C7
COLLEGE BOUND
THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH
SEPTEMBER 2021
Don’t be a stealth applicant to colleges
about it: If you were an ad- missions dean and had two students whose stats were similar, you’d select the one who had demonstrat- ed more interest because there seemed to be a great- er likelihood that they would choose to attend your school. Colleges often purpose- ly track students’ interest to help predict the number of applications the admissions office will receive. Every box that gets checked helps colleges gauge students’ “demonstrated interest,” which the school uses as a predictor of how many students, if admitted, will ac- tually enroll. The percentage of stu- dents who accept a school’s admissions offer — re- ferred to as a yield ratio — is a critical measure- ment for admissions offices deciding on the number of acceptance offers they
should send out and how they should apportion their available grants, student loans and other limited fi- nancial aid funds. As more students apply without warning, schools’ yield ratios are becoming less predictable. An increase in stealth applicants makes it difficult for admissions of- ficers to discern a student’s real interest in the school, which is typically measured by the extent of a student’s contact with the school. Internet conveniences al- low students to apply to more schools with little addition- al effort. Here are some suggestions of ways to demonstrate in- terest: » Follow each of your col- leges on social media. » Respond to their emails if given the opportunity. » Visit the college if possi- ble. It shows you’ve invested the time to visit the campus.
While there, take the tour, arrange to sit in on a class, if possible, and talk with stu- dents. If you’re interested in majoring in a specific de- partment, arrange to meet with a professor or students in that department and ask questions. If you can’t get to the school, arrange to visit with the college admissions staff at a local or national col- lege fair. You can check out national college fairs at the National Association for College Admissions Counseling website, nacac- net.org. Identify the Regional Admissions Officer at each college on your list. This is the person responsible for applications from your state. Get to know this per- son through email and phone conversations. Ask this person to help you de- cide if the school is a good fit for you.
Let the college know if it is your first choice. » Attend a prospective stu- dent day. » Participate in online chats. » Watch online videos and take virtual tours. » Email well thought out questions and spend time on the college’s website on a regular basis. Colleges keep track of how often you con- tact them and visit the site. Make sure that when you respond to the “Why this col- lege?” essay prompt that you answer thoughtfully and with specifics. Once you’ve sent in your application, check back with the admissions office to make sure they have ev- erything they need and that your application is complete. Lee Shulman Bierer is an independent college advis- er based in Charlotte, N.C. Visit her website College Admissions Strategies.
LEE SHULMAN BIERER Tribune News Services
“Stealth applicant” is the term colleges and universi- ties use for a student whose first communication with a school is an admissions ap- plication. Essentially, these stu- dents haven’t shown any interest in the school via webinars, virtual tours, vis- its (when it was possible), etc. An increase in these out-of-the-blue applicants has thrown off schools’ abil- ity to accurately predict the number of applications they will receive and has caused some schools to adjust their traditional admissions prac- tices. The ease of pointing and clicking on the Common Application to add more col- leges to your application list has increased the number of stealth applicants at schools across the country. Think
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