Applying to schools that you didn't visit

[Anonymous]

Schools concerned with boosting their yield will shy away from applicants who didn't visit: http://theivycoach.com/newsletter/the-campus-visit-rankings-and-fantasy-sports/

If an admissions officer feels that if they accept you to their school, you will likely choose not to attend, then your chances for admission are greatly reduced. It only makes sense that you would not be accepted if you’re going to hurt the college’s rankings when they could instead choose to accept a candidate they know is going attend. So if you have 2400 SATs and straight As in the most competitive courses offered at your high school and you’re surprised that you didn’t get accepted to Lehigh University when you were admitted at Brown, chances are that the lack of interest you showed in Lehigh had a whole lot to do with it.

[Anonymous]

tufts syndrome - it is real and has been known about for 15 years

[Anonymous]

True for small schools, not so true for larger schools. They are generally looking for some evidence of interest in the school. But some of the larger schools will say that demonstrated interest doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:True for small schools, not so true for larger schools. They are generally looking for some evidence of interest in the school. But some of the larger schools will say that demonstrated interest doesn't matter.

A lot of schools say demonstrated interest doesn't matter, but that may be just to avoid being inundated with demonstrations of interest.

[Anonymous]

Gosh, I guess that screws over people who can't afford to visit a bunch of schools.

Of course, I also don't have $15,000+ to spend on the Ivy coach.

[Anonymous]

But how do they know you didn't visit? I visited a few colleges (not many, due to cost), but didn't do the official campus tour. Where do I fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But how do they know you didn't visit? I visited a few colleges (not many, due to cost), but didn't do the official campus tour. Where do I fall?

They won't know unless you registered or signed in somehow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, I guess that screws over people who can't afford to visit a bunch of schools.

Of course, I also don't have $15,000+ to spend on the Ivy coach.

there are other ways to demonstrate interest - many schools visit the DMV and you can follow-up with regional admissions officer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, I guess that screws over people who can't afford to visit a bunch of schools.

Of course, I also don't have $15,000+ to spend on the Ivy coach.

$15K for the Ivy Coach seems high, but it is popular in NYC. Less expensive than 4 years of private school.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure schools will count a local visit as a visit to the school. In other words - go to the sessions when the admissions dept from the school visits your school or a nearby location. If the school doesn't list a visit then look on the website of the college for their visit to the local area. Also, kids need to get on the mailing list of schools. It would patently absurd if colleges expected all kids to be able to afford a campus visit...at least, I would hope so!

Also, to the PP who visited campuses but didn't take the official tour - you kind of messed up. You need to make sure you are on their official list and you missed the opportunity. You should contact them and get on the mailing lists at the least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gosh, I guess that screws over people who can't afford to visit a bunch of schools.

Of course, I also don't have $15,000+ to spend on the Ivy coach.

The "if it's not one thing, it's another" syndrome.
Does your kid really want to apply to an Ivy as a backup?

[Anonymous]

If the school is emailing your kid and kid is deleting emails without opening and reading them, the school can tell and they know you're not really interested, just using them as a safety.

If they send you a link to a 'special VIP page' for their school and you never actually sign in to the page, they know.
If they send you a link and you don't log in FREQUENTLY, they know.
If the rep e-mails your kid and says "I'm going to be at the Starbucks in Bethesda next Tuesday" and your kid doesn't bother to show up to meet with them, they know you're not really interested.
Showing interest means opening the e-mails, meeting the rep when he's at your school or in the area, visiting the facebook page for the school and liking stuff, and finding an excuse to e-mail or call the counselor with questions. You don't have to come up with the money to visit, but you need to make it seem like they're not a safety, even if they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the school is emailing your kid and kid is deleting emails without opening and reading them, the school can tell and they know you're not really interested, just using them as a safety.

If they send you a link to a 'special VIP page' for their school and you never actually sign in to the page, they know.
If they send you a link and you don't log in FREQUENTLY, they know.
If the rep e-mails your kid and says "I'm going to be at the Starbucks in Bethesda next Tuesday" and your kid doesn't bother to show up to meet with them, they know you're not really interested.
Showing interest means opening the e-mails, meeting the rep when he's at your school or in the area, visiting the facebook page for the school and liking stuff, and finding an excuse to e-mail or call the counselor with questions. You don't have to come up with the money to visit, but you need to make it seem like they're not a safety, even if they are.

If this is true, it is helpful information. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Yes, unfortunately we only found this out AFTER our kid was waitlisted at his super-safety. IT explained a lot . .

[Anonymous]

Made sure our DC showed lots of interest for a few schools including safeties. Got into 5 others she had never visited - but these were large state Us - w/number based admission I'm sure. I will say it's a lot more fun to visit when your DC is already in.