana College (IL)
• Austin College
• Bates College
• Bentley University
• Boston University
• Brandeis University
• Butler University
• Champlain College
• Christopher Newport University
• College of the Ozarks
• Denison University
• DePaul University
• Eckerd College
• Evergreen State College
• Fairfield University
• Florida Institute of Technology
• Florida Southern College
• High Point University
• Kenyon College
• Lehigh University
• Loyola University Chicago
• Marlboro College
• Michigan State University
• New College of Florida
• Oglethorpe University
• Reed College
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Roanoke College
• Samford University
• Seattle University
• Seton Hall University
• Skidmore College
• St. John's College, Annapolis
• St. John's College, Santa Fe
• Susquehanna University
• The College of Wooster
• Trinity College
• United States Merchant Marine Academy
• United States Military Academy
• University of Arizona
• University of Dayton
• University of Evansville
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• University of North Carolina at Asheville
• University of Tulsa
• Washington University
• Wheaton College (MA)

Data from College Transitions

Colleges where demonstrated interest is very important

• American University
• Cooper Union
• Dickinson College
• Georgia College
• Hampshire College
• Hiram CollegeIthaca College
• Morehouse College
• Quinnipiac University
• SUNY, College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• Syracuse University
• Thomas Aquinas College
• United States Air Force Academy
• United States Naval Academy
• Wabash College
• Westmont College

Data from College Transitions

Colleges that do not consider demonstrated interest

• 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 CollegeIndiana 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, University at Buffalo
• SUNY, Purchase College
• Temple University
• Towson University
• University of Alabama
• University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
• University of California, Davis (UCD)
• University of California, Irvine (UCI)
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• University of California, Riverside (UCR)
• University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
• University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB)
• University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)
• 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 Universit
• yWesleyan University
• West Chester University of Pennsylvania
• Williams College
• Yale University

Data from College Transitions

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