“If you have applied or expect to apply to other colleges or universities this year, please name them.”
This question isn’t marked with an asterisk(*), so it is not obligatory. Do you think it is wise to complete it?
no, there is no reason to.
As you said, it is not obligatory. It’s fine to skip. You may, however, come across this on other non-Common App forms and/or it may come up in an interview, so it’s wise to have a plan of how to answer. For me, when the question came up before 12/31 (i.e. when my final applications were due), my answer was, “I’m still finalizing the list, but the schools to which I will apply offer X, Y, and Z.” My answer after all applications was submitted was, “I’m applying to schools that offer X, Y, and Z, such as AA, AB, and AC,” where two of the schools are at the same level as the school asking the question, and the third is a step below. I would not list all the schools, and I would list them in random (or alphabetical) order.
^^ that is a great way to answer the question, without answering it, lol!
If I have a list of 11, with 2 schools that are far less prestigious than the others, would it be wise or unethical to list those 2 colleges as my additional colleges? @skieurope
@Jcannon1023 I offered mine only as an example. While I listed one college as a step down, you could certainly list 2. What you want to get across is 2 things: 1/ that would are considering other peer colleges and 2/ that this college is one to which you are striving. What you don’t want a particular college to assume is that it is your safety (even if it is).
I really dislike it when schools ask this question. I think what they meant to ask is “are we your safety?” to which I would respond “well that depends on how much money you’ll give me” lol
In all seriousness though, I recently saw a post about colleges considering making your list obligatory on the common app and that’s just scary.
It’s not enough that Ivies are difficult to get into by any student, no matter how qualified, now we will have to run the risk of being rejected for not being special enough for elite schools but being too qualified for other institutions that assume they are the safety and get miffed. I wouldn’t supply this information unless they weren’t going to accept my app without it.
Asking this question typically means that the college is trying to gauge your “level of interest” to see if it is one of your high choices, or if you are trying to use it as a “safety”, particularly if you appear to be “overqualified” for the college.
If you appear to be “overqualified” for the college, and your list of colleges includes those which are more selective than that college (but still realistic for you to be admitted to), that college may assume that you will not attend and give you a waitlist or rejection.
More discussion on “level of interest”: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1626043-ways-to-show-a-high-level-of-applicants-interest.html