The end of high school is drawing near, and you’re eager to get started with the college admissions process. Perhaps you have a list of ideal schools, and you certainly want to make sure your college applications stand out.

But just how hard is it to get accepted into a top college?

The admission process for top colleges is highly competitive; gaining admission to your ideal school will take hard work and careful planning. You need to develop a compelling, unique admissions profile that will make you stand out from the thousands of other applicants—and Ivy League Prep is here to help you achieve that goal.

This article focuses on a potentially important part of your admissions profile: demonstrated interest. These Ivy League admission tips show you how to use demonstrated interest to your advantage.

What is Demonstrated Interest?

You demonstrate interest in potential colleges by actively showing that you are serious about pursuing admission. For instance, you could contact the college directly, visit the campus, attend an event organized by the school, arrange for an interview, or meet with an admissions officer in person. Visit our list of admissions webpages for top colleges if you’d like to contact potential schools to demonstrate interest.

Many prestigious colleges and universities view demonstrated interest as an indicator that you will attend the school if you are accepted. Therefore, they will consider you a more reliable and trustworthy applicant. Several top schools, such as Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Notre Dame, consider demonstrated interest when assessing applicants.

However, not all schools ascribe importance to demonstrated interest. Many top colleges (including the eight Ivy League schools, Boston College, Stanford University, and the University of Southern California) don’t look for signs of demonstrated interest.

Even though demonstrated interest can be important for some schools, keep in mind that you usually won’t have to go to extraordinary lengths to show interest if you are truly serious about attending your target school. Never get sidetracked from the most important part of the admissions process: crafting an exceptional applicant profile. A compelling applicant profile will always matter more to top colleges than a one-day visit during your junior year or other signs of demonstrated interest.

How to Check Whether Demonstrated Interest Matters

If you aren’t sure whether a college will consider your level of demonstrated interest, you could check the school’s website or contact its admissions office. You could also use our list of the best research tools for learning more about your potential schools and their admission requirements. Alternatively, you can search online for the college’s “Common Data Set” and navigate to the “First-Time, First-Year (Freshman) Admission” section. One of the tables in this section will show whether the “Level of Applicant’s Interest” is considered in the admissions process.

Demonstrated interest is a comparatively minor component of college admissions. Still, you can use it to your advantage if you follow these Ivy League admission tips. Ivy League Prep would be happy to guide you through the entire admissions process and help you succeed.

College admissions have never been so competitive, and top schools are becoming increasingly selective. Therefore, you need to craft a memorable admissions profile that will make you stand out. Perhaps the two most important elements of an outstanding college application are the theme and the narrative.

The theme is the recurring topic that unites the various components of your application. Your theme might be an academic or extracurricular interest (such as entrepreneurship, engineering, and biology) or a specific project.

On the other hand, the narrative is your unique story that shows who you are, what you are capable of, and what you have already accomplished. It should show why you are so enthusiastic about your theme.

In this article, we share some Ivy League admission strategies that will help you develop your theme and narrative.

Start Early

The later you start developing your theme and narrative, the harder it will be to make your admissions profile stand out. If you begin to show interest in a subject in your senior year, it will be difficult—though not impossible—to convince admissions officers that you are serious about that subject.

Rewind one year, though, and you’ll see how much easier it becomes to develop a compelling theme. For example, suppose that you plan to pursue a career in business. Instead of taking a fun but otherwise unhelpful history class, you could enroll in an economics, management, or entrepreneurship class. If no such courses are available, you may be able to take a summer college course or pursue dual enrollment. You could also look for an internship at a local business.

If you decide to pursue business even earlier, you would be able to focus on that subject throughout all of high school, not just during one or two classes in your senior year. Additionally, you may find the opportunity to engage in other business-related activities, such as starting a small business.

The earlier you begin to consider your application’s theme and narrative, the more compelling they will be. Look at our founder’s admissions profile to see how he developed a unique theme and narrative.

Prove Your Value

Value is perhaps the single most important idea that your admissions profile must convey. Everything in your application should add to your perceived value; your application should demonstrate how you will contribute to the quality and overall success of the college. Top colleges are seeking applicants with ample potential for academic and career success.

