How can I convey my love?

JHS
Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:09:40 +0000

Newmassdad is right. I’m not so sure “very few” colleges care about interest, but Chicago and most of its peers don’t. And the admissions office tries to be very careful (a) not to encourage applicants to compete with each other by showing extra love, because that would get to be a horrible burden on the admissions people very fast, and (b) not to miss good candidates because they don’t have the resources to visit and to put on a creative full-court press, or they haven’t focused enough yet to know what they really want.

Also, let’s say there’s a boy you like. (I don’t know the OP’s gender or preference. Anyone who likes girls, feel free to transpose.) It’s not that hard to let him know you like him: you run into him, talk to him, pay attention when he talks, smile, maybe toss your hair around a bit. But mainly, you have to engage him on topics other than your liking him, and feel confident that he will get the message that you’re attracted to him without being beaten over the head with it. If too much of what you do is talk about how great he is and how much you like him, it crosses the line into creepy stalkerdom pretty quickly. And, while having someone like you is a powerful incentive to like him or her back, having someone like you TOO much, without knowing you that well, is usually a turnoff, and for good reason.

The same holds true with college admissions, mostly. Being too much in love with one college isn’t reality-based, no matter how much you’ve studied the view book or toured the campus, and admissions knows that. (They’re professionals; you’re an amateur at this.) You let them know you’re interested by jumping through the application hoops and actually applying. Try to set up an interview, etc. But the really important thing is to show what an interesting, valuable person you are, the kind of person who is going to have LOTS of opportunities, there or elsewhere, and who plans to take advantage of them. THAT’s what is going to be attractive to the admissions staff, and make them want to pick YOU.