Do colleges know where else you've applied?

<p>Thanks for correcting me. I was told by someone who I thought was pretty knowledgeable about the process that the Ivies talk to each other. =/</p>

<p>I thought that colleges only found out if you told them. Furthermore I thought it didn't matter anyway. Then I read this article:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Competition: Schools are more likely to give generously to students who set off bidding wars. David Lang, an economist at California State University-Sacramento, found preliminary evidence that students accepted at several schools get as much as 30 percent more in grants than similarly qualified students who get into just one college. The head of financial aid for a medium-sized private university in the Midwest, who did not want to reveal his own school's practices, said many aid officers will look at a student's FAFSA to see what other schools are listed. "It is not so much how many schools as what schools you've applied to," he says. If the student has listed schools with similar costs and rankings in the same geographic region, the officer may say: "Wow, we compete with those, and we have to up the ante," he says.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Entire article from USN&WR
<a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/060910/18main.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/060910/18main.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>then i dont know what to think - is it better if they do or dont see your full list?</p>

<p>
[quote]
you'll usually only get into one -- of course, this could be total rumor.

[/quote]
Total rumor on the whole you-rarely-get-into-Cal-and-UCLA. I know a whole handful of applicants who have been admitted to both colleges. About 90% of the people I know (admitted to both) end up at Cal, no surprise. 10% go to UCLA; I'm sure they have their reasons.</p>