<p>On some college applications, there is a question asking which other colleges you are applying to besides the one you're filling the app for. Why is this question so important? Can it affect a student's admission?</p>
<p>In most cases, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to.</p>
<p>I think a lot of the reason is just for statistical purposes: schools are interested in seeing what other colleges they "overlap" with, or who their biggest competition is, academically. </p>
<p>There are some theories (which may have some truth to them) that schools also use that information to get an idea of how serious your intentions of attending that school are. A school could be less likely to accept you if they see you applied to 25 other schools and probably wouldn't end up choosing them anyway. ;) There are also stories floating around about overqualified applicants being rejected from schools that were safeties for them. So in rare cases, if your safety school sees that you have near-perfect stats and applied to Top 20 universities, it could possibly hurt your chances of admission there. Those are only speculations though (who's to say you didn't just made a glaring mistake on your safety school's application?) and I'm not sure that those theores have ever actually been outright proven.</p>
<p>some schools (Tufts or WUSTL are famous examples) are rumored to be very sensitive about being used as safeties for kids applying to top-tier schools. And if a school could tell from your list they're your reach it <em>could</em> affect financial aid, chances of admission, etc. Same if they see they're a safety. This is all rumor, of course, but why not work it your advantage if it's real? List several of their competitors that are not ranked too much above them, and a clear safety. Let them decide (if they're playing the game) they need to woo you.</p>
<p>Could you lie and only put some of the other schools you're apply to?</p>
<p>And by you, I really mean I.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Could you lie and only put some of the other schools you're apply to?
[/quote]
Of course. </p>
<p>"Apply" is a slippery word. When you fill out the app you could be completely intending to apply to X, Y, and Z, but change your mind as soon as the ink is dry. Or to run it the other way, will a college consider your app complete before all the materials are received? Of course not. So in another sense you haven't really applied to A, B, and C even if you've mailed off one of their app forms. You always <em>could</em> later decide not to complete the process, so you can say with 100% veracity you haven't applied to them.</p>