Making college visit count

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We visited a school that "tracked" visits a few weeks ago. It was the worse tour ever, and DS took the school off the list. Waste of time.

Not at all! We had similarly eliminated one school after visiting it. That is actually one of the main reasons for visiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience, most schools don’t use interest. Don’t sweat it.

Glad to hear it. Not everyone can travel. Academics and activities should be the basis of admission, not whether parents have the ability to take vacations.

[Anonymous]

College advisor told us some colleges track whether you open their emails and if you click the links too.That said, we saved most college visits for after acceptances. Cheaper to apply then travel a distance to ones that don't offer a spot in the end.

[Anonymous]

You can see in the common data set whether demonstrated interest is considered for a given college. For some SLACs it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can see in the common data set whether demonstrated interest is considered for a given college. For some SLACs it is.

Ok thanks! Nah, no SLACs here. Old fashioned comp sci or engineering, maybe premed (mother can hope right?). Technical magnet HS, girl, strong grades. No legacy, not URM. Has a shot, nowhere close to a guarantee. We'll see.

I am not losing sleep over that 70K yet. I would hate to find out down the road that some school did not admit her because we did not register for a tour, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can see in the common data set whether demonstrated interest is considered for a given college. For some SLACs it is.

Ok thanks! Nah, no SLACs here. Old fashioned comp sci or engineering, maybe premed (mother can hope right?). Technical magnet HS, girl, strong grades. No legacy, not URM. Has a shot, nowhere close to a guarantee. We'll see.

I am not losing sleep over that 70K yet. I would hate to find out down the road that some school did not admit her because we did not register for a tour, though.

You have a lot to learn. Many top SLACs have well respected engineering and computer science, and stellar pre-med programs. Pick one to visit on your vacation. You may be pleasantly surprised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can see in the common data set whether demonstrated interest is considered for a given college. For some SLACs it is.

Ok thanks! Nah, no SLACs here. Old fashioned comp sci or engineering, maybe premed (mother can hope right?). Technical magnet HS, girl, strong grades. No legacy, not URM. Has a shot, nowhere close to a guarantee. We'll see.

I am not losing sleep over that 70K yet. I would hate to find out down the road that some school did not admit her because we did not register for a tour, though.

You have a lot to learn. Many top SLACs have well respected engineering and computer science, and stellar pre-med programs. Pick one to visit on your vacation. You may be pleasantly surprised.

You may well be right. Which one(s) are you thinking about? I appreciate the advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can see in the common data set whether demonstrated interest is considered for a given college. For some SLACs it is.

Ok thanks! Nah, no SLACs here. Old fashioned comp sci or engineering, maybe premed (mother can hope right?). Technical magnet HS, girl, strong grades. No legacy, not URM. Has a shot, nowhere close to a guarantee. We'll see.

I am not losing sleep over that 70K yet. I would hate to find out down the road that some school did not admit her because we did not register for a tour, though.

You have a lot to learn. Many top SLACs have well respected engineering and computer science, and stellar pre-med programs. Pick one to visit on your vacation. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Mine sure doesn't. And OP - Ivies dont' even take your name down. My SLAC takes names down but is so busy processing people it is only to arrange the tour and nothing more. They really don't care. The days of showing interest and getting an interview at a SLAC or Ivy is long gone. It's all a numbers game now. The only reason my SLAC gave my DS an interview was because we gave big bucks. And then he didn't apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College advisor told us some colleges track whether you open their emails and if you click the links too.That said, we saved most college visits for after acceptances. Cheaper to apply then travel a distance to ones that don't offer a spot in the end.

Only LACs and non-elite universities. The others don't have time. Seriously, best advice is to figure out your kid's major interests (assuming they have one). Aerospace engineering? Apply in-state tech, purdue, ga tech, CAl Tech, etc. Figure out your SCEA, EA, Ed RD strategy. Put in a rolling admissions application very early just to have one acceptance under your belt so everyone can relax, then attack the EAs hard. Once accepted SCEA, EA, go visit. Then if not happy put in your RDs - most will not be accepted anyhow if you are aiming high because the real game is played out at SCEA, ED EA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College advisor told us some colleges track whether you open their emails and if you click the links too.That said, we saved most college visits for after acceptances. Cheaper to apply then travel a distance to ones that don't offer a spot in the end.

How do they track whether you open an email? Short of asking you to send a "read receipt", they can't know whether you open email, can they?

[Anonymous]

Capture Higher Ed’s software is similarly built. In a demo to Quartz, the company showed how anonymous visitors to a school’s website are given an “engagement score,” which rises depending on how often, or how long, the person browses. Then, if an applicant clicks on the school’s page from a customized email, their IP address is connected to their “anonymous” activity, and school administrators can see exactly who that person is—their email, their location, their engagement ranking, and more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can see in the common data set whether demonstrated interest is considered for a given college. For some SLACs it is.

Ok thanks! Nah, no SLACs here. Old fashioned comp sci or engineering, maybe premed (mother can hope right?). Technical magnet HS, girl, strong grades. No legacy, not URM. Has a shot, nowhere close to a guarantee. We'll see.

I am not losing sleep over that 70K yet. I would hate to find out down the road that some school did not admit her because we did not register for a tour, though.

Don’t sweat it. That won’t be the reason for the rejections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:College advisor told us some colleges track whether you open their emails and if you click the links too.That said, we saved most college visits for after acceptances. Cheaper to apply then travel a distance to ones that don't offer a spot in the end.

Only LACs and non-elite universities. The others don't have time. Seriously, best advice is to figure out your kid's major interests (assuming they have one). Aerospace engineering? Apply in-state tech, purdue, ga tech, CAl Tech, etc. Figure out your SCEA, EA, Ed RD strategy. Put in a rolling admissions application very early just to have one acceptance under your belt so everyone can relax, then attack the EAs hard. Once accepted SCEA, EA, go visit. Then if not happy put in your RDs - most will not be accepted anyhow if you are aiming high because the real game is played out at SCEA, ED EA.

So far, she really likes using computers to analyze and model real-life data. So we are thinking general comp six for the major, or perhaps biomedical engineering. It is not my field, so any insight on how these careers work is appreciated. I would think those skills would also be applicable in financial or insurance industries, or possibly in consulting. I understand that many industries try to hire preferentially from Ivies, so she wants to apply while understanding that there is an element of a lottery involved. Are there any particular schools that you or DCUM would recommend?

[Anonymous]

I agree with the pp. The beauty of the rejection is that you will ever know why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You're overthinking it.

It's the schools that are overthinking it. I, as a parent, think it's utterly ridiculous and borderline discriminatory to "track" the visits. But if the darn schools require it, I can just as well make sure we are counted.

Which schools require it?