<p>on harvard's transfer app they have that silly (imho) question "what is your alternative to transferring to harvard?". i figured in this case honesty is probably not the best policy if i say "well i'm also applying to yale, dartmouth, brown, stanford, ect ect...so hopefully if you turn me down i'll be able to go to one of them" and so on. all other harvard transfer-ites, what have you put? any thought or comments?</p>
<p>Actually, I would simply be honest and list all my other alternatives.</p>
<p>In making admissions decisions, and especially for transfer, adcoms are more worried about how they will fill up the gaps in their class than about how you, the individual applicant, will fare elsewhere.</p>
<p>List the other colleges? I would never do that. You don't know how the adcom will feel about your other choices.</p>
<p>do you even have another alternative? if you say "i have no other alternative besides H", you come off as desperate. If you list some lower tier colleges, they will interpret your aiming lower as a pessimistic sign.</p>
<p>or you can compromise and not list specific schools.</p>
<p>you guys are pathetic. How about telling the truth and telling them your alternate plans?</p>
<p>how about you be more specific when insulting people and refrain from randomly calling 4 different posters, all of whom are discussing a logical topic as to how to phrase an honest answer to a question on an application, "pathetic." i personally think its a bit more pathetic to jump a thread and throw out an insult for everyone rather than either ignoring it or adding something constructive.</p>
<p>i honestly dont know <em>how</em> to phrase an honest answer, b/c my alternatives to transferring to harvard will depend on whether or not i get into another school. i'm obviously not going to say "if i don't get into harvard i will go to X school, except if i don't get into X school i'll go to Z school..ect". i can't honestly say what my alternate plans are b/c i don't know what they will be. i'm considering just saying that i don't have an alternative. would that really come off as desperate?</p>
<p>Just say that your alternative is either to attend another college or to join the workfoce, but you cannot make a viable decision until you evaluate the situation at a later time, and that for now you are only focusing on your coursework and ECs. </p>
<p>Or, don't say that, but I would write something like that.</p>
<p>On the Harvard website for transfers, it suggests that you have an alternative school; perhaps listing one your two should suffice.</p>