Demonstrated Interest

Written By Jess Pomerantz

How do you show Demonstrated Interest? 

  1. Request Information.  Visit the websites for each of the schools you are interested in and register your email and other requested information.  More than ever, schools are tracking prospective students’ activity on their website.  For an in depth analysis see this 2019 Washington Post article which explains how colleges track data, Colleges Quietly Rank Prospective Students Based on Their Personal Data.

    1. “Visit” and Connect. If colleges visit your school be sure to attend the visit (be it in person or virtually). Be sure to take virtual college tours and keep your eyes open for online college fairs this fall.  

    2. Participate in Interviews. Many schools these days offer in person and online interviews. We recommend participating in any way you can. I can provide a list of schools that offer interviews BEFORE you apply! 

    3. Open Emails.  If a school to which you are applying sends you an email, be sure to click on it. 

    4. Get Social: Participate in social media interactions by joining schools’ Facebook and Instagram pages. Like posts. Be aware, however, when you are engaging in social media with these universities, they are not your online friends. Interactions should be much more formal. 

    5. Be Specific. In your supplemental essays, 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.

    6. Thank Everyone! Please remember to thank everyone with whom you interact. Do not to send anything in the form of gifts or gimmicks — your words are enough. You do not want to cross the line between demonstrating interest and becoming a nuisance. 

    7. Proofread all your Communications. Need we say more? 

    8. Choose Early.  While it is difficult and not always possible, the best way to show a school your demonstrated interest is to apply Early Decision or Single Choice Early Action. 

List of Colleges that Track Demonstrated Interest

If a school tells you it considers demonstrated interest as a factor in admissions, believe it! This list is not comprehensive and subject to change.  Please check the website of each school. Our source of information is The Common Data Set issued by each school.  

Demonstrated 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

 Demonstrated Interest = Important:

  • Allegheny College

  • Auburn University

  • Bates College

  • Bentley University

  • Butler University

  • DePaul University

  • Eckerd College

  • Elon University

  • 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)

 Demonstrated Interest = Considered:

  • Agnes Scott College

  • Babson College

  • Bard College

  • Barnard College

  • Baylor University

  • Beloit College

  • Berea College

  • Boston University

  • Bradley University

  • Brandeis University

  • Brigham Young University

  • Case Western Reserve University

  • Catholic University

  • Chapman 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

  • Dartmouth College

  • Davidson College

  • Denison University

  • DePauw University

  • Drew University

  • Drexel University

  • Duke 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

  • Providence 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

  • St. 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

 Demonstrated 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

  • 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

  • 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

Jess Pomerantz
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