Would he have attended BC if admitted? That is the purpose of yield protection.
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This my daughter too too except out of state
Because âthese types of schoolsâ feel that the student would not attend if accepted.
Congrats!
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I think it can be harder to get in here when in state. Over 20 kids from my high school class applied here. That gives admissions a lot of data, achievement and diversity to look at and pick from. I am aware of two of us getting in, a Legacy being rejected, and we expect at least another admit and some wait-lists. Public high school.
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Agree, esp if they applied but showed no demonstrated interest. Too many of my very, very qualified classmates âthrew inâ applications to BC & Tufts but showed no demonstrated interest. They maybe took the tour because we are local, but attended no on-line panels, presentations or programs. Almost all did not even follow the school on social media and engage with the school and club pages. The common data set shows how much each school values demonstrated interest. There have been more than a few disappointed and surprised valedictorians who did not get in over the years. Ivy League schools do not track demonstrated interest, so their holistic review misses that piece.
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BC doesnât track demonstrated interest. They make that pretty clear in their materials.
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What is the percentage of waitlisted students getting admitted in the past? 5%?
I donât believe they have ever announced that. It would depend on how many accepted students decide to attend. Last year BC was over enrolled.
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BC posted an admissions video on their site recently where they mention demonstrated interest. They started using demonstrated interest as a way to weed out candidates that are applying to BC but will not truly attend.
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That would be totally disingenuous. Given COVID travel and living far away, we finally visited two months ago after applying. Admissions officer specifically said they do not look at demonstrated interest during our session. Who actually knows? Based on prior Naviance stats from our Catholic high school, six kids applied who in the past were all admits based on stats and all got waitlisted. These are high SAT scores and top 3% kids from out of state.
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Lots of ways to show interest without visiting. Our D21 (who was accepted) went to maybe four or five virtual sessions, emailed her AO directly with some good questions, and wrote very specifically in her essays about how she would contribute to the BC community.
Last year, BC had a very long waitlist to start. I believe something like 2000. Then, in June, they let most kids go and kept a WL of 250. From reading the threads here from last year, it sounds like students who called to get info on WL action after that were told only a handful of kids were taken off. Who knows how it will go this year but certainly getting off the WL isnât likely.
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Almost all demonstrated interest in the time of COVID was on-line activity. The college hosted a series of Zoom presentations, topics includes the performing arts, housing and resident life, not having Greek life on campus and numerous, numerous others. Attending one of those and interacting if/when they asked the viewers questions were great opportunities to engage with the college.
Following the college on social media such as Instagram provided so much daily and weekly insight in to Boston College. Many students subscribed and interacted with over a half dozen pages (BC, BC admissions, BC student govt, athletes or clubs of interest, campus ministry, theater, a capella groups, etc.). In the time of staying safe in this pandemic our guidance office, and many of the YouTube videos on college admissions, TiKToks run by admissions counselors from across the country, to college admissions book authors like The College Essay guy had free social media advice on demonstrated interest. A simple email to their application reader with a question shows interest. Colleges that really weight demonstrated interest note how quickly you open their emails and do you click a link in the email and interact with the college web site.
Boston College offered opportunities to connect on-line with current students. All of these things were free, well publicized repeatedly and for those really interested in getting to know more about the college, it gave us info. Yes, sometimes I was walking in the door from rehearsal and hadnât eaten yet, but logging on the panel was informative.
BC noted in a recent admissions engagement that they did look at demonstrated interest. It is a small, small part of holistic admissions. I am sure student teacher LOR mattered more, as did the rigor of a students chosen course work, their awards, achievements and ECs. All captured on the application.
There definitely were and are free, multiple opportunities to engage with the college and show demonstrated interest over the last year and a half. I did it to learn more about the schools I was looking at, but was aware they were looking back.
