Show your ‘interest’

Make it evident to the university of your choice that you are really keen on joining up. It pays to be demonstrative, says Kavita Singh

Of the several factors that a student seeking admission to a US university has to keep in mind, ‘demonstrated interest’ is one. It simply means that you, the applicant, has demonstrated to the university in question that you are really interested.

While demonstrated interest has always been a factor in the admissions process, it seems that it may be increasing in importance. According to the National Association for College Admission Counselling in the US, 22 per cent of colleges gave it “considerable importance” in the admissions process in 2007, up from 7 per cent in 2003. Another 30 per cent of schools rated it as moderately important.

And why is it important? The logic used is that the more interested a student is in being at the university, the more likely it is that he or she will contribute to creating an energetic and close-knit culture on campus.

So, how do you demonstrate this interest? It is not easy when the ratio of applicants to admissions at US colleges and universities is 423:1. Some universities track every single contact they have with a student, making it somewhat easier.

Applicants should come up with a plan that includes considering all the different ways in which they can get in touch with the university and the ‘message’ they want to convey each time. You will have to make sure that you show interest, while communicating something important about yourself to the university.

The common ways of making contact are through campus visits and information sessions. Apart from the official tour and session, you can also join a class and talk to the students and the faculty. If, as an international student, you are not able to visit the campus, the admissions committee will not hold it against you.

Instead, look out for college fairs or receptions in your city and make sure you attend those. Better still, make sure you talk to the admissions officers to give a brief account of yourself, express interest in the school and ask some good questions. Get their business card, and e-mail them pertinent information and questions if they are open to communicating with you.

The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, found that 61 per cent of college admissions offices in the US use social networks to recruit students. So you can leverage these activities to connect with the university — find out if they are using blogs, videos, podcasts, Facebook and Twitter to disseminate information to current and prospective students. It is critical that you take advantage of this. For example, if you decide to ‘friend’ an admissions officer on Facebook, make sure that your profile and updates look good to him/her. If not, use e-mail instead.

Applying ‘early decision’ is another way to demonstrate interest. Early decision means that you can apply in an earlier round to a university that is your top choice. You can still apply to other schools under the ‘regular decisions’ deadlines, but you have to withdraw all your other applications if your early decision university accepts you. So only apply to an early decision round if you really believe that school is your top choice school.

You can use your essays and your interview to demonstrate your interest as well. If you have spent time networking with professors, students and alumni, mention that in your essays and your interview.

Columbia Business School was the only school I wanted to go to. So it was the only one I applied to. And, I made sure that I mentioned that fact in my interview.

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The writer is the CEO of FutureWorks Consulting (www.futureworks.co.in), an admissions consulting firm