Demonstrated Interest: Does It Matter?
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The document explores the concept of demonstrated interest in college admissions, highlighting its importance and the various ways students can engage with prospective institutions. It features insights from admissions leaders and discusses how engagement levels influence both admission chances and enrollment likelihood. The content also emphasizes the need for transparency and the role of different student backgrounds in the admissions process.
Demonstrated Interest: Does It Matter?
- 1. What is Demonstrated Interest and Does It Matter? Cyndy’s Friday Forum What role does demonstrating engagement in a college play in admissions? Admissions Leaders at three CTCL institutions discuss how students can connect with colleges in a meaningful way to show interest.
- 2. Presenters Lauren Sefton Rhodes College Jennifer Winge College of Wooster Cyndy McDonald The College Counselor’s Coach Christine Bowman Southwestern University
- 3. • Defining Demonstrated Interest • Historical Use • Institutional Perspectives • Next Generation D.I. Today’s Discussion
- 4. • The Enrollment Funnel • Common Data Set • NACAC State of College Admission Defined by Practice
- 5. • Tracking student engagement • Higher level engagement = more likely to enroll if admitted • Highly engaged + More likely to be admitted = More likely to enroll • What it signals to You • What it signals to Students Demonstrated Interest Defined Guide To The College Admission Process 2022
- 6. • eMail: Opt-In, Read, Click, Reply • Campus Visit • Interview • Why Us and Optional Essays • Early Application • Contact with admission counselor What It Looks Like
- 9. • First-Generation students • Students from limited income backgrounds • Students from historically marginalized backgrounds • International Students Other Views
- 10. • Valid and Meaningful Use • Appropriate engagement • Research and prepare • Timing and Timeline • Understand and develop response • Navigating parental influence Supporting Students
- 11. • Transparency in the process • Responsibility party Why It Matters
Editor's Notes
- #2: CYNDY AND ANN - Welcome! Session Planning Notes
- #3: ANN or CYNDY will invite everyone to introduce themselves
- #4: ANN
- #5: CHRISTINE What is the enrollment funnel and what role does demonstrated interest take in the prospect to applicant to admit to yield cycle? DATA - from NACAC (State of College Admission Report last presented in 2019) PERCENTAGE OF COLLEGES ATTRIBUTING “CONSIDERABLE IMPORTANCE” TO FACTORS IN ADMISSION DECISIONS: FIRST-TIME FRESHMEN, FALL 2007 TO FALL 2018 declining from 22% down to 16% in 2018 Guide to the College Admission Process. Depending on the college, demonstrated interest could have no impact or a substantial impact on an applicant’s ultimate admission decision, so it is important for prospective students to be informed about demonstrated interest and who tracks it. It’s worth noting, however, that no amount of demonstrated interest can guarantee an acceptance or outweigh an academic record that does not meet a given school’s admission criteria. / Common Data Set [how important D.I. is, Students believe how important it is/Parents/etc.]
- #6: CHRISTINE Colleges like to admit students they believe will enroll (Yield) HIgh level of engagement enhances a strong application and admission credentials General Definition (Use and Credit Definition from NACAC)
- #7: LAUREN will start the discussion but everyone else chime in…esp re: optional essays How are students demonstrating interest? What does it mean to them? (Feeling important when they get an email/phone call/business card/piece of mail that is personalized etc., Responding to text messages - thinking it is a chatbot)
- #8: JENN
- #9: LAUREN Example of visual picture in Slate from Lauren
- #10: Cyndy ANN
- #11: CYNDY and ANN When to demonstrate interest and how - Timing / Method / Visit When - how do you time campus visits appropriately - other ways to engage without physically being there) Suggestions to encourage and engage Freshman through Seniors in D.I. - Creating appropriate ways to engage/demonstrate interest (and survive parent/family pressure) depending on what grade level and where they are in the point of the admission search/application process so they don’t feel like they have to interview as a sophomore (!) Engagement and Interest timeline from Freshman Year through Senior Year (what does it look like for different grade levels in different spaces and places of the admission process) Encouraging students to do research on programs/professors so they can make a more meaningful connection
- #12: JENN What does authentic engagement look like Presence of implicit bias? Partnership piece Who is responsible for handling/communicating demonstrated interest? The student, the counselor, the institution? How can admissions offices be more transparent with this? Have you observed any ways that using D.I. can yield implicit bias? What does authentic engagement mean? How can we as admission officers make D.I. easier to understand? When colleges don’t come out and say they track demonstrated interest or use coded language around demonstrated interest, the responsibility falls on college counselors to explain to their students that they need to visit campus etc. to be a strong candidate. Stephen also made a great point that if we want students to interact with us virtually or in person, it’s also important that colleges are making their websites easy to navigate or making opportunities to engage really obvious. This leads to an important question: Who’s responsibility does demonstrated interest fall on? The student, the counselor, the institution?
- #13: ANN will introduce by sharing CTCL perspective Christine, Lauren, Jenn - thanks for sharing from your institutional perspective CTCL - How do our student-centered institutions use/encourage D.I. and how are students/families responding to this: What have I seen at events Lauren - Financial Aid Connection Shift from tons of virtual engagement to not as much but continuing to provide opportunities Shift in local interviews / events, where we are coming to you - Southwestern is doing less of that Folx not taking advantage of off campus interviews and other ways they demonstrate interest become more heavily considered