Demonstrating Your Interest (Take advantage of the upcoming long weekend!)

When all other things are equal, a student who demonstrates their interest in a college by way of a college visit, which may or may not include an interview, has a slight advantage. Hold on! Now read that first phrase again…. When all other things are equal… What does that mean? Let’s look at two hypothetical candidates.

Admission criteria	Candidate A	Candidate B
Overall average	85	85
Rank in class	40/80	40/80
SAT scores (total)	1000	1000
Letters of recommendation	2 (excellent)	2 (excellent)
Choice of major	Nursing	Nursing
Demonstrated interest (optional)	None	On-campus tour 10/1/2016

Using our table above, let’s consider an all-too-often real set of circumstances. Two average students are vying for the last available seat in a college’s nursing program. ALL – yes, that’s in all cap’s – nursing programs are very competitive. Our two candidates are identical except for the fact that Candidate B has visited the college for a tour, thus demonstrating interest. The admission staff can surmise that Candidate B applied based on what was learned about the college from the candidate’s research on colleges and on what was experienced during the visit. In essence, the candidate thought they might be interested in the college then visited, and went on to apply confirming that they liked what they saw/experienced during that visit. Demonstrating interest in this way, signals to admissions staff that an offer of admission is more likely to yield an enrollment.