Do colleges track demonstrated interest, and how can students show informed interest in the schools on their list? In this episode of the IvyWise Just Admit It! podcast, IvyWise counselors Tasha and Dashawn explain what demonstrated interest is, why some colleges track it, and how students can use it strategically.
Key Takeaways
- Demonstrated interest is the amount of interaction and interest a student shows in a college, from campus visits and information sessions to emails, social media, and Early Decision applications.
- The most meaningful demonstrated interest is informed interest, grounded in real research and experiences rather than rankings or a vibe.
- Colleges that track demonstrated interest use it to help predict yield, the percentage of admitted students who enroll.
- Not all colleges track demonstrated interest. Some list it as “considered,” others as “important,” and some don’t track it at all because of application volume or equity concerns.
- Demonstrated interest is a soft factor that colleges weigh after academic readiness. It won’t make or break an application, but knowing which schools track it can help students prioritize visits, summer programs, and Early Action or Early Decision applications.
Resources and Links from This Episode
Podcast Transcript
Tasha
Hi there. Welcome to Semester 13, Episode 6 of the IvyWise Just Admit It! podcast, where former deans and directors of admission give expert insight into the college admissions landscape. I’m Tasha, your host. I’m an admissions counselor at IvyWise, a former international admissions officer at USC, and former assistant director of international admissions at Boston University.
This season on the show, we’re covering the college admissions rubric, breaking down its eight components — from grades to essays and everything in between. Today’s episode is about demonstrated interest: Do college admissions officers track demonstrated interest?
Joining me today is my new colleague, Dashawn. Hi, Dashawn. Welcome to the Just Admit It! podcast for the very first time. Thanks so much for joining me.
Dashawn
Hi, Tasha. Nice to meet you as well, and happy to be here.
Tasha
Happy to have you. Can you tell our listeners a little bit more about yourself?
Dashawn
Hi, everyone. I’m Dashawn, a Principal College Admissions Counselor here at IvyWise and a former assistant director at Georgetown University. I worked there for four years, reading applications from the Midwest and the East Coast and chairing some of the admissions committees.
Tasha
Great. Thanks so much, Dashawn. This is already Episode 6 — we’re almost at the end of our season reviewing all eight components of the college admissions rubric, which is the framework colleges use to evaluate applicants. It includes four hard factors and four soft factors. To apply to college strategically, the IvyWise team thinks it’s wise to learn this rubric and see how you can be competitive in each category.
Our first four episodes focused on the rubric’s hard factors. If you haven’t listened yet, I highly recommend checking them out. They break down the quantitative, more tangible factors that students can plan for as early as ninth grade — the earlier the better. We’ve started on the soft factors, and today we’re continuing with demonstrated interest.
Dashawn, let’s start by defining this term. It seems self-explanatory, but it’s a little more complicated. Could you help me define demonstrated interest?
Dashawn
Yes, for sure. Demonstrated interest is the amount of interaction and interest a student has shown in a particular college or university. This includes how a student interacts with the college online or in person, as well as the research they’ve done before applying, which is known as informed interest.
Many colleges track demonstrated interest to see how applicants have engaged with them. They look at how long and how deeply a student has worked to connect with and learn about the college. That might include visiting the school’s social media pages or signing up for its online information sessions.
Tasha
That’s right. And I love that you also introduced us to this idea of informed interest. The word “demonstrated” suggests that a student is proving through their actions that they’re interested in the college. But it’s also about showing that you understand what you’re doing. You’re not saying, “I really want to go to this college,” without having done any research or engaged formally with the college — through an on-campus visit, if you’re able, or even through virtual visits, which are also tracked and official.
So demonstrated interest isn’t just about the demonstration. It’s also about being informed, with interest shaped by real research and experiences — not just by a vibe or a focus on rankings.
All right, now that we’ve defined it, how can a student demonstrate interest in a college?
Dashawn
We touched on it a little: visiting the campus, in person or virtually, on an official visit. That means not just showing up but actually attending the information session and taking a tour with the school’s student tour guides. Reaching out to the admissions officer by email is another way. To show informed interest, you might ask about a specific department or what it’s like to start at the school as a first-year student from a certain background.
Following and interacting with the school on social media, such as Instagram or X, also counts. Some schools host Q&As or “day in the life” takeovers by their students, which you can watch. You can also open and read the school’s emails, which share application updates, announce new visit openings, and promote webinars and information sessions.
You can also include these details in your essay to show that you’ve done your research — talking about a professor you’re interested in or a class you’d like to take, describing what it’s like to walk into the cafeteria, or explaining what makes the school special. And finally, there’s applying to a school Early Decision. Early Decision is a binding agreement that tells the school you’ll enroll if admitted.