If you want to create that kind of value, you can’t do everything. You shouldn’t try to take all the hardest classes in every subject, play in multiple varsity teams, participate in student body politics and multiple clubs, and be an all-state musician. Being busy does not add value to your application—being exceptional at something does.

So, you need to focus your time and energy on excelling in a limited number of activities, and these activities should be linked to your theme.

For instance, instead of taking a dozen AP classes, you should focus only on the AP classes that fit in with your theme and strengthen your narrative.

Show Diversity

Showing diversity does not mean you need to be diversified: quality matters more than quantity. Colleges want a diverse class—not individual students who try to do everything.

Instead of trying to show a great deal of variety in your interests, you should try to be the variety. That means pursuing opportunities that will set you apart from the crowd of applicants. For example, programs with low acceptance rates, unique real-world experiences, and international exposure will help you develop a strong narrative. Such experiences will show the admissions officers that your perspective is unique.

Provide Evidence of Your Passion

If you are passionate about a particular academic subject, extracurricular activity, or social issue, you should pursue that passion with focus and zeal. Keep in mind, however, that passion must be accompanied by evidence. Your admissions profile needs to include direct, measurable evidence of passion and success. This includes numbers, details, specific awards, and recognition.

Developing a compelling theme and a strong narrative requires hard work and careful planning. If you follow these Ivy League admission strategies, you can be confident that your profile will stand out.

The Common Application, also known as the Common App, is a standardized college application that is accepted by over 900 schools. It can save you significant time and effort if you are applying to multiple colleges.

In this article, we’ll provide a few Ivy League admission tips on how to fill out each section of the Common App. These guidelines will help you write a compelling Common App and impress the admissions officers.

Profile

The Common App begins with fields for personal data, such as your legal name, birth date, address, and so on. This information needs to be filled in completely and accurately.

The next components of the Profile section are fields related to demographics: religion, ethnicity, birthplace, and language. Including your ethnicity is optional. However, if you don’t include this information, the admissions officer might think you are trying to hide information. Admissions officers value honesty and transparency. Also, if you are Black, Hispanic, or Native American, you will be classified as an underrepresented minority (URM) applicant and will thus have an advantage over other applicants.

The optional language fields are also important to complete, so you should list any languages you have studied in school or speak at home.

Family

The Family section of the Common App is used to gather basic information about your family background, including what colleges your parents and/or siblings attended, if any. This information helps colleges determine whether you are from a privileged background or if you could qualify as a legacy applicant to a particular institution.

Education

The next section of the Common App is for basic information regarding your high school, such as its address and whether it is public or private. The form also includes fields for any additional high schools you have attended, including summer schools and programs.

Other information in this section includes your class rank and GPA. You should also report every class you will take during your senior year, including any independent study, online, or dual enrollment courses. Include the full name of your AP courses, not abbreviations. Additionally, this section asks you to list any college courses you have taken during high school.

The Education section also includes space for your top five awards or honors. Be sure to include your most impressive honors.

Testing

In this section, you need to include your SAT, ACT, and AP exam scores, as well as any planned test dates. Remember that you also need to send the official scores directly to your target colleges.

Activities

The Activities section is optional, but you should definitely complete it. You can list up to 10 activities. Include extracurricular pursuits, academic interests, research projects, community service, family responsibilities, cultural or religious activities, and hobbies. Generally, you should list these activities in order of importance.

You should select the most significant and impressive activities you participated in during high school. The best choices are those that demonstrate exceptional skill, knowledge, innovation, leadership, or commitment—and these activities should fit into your overall narrative. We highly recommend including any work experience in this list.

Writing

The Writing section includes three primary elements: the personal essay, disciplinary history, and additional information.

The personal essay should tie together all the other elements of the Common App. This essay is the main vehicle through which you will convey your unique theme and narrative.

For disciplinary history, you must indicate whether you have been in trouble at school (i.e., serious infractions involving the principal) or in trouble with the law (i.e., arrests and convictions).

Finally, you will have 650 words to add any additional information. This part of the Writing section is an ideal place for you to explain any situation the college should know about. For example, if there were illnesses or deaths in the family that had tangible effects on your education, this is the place to explain those circumstances.

Filling out a compelling Common App requires hard work and careful planning—you need to make sure that your information and the way it is presented will portray you as the ideal applicant. These Ivy League admission tips will help you achieve these goals and craft an exceptional admissions profile.

