<p>So I'm applying to eleven graduate schools, all with a good fit. Almost all of them have an (optional) space that asks you to list any other graduate schools you're applying to.</p>
<p>I'm confused as to whether I should put anything there, and was hoping for some insight. One of the professors providing my letter of recommendation warned me against putting anything on there and focusing my interests directly on that school, but I've heard many applicants saying that you should. I'm putting more weight on the professor's input for the moment, but I know there's a few professors on this board and was hoping someone would be kind enough to chime in.</p>
<p>I definitely encourage students to list the other schools to which they are applying.</p>
<p>In many (very probably most, potentially all) cases, the admissions committee will not even see this list. However, the Director of Graduate Studies in each department will receive (from the Graduate School – in other words, from the administrative folks) an aggregated list of the schools to which their applicants also applied. </p>
<p>This helps the DGS in innumerable ways with his or her own administrative responsibilities (benchmarking, etc.). So please include this info! It helps me do my job, and it does not impact your admission decision in any way whatsoever.</p>
<p>I second the comment by Professor X. This information will not harm (or benefit) your application. However, it is incredibly useful for the graduate program. Similarly, if asked please do update which program you finally accepted.</p>