Students' show of interest affecting college entry

Nahal Toosi
Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service 03-24-2004

MILWAUKEE -- It was the third or fourth time Rachel Canter filled out the same information card from George Washington University, and she almost didn't bother, thinking it would be needlessly repetitive.

But a university representative told Canter, then a student at Whitefish Bay High School, to do so anyway. "She said, `Fill it out because we'll keep track of how many times you keep in contact with us,'" said Canter, 19, who is now a freshman at the university in Washington.

Canter didn't know this then, and in her case, it might not have made a difference, but GWU not only tracks the number of contacts it has with a student, it also uses the information during the admissions process.

Lots of universities do.

It's a fairly new and controversial realm of college admissions called "demonstrated interest," where admissions officers try gauging how interested a student is in their institution before deciding whether to admit the person.

While usually not as important as grade point average or standardized test scores, demonstrated interest can serve as a critical swing factor, giving an edge to some students swimming in highly competitive, and increasingly deep, applicant pools.

A soon-to-be released survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling tries to measure how common the practice is among admissions offices. Responding to one question, 33 percent of colleges said they consider demonstrated interest. When the survey asked schools to describe how important a factor it was, 30 percent said it was of "considerable" or "moderate" importance in the admissions process, while 26 percent said it was of "limited" importance. The organization received 595 responses to its survey.

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Private universities, especially elite institutions in the Northeast, are more likely to use the factor than public schools, experts said.

"The more selective the institution, the lower the rate of admission, and the more important data driven from demonstrated interest becomes," said Lloyd Peterson, vice president of education at College Coach, an educational consulting company in Newton, Mass.

What counts as interest? The e-mails students send to admissions officers, the tours they take on campus, the amount of literature they request and more. Thanks to special software, tracking the quantifiable information is simple. Also important are less numerical items, such as whether a student's essay focuses on the school.

A classic display of interest is applying to a school through an early decision program. Such programs are binding, meaning if a student gets in to a school, they have to go there.

"The No. 1 way we look at demonstrated interest is whether the student self-initiated an inquiry," said Nancy Monnich, a top admissions official at Beloit College. "Did the student send an e-mail, write a letter or call? If a student initiates that interest, that's a big-time factor."

At Milwaukee's Mount Mary College, "where it plays a role is probably most strongly with students who don't meet the direct admissions requirements," said Amy Dobson, dean of enrollment. "If they made the effort to come on campus, really take a look at the school, get a feel for the institution, then can reflect in an admissions essay about why she's choosing to apply here and why the characteristics make it a strong choice ... that can speak volumes."

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But the whole idea of demonstrated interest -- also known as demonstrable or perceived interest -- has provoked plenty of anxiety in academic circles.

For one thing, some say college rankings are the true driving force behind the growing use of demonstrated interest. The method is a way of ensuring higher yield -- the number of students accepted by a school who actually enroll. Yield has been a key factor considered by some outfits that rank universities.

Other concerns revolve around the effect the practice has on students.

Students from low-income households, for instance, might not be able to afford the trips to campus, the long-distance phone calls or the e-mail access. Students attending wealthy private schools are more likely to have better counseling and more likely to be aware of demonstrated interest to begin with.

Plus, as more students catch on to the scheme, the admissions process gets more stressful and becomes more of a game.

"It rewards strategizing," said Ted O'Neill, dean of undergraduate admissions at the University of Chicago, which he said doesn't use demonstrated interest in its decisions. "Once you start to strategize, who knows what's sincere?"

Others in the field insist they are savvy enough to see through fake interest demonstrated by applicants and to take into account each student's circumstances, such as whether the student lives abroad and can't visit.

"We never will choose not to admit someone that we otherwise would admit simply because they have no demonstrated level of interest," said Steve Syverson, dean of admissions and financial aid at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.

Yet, it's something even cynical students and their high school counselors are less willing to ignore as college admissions gets more competitive.

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Carla Olle, a college adviser at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School, said students are encouraged to keep in touch with prospective colleges, including sending them notices when they win awards or are on the college campus.

It's especially important for students who face deferments or are placed on waiting lists, Olle said. "I don't tell them they have to send a slipper or a shoe or a big video," she said. "Make it reasonable."

Unreasonable interest can work against a student. Admissions officers don't like to be harassed -- there's a reason so many don't list their home phone numbers.

It's one thing to send an e-mail to the admissions dean. It's another thing to enlist dozens of friends in a letter writing campaign on a student's behalf.

There are legends of students who mail doors or send singing telegrams, and supplying the admissions committee with cookies is fairly unoriginal these days.

"Borderline inappropriate is sending the parents in on their behalf," Dobson said.

Peterson, a former head of admissions at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., recalled a young visual artist who sent his office a large piece of plywood covered in jellybeans.

The jellybeans were maroon and white, Vassar's colors, and they spelled out, "Vassar is my No. 1 choice."

The school chose not to demonstrate its interest in her.

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FACTORS IN ADMISSION

A survey of admissions officers around the nation shows that "demonstrated interest" in a school is becoming a factor in whether a prospective student is admitted. Nearly 600 officers responded to the survey.

Here is the percentage of admission officers who said the following factors are of moderate or considerable importance in admission:

Grades in college-prep courses: 89 percent

Standardized admission tests: 86 percent

Grades in all courses: 85 percent

Class rank: 68 percent

Counselor recommendation: 59 percent

Essay or writing sample: 58 percent

Teacher recommendation: 57 percent

Work or extracurricular activities: 47 percent

Interview: 36 percent

Student's demonstrated interest: 30 percent

Subject tests (SAT II, AP, IB): 25 percent

Race and ethnicity: 19 percent

Scores on state graduation exam: 18 percent

Ability to pay: 8 percent

State or county of residence: 8 percent

Source: National Association of College Admission Counseling

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A STUDENT'S TO-DO LIST

Among the ways a high school student can demonstrate interest in a university:

--E-mails to admissions officers.

--Taking campus tours.

--Requesting literature.

--Making the prospective school the focus of a required essay.

--Applying to the school through an early decision program. This requires the student to attend the school if accepted.

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(c) 2004, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.