The time has finally come to apply to college. No doubt you’ve been anticipating this moment for years. Perhaps you have a list of dream schools you’d like to study at, but you know that the competition will be intense—thousands of students apply to the top schools each year.

For instance, the Ivy League colleges and universities had an average acceptance rate of 7.3% for the Class of 2024—an all-time low. That means that only one out of every 13 applicants was accepted.

So, how can you make your college application stand out and increase your chances of admission? Without a reliable strategy, you won’t be able to craft a compelling application.

Ivy League Prep is here to help! These Ivy League admission tips will help you craft a compelling application that will make you stand out.

First, let’s discuss what parts of the application are most important.

What to Focus On

College applications contain several generic fields—information such as your name, address, and high school, among others. These generic fields don’t have any real strategic value. All you have to do is make sure that the information you provide in these sections is accurate.

Other fields, however, require you to make specific choices or write brief explanations. These are the sections of the application that require special focus. You can craft a strong application theme and personal narrative by carefully filling out these sections.

For example, the activities you list—and the order in which you list them—say a great deal about what you value.

Now, let’s look at three strategic considerations for filling out your applications.

Carefully Proofread Everything

You should carefully examine your application for mistakes, looking for misspelled words, grammatical errors, typos, factual errors, inconsistencies, and unclear or wordy phrases. The application should be polished and pristine.

Admissions officers are likely to notice mistakes. However, a single mistake, depending on its nature, might not matter all that much. Particularly egregious or frequent errors, however, could really lower your chances of admission.

You should ask someone trustworthy with a strong command of English to proofread your applications.

Provide Complete and Cohesive Responses

Your application should paint a complete picture of who you are and outline your goals and interests. Each response should clearly point to your overall theme, and, wherever possible, the application should help develop your unique narrative.

For example, this means that you need to do more than include your most prestigious and noteworthy honors and awards. You must also present each honor or award in such a way that it fits in with your application’s theme and narrative. To accomplish this goal, you can explain your achievements in more detail in your personal essay or additional information section.

Highlight Diversity

You should highlight diversity wherever possible in your application. This includes underscoring your ethnic diversity, unique perspectives, rare opportunities, highly specialized abilities, or any other experience or background that is likely to set you apart from other applicants.

Admissions officers at top colleges place a high value on diversity—they want a well-rounded class formed not by well-rounded students but by a wide variety of students with diverse experiences.

If you follow these Ivy League admission tips on how to complete your college applications, you can be sure that the admissions officers will want to know more about you. Still, gaining admission to the most prestigious schools and universities requires much more than a well-written application.

Ivy League Prep would be delighted to provide you with customized guidance throughout the entire admissions process. Book an initial consultation today.

For many college applicants, spring is the culmination of months or years of hard work. This is when they find out if they will be attending their top-choice school in the fall. However, thousands of applicants find themselves on the waitlists for their favorite schools, which confuses and frustrates them. While some waitlisted students hold out hope for late admission, others opt for the reliability of a second- or third-choice school that accepted them.

If you find yourself on a college waitlist, don’t give up hope! Keep reading for tips on what to do to improve your chances of admission.

How Do Colleges Use Waitlists?

Schools often use waitlists to meet enrollment goals, review applicants in further detail, or replace students who retracted their acceptance. Ivy League admission statistics show that some colleges accept most applicants on their waitlists, while others accept very few or none of their waitlisted applicants.

For example, Purdue accepted 1,542 of the 3,378 students on its waitlist in 2019. In contrast, Stanford admitted eight of its waitlisted students that year, and it admitted only 30 the previous year. Knowing how your target school typically uses its waitlist may help you decide whether to wait or move on to another school.

Keep in mind that being waitlisted does not mean that you have failed as a student—the admissions committee probably liked you, but there may have been many other students who submitted stronger applications. You will likely never find out why you were waitlisted.

How to Improve Your Chances of College Admission

Remember that you can decide whether to remain on the waitlist or not. If you are no longer interested in the school, request to have your name removed from the waitlist. On the other hand, if you are serious about pursuing acceptance, you should actively demonstrate an interest in the school.

Ivy League admission, especially from a waitlist, requires persistence, attention to detail, and creativity. Most students simply wait at this stage, so this is your opportunity to stand out.

