Guide to Demonstrated Interest As you navigate applying to college, you may hear the term “Demonstrated Interest” in the conversation. You may be asking yourself: What is Demonstrated Interest? ● Demonstrated interest refers to how much effort you put into learning about a college, connecting with its community, and showing that it’s your top choice. It shows admission officers that you are seriously interested in attending their school if accepted. If a college is one of your top choices, you should assume that demonstrated interest can strengthen your candidacy and focus on showing sincere interest. Colleges want to admit students who will enroll rather than go elsewhere. Demonstrated interest helps them gauge which applicants are truly interested versus those just applying on a whim or as a reach. (source: CollegeMatchPoint)
● Colleges and universities often track the amount of interest a student demonstrates to their specific college. For some schools, if students show strong demonstrated interest, it can increase their chance of being admitted to the specific college. The amount that a college tracks a student’s Demonstrated Interest depends on each college. There are a variety of ways you can show Demonstrated Interest in a college or university. Here are some examples: ● Visiting campus and taking an official in-person campus tour ● Signing up for and attending an official virtual campus visit ● Viewing a 360 virtual tour of a college and filling out the contact info form when requested ● Emailing an Admissions Counselor with questions about the college and getting to know your Admissions Counselor and ● Contacting professors or coaches in your areas of academic/athletic interest ● Scheduling a time to meet with an Admissions Counselor, either in-person or virtually, so you can ask them questions especially if they visit your high school