Demonstrated Interest: The Dating Game
Imagine walking down the hallway to your locker and making eye contact with someone you’ve never seen but would like to get to know. You can’t stop thinking about them. In your heart you know it could be love, but is the feeling mutual?
What do you do? First, you have to find out everything you can about them. When you realize they’re perfect for you, introduce yourself, let them know who you are. Once you’ve got their attention, and you start to spend time together, you realize that they are interested in you, too. You begin building a relationship. What’s next – flowers, candy, Six Flags? You see there’s a future here, and you consider the options – early decision, early action, or even (gasp!), restrictive early action!
What do we call this dating game? Demonstrated Interest. It’s how you show colleges your level of interest. It’s how you separate yourself from the pack. Like dating, it’s a process. If you send love notes (emails), bring flowers (visit them at a college fair), have a first date (visit the campus), they will likely want to know you better, see if you’re a good match. Can’t afford to go Dutch? No problem, they’ll come to your school or invite you to a local Starbucks for a conversation.
Colleges are looking for students who want them. For any relationship to grow, you need to put in some genuine effort. Take the time to show your top schools just how interested you are. The more love you show, the more they will understand the depth of your commitment. Colleges want to offer admission to students they believe will accept their offer (we call that yield). Demonstrated interest is a real thing – don’t let your #1 leave you standing at the altar!
For more ways to demonstrate your interest to colleges, please see our related blog posts.
If you would like some assistance with your college search and how to show your interest the right way, contact Lynne today for a free consultation.
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