Tasha
That’s right. Applying Early Decision is one of the most tangible ways that students can demonstrate their interest, because it tells the school, “Not only am I applying early, but I’m applying binding.” It’s an official declaration that a school is a student’s first choice.
Thank you, Dashawn. You just covered many ways students can demonstrate and cultivate informed interest, grounded in experiences and facts — from how they experienced a campus or from conversations with students and professors. But a lot of listeners will wonder why this matters. Colleges look at so many factors. Why is demonstrated interest sometimes — and that’s a big caveat — part of the process?
Dashawn
Great question. It helps colleges predict their yield — how many admitted students will actually enroll and what the incoming first-year class will look like. Admissions officers see a lack of interest as a sign that a student won’t enroll if they’re also accepted to a more prestigious institution. Colleges want not only the best and brightest students, but also those most likely to enroll.
Tasha
That’s right. Once again, yield is the percentage of admitted students who enroll. Colleges with the highest yield include the most selective schools and those that fill a larger share of their first-year class through Early Decision, because those students have to enroll — they’ve signed a binding agreement.
It’s tricky. As college admissions has become more selective, yield has become harder to predict, so many colleges use different strategies to forecast it. One of those strategies is tracking demonstrated interest. Again, the subtitle of this episode is “Do college admissions officers track demonstrated interest?” Officially, the answer is sometimes, and we’ll get into that. But when they do, it’s to better predict yield.
Yield is important because colleges don’t want to over-admit or under-admit. Colleges admit more students than they have spots for, knowing that not all of them will enroll. If they mispredict, the class may be bigger than they have space for without enough first-year dorms or resources. Conversely, less selective colleges may end up with too few students to fill their spots, which can become a financial issue. Colleges need the right number of students — not more, not less. And the more selective the college, the more important it is to measure that.
As you mentioned, Dashawn, some students apply to, say, 10 highly selective schools. How does a college know whether a student is really committed and likely to attend? Early Decision and Early Action are major factors. After that come all the other ways students can engage with a college to signal, “Hey, you’re a real, viable option for me — potentially a target, but not a safety.”
OK, so we’ve said that not all colleges consider demonstrated interest. Why not? And do the colleges that consider it all weigh it the same way?
Dashawn
No. Some colleges list it as “considered,” while others list it as “important.” Some schools may not track demonstrated interest because they receive so many applications that it’s difficult to do so. There’s also equity. Not every student can afford to attend summer programs or go on campus visits.
Visiting multiple schools can be taxing and expensive for a family, so some students can only visit schools nearby. Some schools understand that and don’t track demonstrated interest, letting a student’s hard factors and other soft factors speak for themselves.
Tasha
Yes. For that reason, students should learn about demonstrated interest as they start building their college list — understanding which schools track it and which don’t, and, for those that do, how important it is. There isn’t always hard data on this, but official college websites will have the most up-to-date information. You can also ask about it on campus visits or during an information session — admissions officers will be candid about whether and how demonstrated interest plays a role.
Students should consider this as they start researching and visiting colleges in the spring of junior year. It can help them prioritize which schools to engage with more deeply and which can take a backseat.
Say you have some solid target schools — not far-reach dream schools — and you’re planning a college tour in the Boston area, where there are many schools. You might only have time to visit one or two of the Boston targets on your list, so you can choose based on which ones track demonstrated interest. That’s just a hypothetical, but it shows how this knowledge can help you make strategic decisions in your college research, including visits.
The distinction between “considered” and “important” also matters when you’re deciding whether to go the extra mile — like staying an extra day in Boston to fit in one or two more schools because they rate demonstrated interest as important — versus schools where it barely factors in.
You also want to consider summer programs and other co-curricular programs that colleges offer high school students. Schools that track demonstrated interest often note this kind of engagement, which goes even further than a visit. You didn’t just visit — you spent weeks or even months living on campus, so you have deeply informed interest and can really imagine yourself as a student there.
Students and parents often ask me how important summer programs are, or whether a student should attend a top-choice school’s program. The answer hinges on a couple of factors, including demonstrated interest. If the school considers demonstrated interest important and you have the time and resources, a summer program could be a great way to show your interest, in addition to applying Early Action or, even better, Early Decision. But keep in mind that these programs are far less competitive than admission to many of those schools, and they’re not required. They won’t make or break an application, but they can give admissions officers more information — and give you a soft-factor edge if the school considers demonstrated interest.
Do you have anything to add to that, Dashawn?
Dashawn
No, I think you explained it very well. Demonstrated interest helps students do their own research and learn about a school. It also helps them decide, “I’ve done some research on this school, but do I really want to go?” It puts schools into perspective, so students can compare them while visiting, figure out what each department offers them, or learn what students do after graduating from each university. Rather than just checking a box by emailing an admissions officer, students can research the school and see whether they can picture themselves there.
