Sure, they can’t know for sure, and there may be very sensible reasons why kids pick an outlier school. However, as I say, it may raise curiosity of “why” us too? I don’t really think it factors much, if at all, in decisions, but I know the admissions folks may wonder. I am assuming the “outlier” choice isn’t obvious by the essays to that school too. Then their is no “wonder” in the applicaiton.
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We were told that if you apply for Financial Aid all schools have access to the list of schools you applied to.
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Not necessarily about FA. Not all schools use the same system. We had 3 or 4 different FA sites we had to use. I forget exactly how many it was. I kept getting confused as to what schools went with which app to make sure I submitted to the right places.
The SSS system
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Blockquote
Huh, every school my kids have ever gone through, from preschool through high school, has used SSS. I’ve never heard of any other sites.
I think clarity is a new one - some are switching to
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One of several. SSS isn’t the only company schools use.
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I learned that this year! I like the simplicity of Clarity, but they don’t share the EFC like SSS does (at least I didn’t see it). One of the 3 schools my daughter applied to used Clarity.
I don’t think it means much like it does in college apps. BS tend to be far more generous with aid than colleges.
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Agreed! I just like seeing the number so I have an idea of what to expect even though I know it’s just a guide.
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Yeh, but schools can go above or below the number. Essentially they (the FA forms) all should be giving comparable numbers.
Funny thing is, I accidentally (somehow) added one of the schools that uses Clarity to the SSS form. Maybe they used them in the past 
I just searched the school names when filling it out. So I technically have a number from SSS for them which will be interesting to compare with a FA package (I mean when it all goes right on M10 of course) 
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Clarity is new, this is really the first full FA cycle that it is widely available. I work at a k-8 school and we just switched to using it this year from SSS. Some schools are using both this year if they signed on to Clarity late in the cycle.
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No the school was clearly using clarity per their website, it was my mistake when going to all the different FA companies (?), I just had a list of schools we applied to and mistakenly threw in the school name. I realized my mistake when I had to contact the school about something and they said they hadn’t gotten our Clarity form. Nope they didn’t because I filled out the SSS one . After that I went back to make sure I had the right gateways(?-what DO we call those pages) matched up to our schools. Some schools also had their own FA portal, like for their admissions application, too. At least I didn’t have to write different essays for all of them like the kid had to
I did the same thing! They emailed me and told me I had to re do it all in Clarity. Fortunately it was pretty quick!
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So you should see it on SSS still then. The calculation has to be pretty similar one would think.
Yes, I still see it. I was just curious if they factor it the same way. 2 of the other schools she applied to use SSS so it was all there. I just like to see everything!
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I gotcha. It would be nice to know if they come out to the same amount for sure.
I’m a little late to this, but if a school asks what other school’s you’ve applied to, do you answer honestly? I’m scared they might be kind of put off by how many you’ve applied to, or schools with much higher yield rates. One of the schools I’m applying to isn’t a “tippy top” school but it’s one of my favorites and definitely high on my list, and I don’t want to put them off by admitting I’m also applying to tippy top schools
My daughter did, but she was applying to schools that “made sense” as a group/cohort and weren’t really surprising to the admissions officers to hear. The schools know you are most likely applying to multiple schools, but if you are uncomfortable with the question (which is absolutely fair) and don’t feel like you want to or should have to answer, you can always give an evasive answer like, "Yes, I’m applying to a few other schools that also offer small class sizes, the opportunity to study away, and an excellent theater program (or whatever your criteria are), but I’m really excited about the way (insert school name you are interviewing with) approaches learning through . . . " You get the idea. Confirm you are applying to other schools, but bring it right back around to something that appeals about the school you’re currently interviewing with and how you will fit into that program really well.
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Bc like on my Candidate and Parents statement section of that school there was just a box that said “What other schools is this Candidate applying to” and I can’t exactly sound evasive while I’m writing.
Of course, during the interview I’m definitely going to bring up why I love the school and want to go there but I can’t avoid that question when it’s in writing