At this point, you should email or write a letter to your regional admissions counselor. Express your continued desire to attend their college and explain your reasons. Be sure to update them on any honors, awards, achievements, improved grades, or job promotions you have achieved since submitting your application. Ask your high school to send in a transcript with your current grades, and see if one of your teachers will write you a recommendation letter discussing your attributes and explaining why the college should accept you.

Don’t Overdo It

Be careful not to pester the admissions office by calling them every day or sending them a stream of emails, and do not mention everything you have done since applying. Further, name-dropping or sending recommendations from prominent individuals is not advised.

Instead, aim to make an excellent second impression, presenting your information in an impactful and concise manner. Describe your most important recent accomplishments in one email to your admissions counselor. Write down your questions in a list so that you can ask them during a single phone call to the admissions office.

Create a Back-Up Plan

Last, make sure you have a back-up plan. Regardless of how many students a college accepts from the waitlist, there will always be students left on it. It’s also important to note that colleges sometimes make waitlist decisions as late as early fall, but deposit deadlines for most schools are around May 1.

Sending a deposit to your second-choice school will ensure that you still have a college to attend if you aren’t accepted from the waitlist. However, you will lose the deposit if you are removed from the waitlist and enroll at your first-choice school. If you weren’t accepted into any other colleges, you could still send in more applications. Some schools have later application deadlines. Other alternatives include taking a gap year or enrolling in a community college and then taking another shot at applying to your preferred school.

There Is Always Hope!

Waiting is hard, and being waitlisted can make you feel hopeless, but there are several things you can do to improve your chances of acceptance. Follow these Ivy League admission tips, and keep a positive attitude. Most importantly, make the most of any outcome. Even if you aren’t accepted into your preferred school, you can still pursue the career you want. There is always hope.

You’ve completed your college applications and sent them in. Now, your next step is the college interview. You should prepare well for the interview, so we’ve gathered some Ivy League admission tips to help you get ready for this important event.

Why a College Interview?

College interviews are not always required, and many large universities don’t interview their applicants. However, the interview can be a decisive factor for the admission decisions of some colleges.

If you’ve been waiting to hear back after applying to a college and haven’t been offered an interview, you should call and ask for one. Find out if an interview is required, what types of interviews are available, and if the interview will influence the admission decision.

Interviews are generally conducted on campus or in your local area with an alumnus. Never turn down an interview if you are offered one. If you are given contact information for a representative in your area who can set up an alumni interview, be sure to call or email them right away.

Remember, your interview could be a decisive factor in your application’s success. Submitting your application early will improve your chances of obtaining an interview.

How to Prepare for a College Interview

Here’s an essential Ivy League admission tip: get to know yourself before the interview. What are you passionate about? What are your goals? Interviewers will often ask why you want to attend their school. What do you bring to the table? What sets you apart? Why is being admitted important to you?

Further, spend time reading books from different genres. Know what your favorite books are and why, but don’t be afraid to talk about the ones you don’t like. Also, don’t forget to read about current events.

More than likely, you’ll also be able to ask questions of your own. Be sure to do your research about the college you will be visiting, and ask questions about its unique characteristics.

Ask a friend or family member to conduct a mock interview with you so you can practice your body language and conversational skills. Also, pay attention to your tone of voice. Finally, make sure that you greet your interviewer with a firm handshake.

What to Wear

Another important Ivy League admission strategy is to choose your outfit carefully. Overly casual clothing such as sandals, jeans, and T-shirts should be avoided. Dress modestly.

Men, pick some nice pants—casual is fine as long as they aren’t jeans—and a shirt with a collar. A tie and a sports coat may add that extra touch. And make sure that your clothing is freshly laundered or ironed. Your clothes should also fit well.

Ladies, choose between a skirt or pants—whichever is more comfortable. Remember that knee-length or longer is a good guideline for your skirt. Add in a blouse that isn’t too revealing, and throw on a jacket if you want to dress up a little more. Avoid flip-flops and tennis shoes.

If you want to come across as a serious, dedicated student, your appearance needs to convey those qualities.

Dos and Don’ts

Highlight your interests and achievements during the interview, but remember that you won’t have time to cover everything.