Tasha
That’s right. As we start winding down, let’s look at how demonstrated interest fits into the college admissions rubric. We know it helps colleges gauge how likely a student is to attend if admitted. But how does it benefit the applicant?
Dashawn
As I said earlier, detailed research helps students truly visualize themselves at a school, and it could give them an edge in the applicant pool if they really want to attend. That means learning about the actual school, not just its name.
What does dorm life look like? What’s the cafeteria like? What’s it like to sit in class every day? They can learn that by reaching out to the admissions officer and going on a campus visit or virtual visit. I think that’s the biggest part of demonstrating interest — seeing whether you’ll truly be part of the community and whether it’s right for you.
Tasha
That’s right. It’s a win-win when a college tracks demonstrated interest and it’s your first choice. You have even more motivation to research and engage with the university, and the university can see that effort and take it into account.
To be clear, because it’s a soft factor, it’s not always tracked or weighed the same way. It’s typically considered after an admissions officer has determined that a student can succeed academically at the institution. As we discussed in the first episodes of the season — which I encourage you to check out — your transcript, which includes grades and course rigor, is the number one thing admissions officers look at to determine whether you can succeed academically. That’s the top concern for any academic program.
After that, soft factors help differentiate high-achieving students. In highly selective admissions, as we always say, many of the top institutions could fill their classes many times over if they admitted students based only on academics and hard factors. So soft factors like demonstrated interest come into play once you’re already a good academic fit and want to show your informed interest.
Let’s finish by placing demonstrated interest back within the larger college admissions rubric and its four hard factors and four soft factors. Dashawn, what are your final thoughts on how demonstrated interest fits in? What role does it play as a soft factor, and how should students consider it as they make their college admissions plan?
Dashawn
Since it’s a soft factor, students shouldn’t worry too much about it or think it’s the sole reason they will or won’t be admitted to a school. Reaching out to an admissions officer with real questions about what it’s like to be there, or about the specific department you’re interested in, can only help you. Again, it won’t make or break your admissions decision, but it can be beneficial.
Tasha
I’d only add that if I had to give one takeaway from this episode, it’s that it’s good to have the information. One of the best things about the college admissions rubric is that it’s literally a rubric. It’s a framework that shows which factors you’ll be evaluated on and how much you can control them, if at all.
If you know which schools track demonstrated interest as you build your college list, you can say, “OK, these schools track it, and these schools don’t. These schools consider it important, and these schools just consider it.” Knowledge is power, and it can help you make strategic decisions about your college admissions process.
And the earlier the better. It’s hard to build an informed, balanced college list until you’re further along in high school and can better tell, based on your grades, where you might be a good fit or competitive. But by the middle of junior year, you can start making that list and identifying which schools to prioritize to gain an edge through demonstrated interest, if they track it.
Early Action applications are something we haven’t discussed much. Many schools offer Early Action, and students are sometimes confused by it. Like Early Decision, it has an earlier deadline, but it’s not binding. If a school offers Early Action and tracks demonstrated interest, that’s a great reason to apply Early Action. The main reason not to apply Early Action to a school that offers it is a lack of time to submit that application early — for example, because a student is focused on their Early Decision application or other commitments during a very busy senior fall and needs the extra month to apply Regular Decision.
Also, if a student is applying to a math-heavy program like engineering or business and is only now taking calculus, IvyWise counselors would probably recommend that they have at least a semester of calculus grades to show their ability in that subject. So, the only other reason not to apply Early Action, besides time constraints, is that you need the college to see additional coursework or information before it makes a final decision.
Is there anything else you want to add before we go, Dashawn?
Dashawn
Yes. When students learn that a school considers demonstrated interest, it gives them a reason to learn more about that school. It shouldn’t be your top priority, but it does help you narrow down which schools you’re interested in.
Tasha
That’s right. So, it’s useful, and it can also help in the college admissions process. Thank you again, Dashawn, for your first appearance on the IvyWise Just Admit It! podcast.
Dashawn
Thank you.
Tasha
Next week on the podcast, we’ll continue with the college admissions rubric’s soft factors: application essays.
If you have suggestions for topics we should cover, please email us at [email protected]. In the meantime, you can catch up on all our previous episodes by visiting our podcast page, and be sure to bookmark our KnowledgeBase for additional help navigating the complex and competitive admissions process.
At IvyWise, we bring together a team of former deans and directors of admission at top universities to give students, parents, and fellow educators the most up-to-date information on the college admissions process. Visit ivywise.com today to embark on your journey to your best-fit schools with the world’s leading educational consultancy.
From IvyWise, I’m your host, Tasha, and this has been Just Admit It! See you next time.
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Editor’s Note: This transcript has been cleaned up and edited for clarity and readability.
