All eight Ivy League universities recently clarified that they do not track “demonstrated interest” when making admissions decisions. Applicants who have been advised to show their love for a school to increase their odds of success may be suspicious when hearing these statements. After all, each of these schools also requires a supplemental “Why” essay as part of their application in which students must delineate the specific reasons they want to attend that university. To make sense of these statements, we want to clarify the role of demonstrated interest and help you focus your efforts on the types of interest that DO influence admission decisions.
On Thursday, March 31st at 7pm EST, all Ivy League universities released their admission decisions for prospective members of the Class of 2026. This timing is a rare sign of formal coordination among the eight schools—which are primarily bound through their Ivy League athletic conference. Ivy Day, the simultaneous release of regular-round admissions decisions connects these schools in the minds of prospective students. In another sign of collaboration, by early fall 2021, all Ivies added the following language regarding demonstrated interest on their official websites and FAQ pages.
DEMONSTRATED INTEREST AND THE IVY LEAGUE
- Brown: “Brown does not track demonstrated interest, and students who have been unable to visit campus will face no disadvantage in the admissions process. We know by the very fact that you apply that you are seriously interested in Brown.”
- Columbia: “Please also note that we don’t track demonstrated interest, so there is no advantage or preference to be gained by contacting our office.”
- Cornell: “Please note that Cornell University does not track demonstrated interest. Visiting campus is not required nor expected of applicants.” “…calling, emailing, or visiting campus simply to demonstrate your interest in Cornell University is not necessary and will not have any impact on your admission decision.”
- Dartmouth: “Does it improve my chances if I demonstrate interest by visiting, calling, emailing, attending college fairs, or taking part in web events?No. Your completed application is all the demonstrated interest we need. We don’t track visits, communications, college fairs, or web events to enhance or detract from anyone’s application.”
- Harvard: “Important information for your visit: Your registration and attendance have no bearing on the admissions process should you decide to apply.”
- Penn: “Penn does not consider demonstrated interest when reviewing applications for admission.”
- Princeton: “Does Princeton track demonstrated interest? No. We do not track demonstrated interest.”
- Yale: “Does visiting campus or attending an information session in my area increase my chances of being admitted? No. Yale does not track “demonstrated interest” in any form for the purpose of evaluating applications. Visiting campus or attending an information session can be an excellent way to learn more about Yale, but it will not affect your chances of admission.”
Students grappling with disappointing Ivy Day results should know that the decision didn’t come down to how many emails they opened from Hanover, the campus tour they took in Providence, or the virtual information session they livestreamed from New Haven. But don’t be fooled by jargon. While all the Ivies now overtly state that they do not track or consider what they define as “demonstrated interest,” showcasing your serious interest in other ways remains an absolutely critical aspect of any wise admissions strategy.
WHAT IS DEMONSTRATED INTEREST, REALLY?
Both the Yale and Cornell statements put the term “demonstrated interest” in quotation marks, indicating that it has a specific colloquial meaning. Although demonstrating interest in a school in general terms is highly advantageous, demonstrated interest has come to refer to the increasingly automated ways in which prospective students interact with colleges such as through event registration, opening emails, engaging with social media, attending webinars, and spending time on websites. “Demonstrated interest” denotes a mechanical sense of “clicking the box” in a pro forma manner rather than engaging more genuinely with that campus community.
Until recently, campus visits and event attendance were one of the main ways many colleges tracked demonstrated interest. By asking students to register when attending information sessions or campus tours, schools could monitor which students visited their campuses in person or met with their traveling representatives at college fairs. When the COVID-19 pandemic made campus visits and travel largely impossible, schools invested in their online programming and discovered that they were able to reach much larger and more inclusive audiences.
At the same time, highly selective schools increasingly recognized that their practices of tracking students with the financial resources, time, parental support, and access to make in-person visits, worked against institutional efforts to diversify their campuses. As discussed in our recent blog on how interviews are handled at highly selective institutions, similar concerns were behind the move to deemphasize in-person interviews even before the pandemic. These equity considerations led the Ivies to clarify their stance on “demonstrated interest”—that they do not consider demonstrated interest as part of an applicant’s portfolio. By doing so, the Ivies followed Carnegie Mellon’s 2018 lead, which also originated from a desire for inclusion.
As a case in point, when Cornell reopened for visitors in early fall 2021, there were still no tours or information sessions and therefore no need to manage registration for attendance capacity. Visitors who made their way to campus repeatedly asked student workers at the Visitor Center where they could “sign in” to prove they had made the journey to upstate Ithaca. The answer was disappointing to some prospective students: “No need to register, just enjoy and make the most of your visit, as the Ivies do not track demonstrated interest.”
GENUINE INTEREST VS “DEMONSTRATED INTEREST” AT THE IVIES
Although the Ivies do not care about the mechanical demonstrated interest, they certainly do care about an applicant’s genuine, deep, convincing interest in their schools. Demonstrated interest is a shorthand method at getting what is really important: having a well-researched and well-articulated rationale for wanting to attend an institution. This is why so many colleges ask “Why us?” in their supplemental essays. In their statements, both Dartmouth and Cornell provide further guidance on what they value and want to see. Cornell notes, “Students can articulate their fit and interest in Cornell through specific essay questions in the application.” Dartmouth frames this as, “… we do think it is a good idea to develop a strong sense of whether or not Dartmouth is a good match for you. If you understand Dartmouth well, we believe you’ll be better prepared to articulate how you will benefit from and contribute to our unique community in your application for admission.”
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In the context of surging application numbers, the college-specific supplements have taken on increasing importance. Ensuring that you have an authentic and specific rationale for each application’s “Why” essay is ultimately much more important than mindlessly opening emails and clicking links in an attempt to prove your interest. Above all, you want to make connections between what you have done during high school and what you want to do at a college, demonstrate specific ways in which you will be able to develop your educational journey as an undergraduate, and highlight how you might contribute to your chosen college’s community. To come up with these specifics, you will likely want to open some emails, click on some institutional websites, and attend some college events whether virtually or in person…just know that those actions in themselves will not increase your Ivy odds.
MOST SCHOOLS STILL TRACK DEMONSTRATED INTEREST
It is important to note that most schools outside of the Ivies continue to track demonstrated interest. If they do not clarify their stance on this, you should assume that they are tracking and taking your virtual and in-person engagement into account. In a follow-up blog, we will cover how demonstrated interest is actually tracked and how to maximize your chances at institutions where these metrics are used. If you really want to understand how to show demonstrated interest and other nuances of colleges admissions, consider our private counseling program where we work one-on-one to personalize your demonstrated interest/college admissions path!
After attending Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California, Heidi graduated cum laude with an Honors thesis from Dartmouth College as a double major in Classical Archaeology and Comparative Literature. At the University of Pennsylvania, Heidi was a Williams Fellow in the graduate program of Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World. She has conducted archaeological field work in Sardinia, Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey.
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