<p>Believer, GREAT!! I love that more than you know!
Thank you for such a great example of diplomacy and directness at the same time. The interview is indeed a two way street</p>
<p>Susan said it best. It is the NAMES that I think we are all having an aversion to and Dr. John understands that, I think.</p>
<p>Great topic of discussion. </p>
<p>xxx,Mary Anna</p>
<p>Bump for WallyWorld et al</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Very much so, thanks.</p>
<p>This is an interesting dance. Obviously most of the time both parties are going to try to put their best foot forward. Doesnt seem like many kids would tell you that your program is their least favorite on their list even in no un certain terms. If I were doing the interviewing I would be less concerned with answers that show wisdom and more with attitude assessment. </p>
<p>My question was, for the school or schools that are your top pick, do you convey that to them and if so how? Is the interview the appropriate place to do so? Does it matter? Do they care? On the one hand I can see were they may but on the other I cant. After</p>
<p>I'm bumping this thread in anticipation of next year's round of applicants, of which my D will be one. This thread, and another earlier one, discuss techniques to address this question during the interview or at the audition, should it arise in that context.</p>
<p>But how to diplomatically answer the question on the printed application for itself? An applicant can't very well write, "Can you tell me why that is important?" on her/his application. Do you choose a representative sampling of schools you've applied to in roughly the same level of artistic selectivity as the subject school? </p>
<p>What have this year's seniors done?</p>
<p>When my son applied to Ithaca, they had the kids name their top schools in order. I think most of the kids put their heads together and decided to rank Ithaca number two, showing they were really interested but maybe encouraging the school to add some financial aid to increase their ranking. So I'm not sure the information was very useful to the school.</p>
<p>If students are honest the information can be useful to the school... mainly as a topic for conversations in the interview... ex. If it is a BFA school and the other schools on the students list are BA programs.... OR... If it is a BA and all the other schools are BFAs.</p>
<p>I am probably naive, but I would not read too much into the schools asking this particular question. Be as honest as you feel comfortable being. Each school will use this information differently. Although, I would be surprised if schools used it to omit students in whom they were interested from the "accept" pool.</p>
<p>Where else a student is applying is just another bit of information that helps a school gain a little bit of insight into the applicant. :)</p>