Interested in a particular college? You might want to let them know.

Increasingly, colleges and universities are paying attention to students who demonstrate a special affinity for them. As USA Today makes clear, colleges track students' interest from initial contact through the application process, even going so far as to chart the number of times they log on to their Web sites. Scary stuff. According to the article, the National Association for College Admission Counseling "found that 55% of 595 [colleges responding to a survey] said they consider demonstrated interest when they evaluate applications, and nearly a third said it is of moderate or considerable importance."

Apparently, colleges believe high interest among candidates translates into better yield statistics. Yield, of course, is the percentage of accepted students who choose to attend. The higher the yield, the more "desirable" a college appears. But given the widespread use of early decision programs to tweak yield figures, U.S. News stopped using the stat in its annual college rankings. Still, yield is an important measure for enrollment planning.

So here's the rub: "It's a game," says Shirley Levin, an independent college counselor in Rockville, Md. "But I tell my students and families that it's (the colleges') ballgame, not ours, and if they say that they pay attention to whether you show some interest, then by golly, I guess you better show some interest."