From both the college and student applicant perspective, demonstrated interest is an important piece of the admissions process. One could even make the argument that demonstrated interest is that intangible, indispensable emotion necessary for a healthy relationship between two entities before they enter a more formal commitment with one another.
For those colleges that track demonstrated interest, they have provided themselves with a tool to determine fit, to predict a certain level of campus engagement and academic achievement, a persistence to degree, and to measure loyalty to their brand (growing their alumni and future legacies), as well as enhance their enrollment management model for a more robust yield.
But because universal applications, such as The Common Application and The Coalition, a casual, more expansive approach towards applying to colleges has become very common. This growing student practice has left many colleges with little choice but to gauge ‘genuine’ interest as best as possible.
In turn, I believe these institutional practices of tracking applicant interest serve students well. Serious applicants should already be doing things like establishing college rep contacts, researching points of academic and social interests, completing interviews, connecting on social platforms and, when possible, touring campuses, meeting faculty and college students. These activities help the student determine fit, and make matriculation an easier transition.
Despite the mutually beneficial outcomes, tracking demonstrated interest has a dark side. Many colleges are not as transparent about this admissions practice. If colleges were more explicit, stating clearly ‘we track demonstrated interest; here are the ways in which we do it . . . ’, including the purchasing of student data from the exact sources (e.g., College Board, ACT, etc.), students would be more aware and hopefully, more thoughtful in crafting their college list (maybe / maybe not). Unfortunately, there would still be those students who would create false impressions of their affections for schools in which they only want an acceptance and never plan to matriculate to.
Finally, I think that some of this student behavior – especially the trophy hunting, may be the result of high school expectations. Having worked with students from very prestigious private schools and elite public schools, some of these schools want to brag about their students’ acceptances. Some of these schools encourage students to apply to many colleges. Many schools’ profiles boast large numbers of selective college acceptances. Just as colleges use predictive models to shore up financial backing, high schools take ‘college acceptance’ lists to the bank too.
Demonstrative interest is so very essential to ‘fit’. Unfortunately, the student applicant is not the only one gaming the system, but also the college, with its lack of transparency and secretive use of data, and the high school’s need to maintain a stellar profile of college acceptances. Educational Consultants who are Certified Educational Planners like Patricia Nehme can help you understand more about 'Demonstrated Interest'.