Plan to arrive 10–15 minutes early. If you aren’t familiar with the area, give yourself ample time to find the interview location.

Don’t fidget, pick at your clothes, or stuff your hands into your pockets.

Keep your language professional.

Don’t chew gum during your interview.

Do turn your cell phone off before going to your interview. Be aware that you may be observed from the moment you step into view.

Do maintain eye contact when responding to or asking questions.

Don’t use fillers such as “you know” and “like.” You have important things to say and a limited time to say them. Also, avoid using phrases like “honestly” at the start of your sentences.

Do be yourself and relax. Remember, there’s no need to act. Relaxed doesn’t mean casual, though, so don’t tip your chair back and put your feet on the desk in front of you.

Do arrive clean and well-groomed. Make sure you’ve showered—you don’t want your aroma to be your lasting impression.

After the Interview

Don’t forget to follow up! After you’ve returned home from your interview, write a thank-you note to your interviewer. That note will set you apart from other applicants.

Choosing among the thousands of U.S. colleges available to students today is no small feat, and it can seem daunting without a plan. On the other hand, having a road map to follow can make this difficult decision much easier. These Ivy League admission strategies can help you navigate the college application process and decide which school will best help you achieve your dreams.

Step 1 – What Do I Want/Need?

To determine which college is best for you, you must know your academic and extracurricular ambitions, financial and living arrangements, and preferred type of school.

Academic Goals

What do you love to do? Have you chosen a major? Are you interested in a liberal arts school, a business school, or something more technical?

Consider what kind of student you are. Can you flourish at a school that requires more self-motivation, or do you need stricter requirements? Do you prefer to work independently or in a team?

Extracurricular Interests

What level of involvement will you have with the school while you’re not in class? Are you hoping to be part of an athletic team, social club, performance group, or community service project?

Would you prefer an urban, rural, suburban, or small-town setting?

Living Arrangements

Do you plan to live on or off campus?

Do you own a car? If not, you’ll need to make sure the college you choose is in a city that provides public transportation or an area that can be easily traversed without a vehicle.

Would you prefer to be near or far from home?

Financial Considerations

Public colleges are typically less expensive than private schools, but graduates of private colleges frequently earn more. Still, attending a more prestigious school may or may not result in greater career or financial success.

Will you need to get a job? If so, you’ll have to choose a college with on-campus jobs or in a location with off-campus jobs.

Campus Culture

Some colleges have tens of thousands of students, while others may not be much larger than a high school. Which would you prefer?

What level of political activism are you comfortable with?

Do you love to be a part of campus social life, or are you content with just getting your degree and making a few friends?

Would alcohol or drug use on campus make you uncomfortable?

Step 2 – Research

Once you’ve considered your needs and interests, you can begin to identify your preferred schools. Another Ivy League admission tip is to use the official school websites and other resources such as CollegeNavigator, Unigo, and the College Board to compare different colleges. Ideally, you should be able to narrow down your list to about ten schools.

Keep in mind that there is no substitute for a campus visit when it comes to getting a feel of the college’s culture.

Once you’ve narrowed down the list to about ten schools, it will be time to apply. The application process will likely shrink your list further, but hang in there—you won’t be done yet.

Step 3 – Once You’ve Been Accepted

There is still much to consider once you have your acceptance letters. You are typically allowed three to four weeks to make a decision. That is the time to take an even closer look at each school. The following questions can be useful if you have to make a difficult decision:

Academics

Which schools present knowledge in a way that is best suited to your learning style?

Is the material presented by an assistant or adjunct instructor or a full-time professor? Are the professors sufficiently qualified?

Did the classes you attended during your first campus visit hold your attention?

While it’s true that the college’s practical and cultural aspects are important and should be weighed in your decision, the education you’ll receive is your primary reason for attending the school.

Financial Factors

Which schools offer better financial aid packages? You’ll need to consider how much debt each option will leave you with after graduation.

Which schools allow for living arrangements that you can afford?

Campus Life

A second campus visit can go a long way towards helping you make a decision. This visit is a great time to address anything you may have missed during your first visit.

Though friends, family, and others will express opinions about where you should attend college, the decision is ultimately yours. Follow these Ivy League admission strategies to decide which college is the best fit for your goals and interests, personality, and financial situation.