Of Prom Dates and "Demonstrated" Interest

I thoroughly enjoyed reading that, and at 3:40 in the morning, I rarely enjoy reading anything at all. At 3:40, I also tend to lump all of my ideas together when writing instead of following a cohesive and organized flow, so forgive me for the ungodly syntax sins I am about to commit. I think typically colleges want a prospective student to convey to them why their school is different from others and why that difference makes their school so very special to that student. However, when applying to the stronger schools in the nation, like Vandy, there is usually little to differentiate for a student who has visited campus MAYBE once and has learned everything their is to know about the school from other students on college confidential who, more often than not, really don’t seem to provide a great deal of knowledge on the said school except the “fact” that with a 2400 SAT and 15 AP classes the student has no chance of getting in. My dad and I visited many colleges (Northwestern, Brown, Cornell, JHU, U of C, Wesleyan, etc.), and I truly seemed to LOVE each one after I finished the campus tour and info session. However cliche this may sound, though, I think I only loved the idea of attending a prestigious university, as I was so focused with the name and not what the school truly had to offer until I started really talking to students and professors at each school. All of those schools are fantastic (I mean look at the US News rankings! – just kidding), but I decided to apply ED to Vanderbilt over the others because I felt I’d be most at home and happy here. So I think it’s many times hard for a student to gauge which school is most “interesting” and better suited for them based on a 2 hour tour (or sometimes none at all); in my application and in my interview, I conveyed the truth that I think I’d be very happy here and that I suspect to find Vanderbilt an all-around excellent experience. At another school I visited a while back in Boston, they told the parents and their children in the information session that it’d be a good idea to write that we had enjoyed Brian, our tour guide, in the school’s supplement asking us why we wanted to attend. Besides making the effort to visit the school, I don’t understand how writing this would imply any enthusiasm about the school whatsoever. Another woman at an ivy league institution told me to write to all my college that I would absolutely attend if accepted; here, it would be almost impossible for the admissions officer to gauge my true interest in the school because saying this would have been a blatant lie on my behalf (I didn’t end up doing this by the way)! I can’t offer a solution to the whole demonstrated interest conflict, but it’s usually very difficult to gauge a student’s true interest in attending the school. I’m glad I started looking at schools very early, as I knew I wanted to apply to Vanderbilt ED, which I think was successful in showing my enthusiasm for the school. Eww, it’s horribly late and I should probably get to bed, but I will conclude by saying that I think the University of Chicago does an amazing job finding out what is “interesting” about their prospective students through their essays. Again, I apologize for the disgusting extended paragraph format and probably countless grammatical errors strewn throughout.

Oh, quick question (that, yes, I already posted on college confidential) – should we send midyear grades or, like Michigan and other schools, just send a final transcript at the end of the year? Thanks!

Coming from a home that makes $22,000K a year, I have seen so much… I know that I showed my passion for Vanderbilt in my essays… basically the whole application. WHEN, not if, they accept me, I will be the first person in my family to attend a private school… While I may not have the ACT score to match other competitors, I made sure that character stood above all else. I know Vanderbilt is a fit for me. If I get rejected, however, I will know that something just as good, if not better, is waiting for me… It seems like it will be forever before my ED II letter comes.

Jim,

We track contacts for our recruitment purposes. Students who have had contact(s) with us get more in-depth info sent to them about Vandy, as it is assumed that the student has a greater level of interest in us. These contacts do not hold any point value (individually or in aggregate) that is then used in the admissions review. Our evaluation is holistic, so I can’t say in good faith that a student’s interest level has never factored in to a decision (perhaps gleaned from an essay, or a personal conversation with the student), we’re human after all. Honestly though, the emphasis for us is considerably more often on a student’s intellectual interests, and what makes that student interesting (etc.) than it is about the student’s demonstrated interest in VU. It’s a balance. Sure, we want to find students who want to be at Vanderbilt, but we don’t want to systematically disadvantage students who can’t afford to fly out to Nashville (for example).

Thanks for the question,
T

Hi Kara,

Thanks so much for posting your question (and for reading the blog). I’ll start with your last question. Interviews definitely factor in to our evaluations if a student has one. They are not required, but they are definitely recommended.

I know people must roll their eyes when I say this, but we don’t read too much into why a student applies RD versus ED (i.e., that they must not be that into VU if they apply RD). We know that there are a lot of really interested students whose college search dynamics are such that they can’t apply ED. For example, if a family feels that they need to weigh financial aid offers from Vandy and other places, we’re pretty up front that they should not apply ED. Applying ED is clearly a statement of interest, but we don’t believe the inverse, that applying RD means you are not that interested (you are applying after all).

So to try and answer your question of whether you have hindered yourself by applying RD, I would tentatively say no. You have to keep in mind that the RD pool has traditionally been stronger than our ED pool, and it is likely to be that way again this year. My advice is to focus on the things you can control, your essay, your recommenders, whether you get an interview, etc and resist the temptation to worry about who else is applying and what they are like. St. Francis de Sales once wrote “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” Ultimately your challenge (and opportunity) is to convey “what you are” (as you know it right now) in the most genuine and clear terms, and let things fall where they may.

Hope this helps!