Application ? "What other schools are you applying to?"

Parents Forum
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<p>Gang,</p>

<p>No doubt this question has been posed before, but I couldn't find it, and I am a rather recent regular over here: four years ago, I was spending all my time over on the Musical Theatre and Theater/Acting threads!</p>

<p>I have noticed that many of my younger D's college applications ask students to list the other schools to which they are applying. Is this basically just for a school to see who its competition is and who is in its peer group? </p>

<p>I know when my older D (graduated NYU Tisch in May) was applying for schools and auditioning, she was often asked (at the audition) where else she had applied, and you got the feeling that the colleges were not just trying to suss out their peer group/competition: but also trying to gauge whether a student would actually attend. In fact, at one audition, the faculty member in attendance asked my D that question and then said, when it was answered "So if you get in here, will you actually come here?"</p>

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<p>Fair warning-this topic gets heated. We listed like schools the kids applied to. We did not list all schools they applied to mainly because there wasn’t room and because, honestly, it’s really not something they need to know but we didn’t want to leave it blank either.</p>

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<p>We’ve done what SteveMA did. Listed schools that were similar and/or geographically close, but not an exhaustive listing because there wasn’t the space. I agree it’s probably better to put something in than nothing (lest the school think it’s the only one your kid is applying to), but it doesn’t have to be full disclosure.</p>

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<p>The advice my S was given to list a few (I think he put 4-5) similar schools, with the objective being not to make the school in question appear to be a safety school (if it is one). So for the reach schools, S listed other reaches and maybe a match, for a match he listed matches, and for safety, he listed safeties and maybe 1 match. Hope this helps.</p>

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<p>I wouldn’t list them at all. </p>

<p>If a student is asked directly, in person, it is of course more difficult not to say anything. The best response to the “will you come here” question is probably “There are things I like about all the schools I’ve applied to. If I’m lucky enough to get in to more than one, I will have a hard decision.”</p>

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<p>My son did as others did, just listed the schools that were academic matches to the one that asked but did not put them all.</p>

<p>I think it is highly inappropriate for schools to ask this. Students don’t get to ask, what the specific qualities the school is looking for so they can slant their application towards that.</p>

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<p>

I think the answer to this should be: “That will depend on your powers of persuasion.”</p>

<p>On the form question, my view is that your answer should be truthfully incomplete, as in “Several similar schools, including x, Y and Z.”</p>

8

<p>IMO, impertinent questions do not deserve complete and honest answers.</p>

<p>IMO, this is an impertinent question.</p>

<p>I can’t imagine myself ever criticizing an applicant who shapes her answer to this question in a way that works to her own advantage.</p>

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<p>“not sure yet” could be a truthful answer until the last app is filed. Make the last one be a school that doesn’t ask this question.</p>

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<p>On the other hand, my oldest D did list them all, and it did not hurt her acceptances to the 2 schools that asked. She listed her 3 reaches (she was rejected at 2 of them) and her 3 matches and 1 safety. </p>

<p>My D who is currently applying has a lot more schools on her list, so she may leave a few off. I have only seen one supplement ask this so far, but we haven’t looked at all of them yet! I also don’t believe any of the schools on her list would feel like she was using them as a safety; they are all great schools academically.</p>

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<p>My daughter applied to one school that asked “how many other schools have you applied to”. She was going to include all that she applied or planned to apply to, but I told her to read the question literally. So, the answer became “2” rather than “9” :-)</p>

<p>I agree with Sikorsky about the impertinent questions. IMO, the proper answer to question “what other schools are you applying to” would be “None of your business” or, more politely, “I am not sure yet”.</p>

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<p>Yes, the main goal is to list about 4 or 5 other schools that this college would consider their peers. Don’t list several of the most selective colleges where you are applying if it will make them feel they are just a last minute safety. Don’t list 6 or more colleges.</p>

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<p>The question is basically saying, “don’t use this school as a safety”.</p>

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<p>“We listed like schools the kids applied to.”</p>

<p>We did too. It simplified the process. “I see here you also applied to Yale, North Dakota State and Miami-Dade Community College . Could you explain that?”</p>

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<p>When they say “where else are you applying”, I think it’s so tempting to write “who else are you thinking of admitting?”</p>

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<p>Does this sound like a sufficient response for a CA resident?</p>

<p>“The University of California, and other in-state and out-of-state private institutions”</p>

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<p>Check out this article and pick a few peers.</p>

<p>[Who</a> Does Your College Think Its Peers Are? - Administration - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Who-Does-Your-College-Think/134222/]Who”>Who Does Your College Think Its Peers Are?)</p>

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<p>Excellent! I wish cc would sticky this somehow.</p>

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<p>As someone up thread said, this is not an uncommon question at auditions for Music majors. My daughter has heard it each time she visited a studio and in all her auditions so far. It is always put in a “If you don’t mind answering…” sort of way and usually ends with a discussion of how the profs in the room know/worked with/studied with the bass professor at the other school.</p>

<p>I can’t think of whether or not it was on any of her actual applications though, since she filled them out herself and I was just a human spell check :)</p>

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<p>My kids (and I) never thought it was a big deal. They just listed all the schools and didn’t give it a second thought. I really don’t think schools use this in any malign way. I believe they use if for institutional research. While most of the schools that accepted my kids asked where they were going instead, in at least one case they asked too many questions and my son never turned in the form. This way they get at least the info about what other schools typcially get looked at by their applicants.</p>