Ol' College Try Demonstrated Interest with Mark Stucker: What It Is and How It Impacts College Admissions
Dec 4, 2025
Mark Stucker, producer of the Your College Bound Kid podcast and admissions expert, dives into the crucial concept of demonstrated interest in college admissions. He explains how colleges assess applicants' likelihood of enrollment and highlights key ways students can show genuine interest, such as campus visits, engaging essays, and email communication. Mark breaks down myths about demonstrated interest, discusses its impact on admissions strategies, and offers practical tips to help students stand out in their college applications.
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What Demonstrated Interest Actually Is
- Demonstrated interest (DI) is a factor some colleges use to predict how likely a student is to enroll.
- Colleges use DI to avoid admitting candidates with a low chance of matriculating (UTE: unlikely to enroll).
Use The Common Data Set As A Signal
- The Common Data Set (C7) shows whether a college marks DI as not considered, considered, important, or very important.
- Use that published classification as a starting point to judge how much DI matters at a given school.
Rhodes Waitlisted A Student For Low Interest
- Rhodes College told a deferred student they waitlisted her because they thought she wasn't interested.
- They invited the student to correct the misread, showing transparency in using DI data.