Kent Barnds, who is the executive vice president of
Augustana College in Illinois, has done the college advising industry a huge
favor.
As a college admissions insider and an enrollment management
expert, Barnds laid out in the plainest terms possible a detailed explanation
of “demonstrated interest” for all of us to consider and factor into the advice
we give to college-bound students and their families.
In an article posted on Huffington Post, Barnds describes the college version of “big data” and details ways admissions
offices “…spend substantial money, devote considerable human resources and rely
on big data to help them do their job and bring clarity to a cloudy crystal
ball.”
He outlines how admissions gathers information and makes
assumptions based on data trails left behind by prospective applicants.
This information is fed into “enrollment management” software
and various decisions—admissions as well as financial aid—are made based on the
likelihood that a student will actually accept an offer of admission should one
be forthcoming.
And the conclusion is clear:
the more interest a student demonstrates, the more likely it is that an
offer will be made—at many colleges.
Make no mistake. It’s
all about the yield—or what has become a numeric proxy for institutional popularity
and a metric for ranking in US News. Yield (the percent of admitted students who
matriculate) is vital to the economic health of institutions needing to be able
to precisely predict how many students will sign on the dotted line and ultimately
enroll.
A number of admissions professionals like to distance
themselves from the concept of demonstrated interest and many claim that
nothing substantial has changed in the admissions world for decades.
But with the amount of money being invested by colleges
anxious to get inside the heads of prospective applicants, it’s never been more
important for students to establish a trail of demonstrated interest throughout
the college admissions process.
Here is the takeaway from the Barnds article along with some
tips for playing the demonstrated interest game:
Data Mining
Colleges purchase names from the College Board, ACT, and
various online student recruitment organizations that collect huge amounts of
information every time you complete a registration form. Colleges also gather very important financial
information if you’ve identified yourself while completing a net price
calculator. And they even get a heads up
from the Common Application (CA) unless you specifically tell the CA not to share
information with institutions on your working list of colleges. Once accumulated, schools know a great deal
about your academic performance, possible major, outside activities, test
scores, and financial situation.
Tip: Allowing certain organizations
to share your information with colleges enables them to contact you and begin
the recruitment process. It’s an
opportunity to begin a conversation. But
don’t be deceived into thinking that just because a college is emailing you or
sending packages of information, the school is either a good fit or even
interested in you. And be careful of how
much information you provide. Take
charge of your profile and feel free to skip questions you feel uncomfortable
answering regardless of who is doing the asking.
Making Initial
Contact
According to Kent Barnds, colleges track how they first
learn about a student and use this information to predict the likelihood of a
student applying and ultimately enrolling.
A student who takes the initiative to contact a college is considered a good
prospect.
Tip: You can reach out to
a college by completing an online “request for information” form or by emailing
questions to the admissions office. But once
you get on an email list, you have to sort through tons of spam and keep an eye
out for communications to which you really should reply. And note that this is not a license to stalk
admissions staff. Be respectful and
adult in your communications or risk doing more harm than good.
Targeted
Communication
It’s no secret that colleges have invested in sophisticated
computer-based systems for tracking demonstrated interest. This may include tracking every form of communication
the student initiates, interview outcomes, campus visits, email exchanges, references
on Twitter, Facebook engagement or any other contact that can be checked off,
quantified, or fed into a computer.
Tip: By all means visit
campuses, schedule interviews, request an overnight or visit a class. But be very careful of your internet
footprint. Publicly-stated interest in a
particular college can signal disinterest to other institutions.
FAFSA Pitfalls
One of the more eyebrow-raising revelations contained in the
Barnds article is the extent to which colleges use information provided on the
FAFSA form to determine a student’s level of interest. Not only does FAFSA sharing with the
admissions office give the deciders a good look at the other colleges to which
you are applying but it also signals how important a college is relative to
other schools on the list. Students
(families) placing a college in the first position on the FAFSA are perceived
as those more likely to enroll. They
might be the first to receive financial aid awards and a little more personal
attention.
Tip: Although you can’t
deliberately leave colleges off your FAFSA list without risking losing aid
offers from those schools, you can take care with how you rank them. And evidently, that’s a good idea.
Early Applications
When a student applies early speaks volumes about level of
interest. Those who apply earliest in
the process are often the most interested and most likely to enroll. Barnds suggests that these students “might
receive more attention throughout the process, and even special invitations to
events and priority consideration for scholarships and financial aid.”
Tip: Regardless of how you decide to apply—binding Early
Decision, nonbinding Early Action, or Regular Decision—get the application
completed and sent as soon as possible.
Getting the entire application package together takes time and some
coordination of test scores, recommendations, and transcripts. Don’t wait until 15 minutes before deadline
to push the button, as procrastination is apparently interpreted as
disinterest.
Colleges vary enormously in terms of how much attention they
pay to the trail of data crumbs you leave behind. But make no mistake, most collect it in one form
or other.
And even if they don’t use sophisticated
algorithms or make hatch marks on a sheet of paper to document contacts, admissions
staff take note of a sincere thank you, a firm handshake, or a well-written
essay.
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