My daughter had one school last year that asked that question explicitly in the app. She answered truthfully.
Thanks for the help! She got into all of the schools she applied to, right?
Yes, but she was not interested in any GLADCHEMMS/Ten Schools/etc. She did a lot of research prior and thinking about what she was looking for in a high school experience. After researching and then visiting schools, she ended up with a great list of schools that really suited her.
She researched around thirty schools (including several GLADCHEMMS, etc schools), visited eleven, and applied to six.
I know why people worry about this question, but I wouldn’t attach much importance to it. If you do have schools that seem to be outliers, make a note to yourself to mention why you like the outliers in the interview. For example, if 6 schools were girls schools, but you also had George and Mercersberg, you might say “I am looking for schools that are accepting of LGBTQ folks and where there are good opportunity for girls in robotics.” Both your coed schools would immediately understand why you had single sex schools on your list and why they had made the cut.
Schools are not going to turn down students they want for fear of them going else. They also want a chance to sell themselves against their "competitors ".
Because you need FA, you can mention as well that you did a lot of research to find schools that offered A, B, or C (your priorities) that looked like they could be affordable.
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