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Thanks for your great summary (detailed) of âopportunitiesâ to display interest. As a parent who has been through this process a few times (no kids at BC), I think the type of interest characterized by @Shoreline4 demonstrates a certain type of kid which may seem reasonable and average for the CC community but is likely way more involved than the average kid (who applies to BC and other fine schools). How many high school kids are really going to put in that effort when they are involved in so many other things (and even if they werenât)?
For that interest level, there must be an emphasis and culture on higher education in the family. Thatâs all great. But what about the kids who donât have that home environment, havenât had this drilled into their heads since an early age, havenât been preparing for the college app process for yrs, etc? Lots of those kids are equally intelligent but they just donât know what they donât know.
This whole college admissions game has gotten crazy IMO.
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My post wasnât about demonstrated interest - because many kids, including mine did those things. It is about the school saying one thing and doing another. In a year of randomness, transparency meant a lot.
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I understand the frustration and the questions about âyield protectionâ. The top 50 or so schools want to admit high achieving students who are likely to attend. There are many different ways to demonstrate interest. Some are just opticsâŠe.g. opening emails from the admissions office, following on instagram, even signing up for a campus tour. BC and other high applications/low admit rate schools donât pay much attention to these âcheck the boxâ metrics of demonstrated interest. On the other hand, BC and its peer schools do care about three more authentic demonstrations of interest âŠ1)applying ED (" your school is my first choice and I will attend if admitted"), 2) being a legacy applicant (âmy parent is an alum and our family has a strong emotional connection to your school and I want to continue the traditionâ) and 3) submitting a truly authentic application (âmy essays and recommendations show that I really understand your schoolâs mission and institutional priorities, and I have been communicating with the regional admissions officer for my high school in a way that reinforces the authenticity of my applicationâ).
The ED admissions program (at BC and elsewhere) mostly benefits the institution, not the applicant. It is not fair. That said, BC gives you two chances to show your serious interest if BC is your first or second choice (EDI or EDII). If you donât take advantage of this opportunity, it becomes more challenging, and you need to be in the top 10-15 percent of the applicant pool to get the admissions officerâs attention. Bottom line, if you are not a recruited athlete, legacy or diversity applicant, a strategy based on lots of regular decision applications to highly selective schools is risky business.
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There actually is the opposite of a culture of higher Ed in my family. There is financial need. I come from a FLi family. That is first generation student to college and/ or low income. The only way I am getting to college will be by the work I do and merit aid where offered and fin aid. So I had to have the motivation and dedicate the time to these efforts. There was no outside paid college advisor for me, no paid SAT prep classes, no one in my house to best proof read my supplemental essays. But Khahn academy sat prep is free as are the free college board tests. A trusted teacher can read over your essays.
Just going to college was on me and that is a big motivator when you get home from school late, after all itâs activities you do and have AP homework. However, these were my choices. College is my path up.
The actions of demonstrated interest were free to everyone from Indiana to India, we students just had to seek it out and put in what time it meant to us.
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ED programs are for the privileged that can accept the binding financial aid that they give you. 
The âmeets 100% of demonstrated needâ is a calculation that varies a bit by each school. It is a definition calculated differently by each university.
The CSS profile provides colleges with the value of your parents retirement account, be they a blue collar worker putting in small amounts for over 35 years or wealth management advisors with generous matches. The CSS for those that might be home owners gives them the equity and market value of your home and some univ use that in their algorithm of how needy applicants are (ie parents can afford loans, assumed credit worthiness etc).
Every guidance counselor tells filed zooms or rooms full of HS juniors and seniors and their parents, ED plans are binding, financially as well as admissions. An opportunity not open to those dependent on comparing financial aid packages.
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Going to visit again next weekend. Coming from Florida. A year ago stayed downtown while seeing several Boston schoolsâŠBC was the only one he liked and applied to.
Is there an on-campus hotel? Website listed 20+ nearby hotelsâŠany recommendations?
Also, is there a separate admitted students and/or parents thread?
Thanks in advance.
There is a Marriott really close
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