<p>Is it bad to list competitive schools when they ask you about other schools you're applying to? Or is it actually beneficial?</p>
<p>Is it bad to talk about all the awards you have won?</p>
<p>Is it bad to ask them about a negative aspect of their school?</p>
<p>Is it bad to bend the truth a little when giving an answer to a very hard question?</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you are asked about other schools (which is really irrelevant), just answer honestly. </p></li>
<li><p>There's nothing wrong with mentioning an award in the context of a broader conversation. However, it is the admissions committee that evaluates your academic record and ecs. You are better off talking about why an activitiy means so much to you rather than awards you received for it.</p></li>
<li><p>No, negative aspect questions are common and approrpriate.</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure why you'd want to bend the truth or why you'd seek endorsement for doing so. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Just my opinion based on many years of interviewing.</p>
<p>Lying is always bad. I caught some students in lies during their interviews with me. Those students didn't get into the college that I interview for. The lies were rather small. For instance, one student cited as his favorite book an obscure book that happens to be one of my favorite books. I even knew the person who had edited and assigned the article that led to the book. </p>
<p>When I asked the student about the book, it was clear that he had never read it. That put the rest of his application in doubt.</p>
<p>Another student exaggerated the extent of her involvement in a small community organization that my S happened to be president of, and I also happened to be very involved with.</p>
<p>As for "bending the truth"....where the answer to the "very hard question" makes you look shallow or petty, you might want to come up with a better answer. For example: My daughter has always loved choir. But this year she dropped out. She did have a scheduling conflict, but there were things she could have done about it. The real reason is that she (and a bunch of others) really really can't stand the choir teacher. If asked why she didn't continue in choir, the "better" answer would be to express regret about the scheduling conflict; the "poor" answer would be that she couldn't stand the teacher. Is that "bending" the truth?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Answer honestly but have good answers for why you applied there - a certain program, your perception of the culture there, whatever- go beyond I like the city it's in or it's close to home.</p></li>
<li><p>No, but again go beyond the achievement into the process- how it made you a better leader, how arduous the process was, something creative you did to achieve it.</p></li>
<li><p>No.</p></li>
<li><p>Well, it probably cannot be verified, but you can always make something sound better for you - the last post is a good example. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>An interview happens to meet the person and find out about them in ways a paper application cannot elicit. How mature the person is; what motivates them; what makes them stand out in the crowd of applicants. Most interviewers will be substantially older than the applicant - the better you relate to them (don't give juvenile answers their own kids might give)- the better chance you have.</p>
<p>My cousin has been interviewing for 15 years for Harvard. He says that the biggest mistake candidates make is having bad manners. He says that just setting up the interview with some candidates is tortured (they fail to return phone calls, have impossible scheduling requests). His big piece of advice is to be friendly and flexible about getting the interview scheduled.
Lying is an absolute never...northstarmom's stories are great illustrations of that point.</p>
<p>1) I wouldn't mention ALL competitive schools... pick a reach and a match, or something like that, just in case the college in question has Tufts Syndrome...
2) If it comes up, go ahead, talk about it. But don't say "hey, didja know I won all THIS?" That's what your application is for. Mentioning it would be solely for elaboration purposes.
3) Nah.
4) Depends on what you mean. No lying, but picking an alternate reason could help.</p>
<p>Agree with Sabster. A trained interviewer won't ask you about where else you're applying. The schools' job (and the interviewers') is to judge you on the merit of your app, not on their guess of where you might get in or which schools you might prefer. Many schools are thought to waitlist or deny students they think might end up elsewhere.</p>
<p>This is one case where lying is acceptable; when asked an unethical question you are under no constraints to give an honest reply. Have a safety & match in mind, probably a pair of each, and you can add "I'm still working on my list". </p>
<p>And if asked if interviewers school is your top choice (another unethical question), you smile and say "Absolutely! It's my dream of going there!" Which it is at the moment you say it. Your top choice may change 30 seconds later, that's the breaks.</p>
<p>As for bending the truth of questions that you are legitimately asked, don't do it. Others may consider your "bend" a lie. What adults are really looking for is someone who can honestly own up to their mistakes and transgressions, explaining what they learned from them and why things will be different in the future.</p>