College Admissions Consulting How to Demonstrate Your Interest to Colleges Online Written by Elizabeth Heatonon November 27th, 2019 I began my admissions career at the University of Pennsylvania, where I chaired university selection committees, evaluated potential athletic recruits as one of the school's athletics liaisons, and oversaw the university's portfolio of admissions publications. I also served as second chair in the selection committee for the school's flagship interdisciplinary Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology. A frequent contributor to USA TODAY and The Huffington Post and a graduate of Cornell University, I bring exceptional skills to the craft of essay writing paired with experience reading and evaluating thousands of admissions essays. I can offer expert advice on a wide range of college admissions topics, from colleges' expectations for high school curriculum choices and standardized test scores to choosing the right extracurricular activities and essay topics. Prior to joining the University of Pennsylvania, I worked as a public relations professional and served for a decade as a member of the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network. Learn More About Elizabeth college admissions advice, demonstrated interest, A few weeks ago, the Washington Post came out with a story that outlined online consumer behavior tracking methods used by many higher education institutions to determine the likelihood that a student would enroll if accepted. This seems to be somewhat surprising to people, probably because they don’t think of colleges as businesses trying to sell something to consumers. In an age when admissions practices seem more complicated and opaque than ever before, it also feels like one more secret kept from the students and parents who are already stressed out about grades, test scores, and application essays. While these practices certainly raise questions about access and fairness in admissions, the reality is that consumer tracking is helping colleges to fill seats and stay afloat. And I don’t anticipate that institutions will end this practice anytime soon. With that in mind, we have some suggestions for ways in which students can show demonstrated interest of the digital kind: Get on the mailing list at every school you are currently considering. Be sure to use an email address that you check regularly. You might even consider creating an email account specifically for college information. Check your email at least once a day. If you don’t regularly check your email account, set a time every day to do so. This is good practice for when you begin applying, as colleges will routinely communicate important information to you via email. Open the emails from your colleges of interest, click on the links in the emails, and spend time looking at the pages you land on via the links. This engagement is a key component of what institutions are tracking, so make sure that you do it! Even though not every college is tracking demonstrated interest or using these systems, best to assume that they are and follow these guidelines for every school to which you apply. An added bonus is that this digital behavior can also support interest you’ve already shown by visiting or make your interest clearer if you haven’t yet had a chance to get to campus. Related Resources Read | Posted on December 4th, 2024 Best Gifts for the Student in Your Life Read | Posted on November 26th, 2024 What Are the Different Types of Architecture Programs? Read | Posted on November 22nd, 2024 Top 7 Reasons to Use College Coaching
