<p>Sooooo I replied that I applied to UVA and W&M. I applied to a good amount of ivys and top-tier schools but felt uncomfortable saying that. (also said the honors + scholarship programs I was selected for at the first college but affirmed my adoration for brown)… isn’t it an “illegal interview question” to ask a student where else they applied? I nailed the interview but just curious I guess.</p>
<p>Well, you didn’t have to mention all of schools where you applied to. My interviewer asked me the same question, but I vaguely replied that I had applied to several state schools and ivy league schools.</p>
<p>It’s obviously not a question guided by Brown, but might be a personal curiosity of the interviewer. If you reaffirmed that Brown is your the first choice school, your interviewer might be satisfied. </p>
<p>we are not supposed to ask. I often find myself about to ask (but then don’t) out of sheer curiosity more so than to evaluate the student.</p>
<p>Any comment made in the interview write-up about other schools applied to will most likely be ignored by admission staff. </p>
<p>First, I have no direct knowledge of whether admissions officers ignore interview comments about other schools. But I sure hope they don’t.</p>
<p>Many applicants make it a special point to distinguish the school they are interviewing for, from among a few likely “competitors”. These can be very thoughtful comments, not negative about any particular school, and can be effective in answering the “Why ______?” question. Maybe the interviewer will not reference these comments in the write-up, but if they are referenced I think it would be unfair to the applicant to ignore them.</p>
<p>Will admissions officers consider such comments if they are volunteered, but not consider them if they are in response to a leading question by the interviewer? Like a judge in a trial telling the jury to ignore testimony after an objection has been sustained? Again, I have no direct knowledge, but this would seem to be a level of detail that would be a lot to expect</p>
<p>All of my interviewers have asked me this, and many other adults i’ve talked to in the application process. I’m always a little unsure, but I think in many cases they are asking it as a friend or interested adult, not as an interviewer. They want to get a sense of where you see yourself, what the schools you’ve applied to have in common, etc. I always say that the school is my first choice, though, no matter what. </p>
<p>It isn’t necessarily going to be included in the write up. It isn’t one of the questions that the interviewers are asked on the write up form. So it doesn’t matter if you make a special point, they aren’t going to put everything you say down on paper. </p>
<p>I take it back a bit, if you are saying that your points address “Why Brown” points.</p>
<p>Advice for interviewees:</p>
<p>Even though Brown interviewers are instructed not to ask about other schools you are applying to, it is evident from various threads that sometimes this happens. So you have a few options:</p>
<ol>
<li>Blank stare</li>
<li>Throw a penalty flag and say it is an illegal question</li>
<li>Say whatever comes to mind because you read somewhere that your answer isn’t necessarily going to be included in the write-up</li>
<li>Prepare in advance a thoughtful answer, involving at least some of the other schools you are applying to, that portrays Brown in a favorable light and incidentally might help you address the Why Brown question.</li>
</ol>
<p>My advice is to choose #4</p>
<ol>
<li>Answer the question honestly and move on. </li>
</ol>
<p>When I interview someone, I am keenly aware that this person has less than 10% chance of getting in. There is more than a 90% chance that this person will be going to another college. Brown admissions knows this, too. It also knows that if the other colleges are highly selective, there is a 90+% chance they aren’t getting into any of those too. That’s why the answer to this question is of no interest to admissions as part of its decision-making process. Admissions assumes that if you are applying to Brown you want to go there. </p>
<p>Interviewers who ask this question most likely are either personally curious (my reason) or alums who aren’t up to date and think it still matters. </p>
<p>If you want to turn your answer into a “why Brown?” response go ahead. But don’t feel that you have to. Usually when I’m tempted to ask this question it’s near the end, an hour after I’ve asked the “why Brown?” question. </p>
<p>Not sure I see any daylight between #4 and #5, there was no suggestion that anyone should lie or dwell on the matter, but anyway.</p>
<p>I would like to say that Brown and lots of other schools, especially binding ED schools, are keenly aware of and interested in their yield. And Brown, unlike most other schools, reports on its Common Data Set that the Level of Applicant’s Interest is “Very Important” in the selection process. <a href=“Office of Institutional Research | Brown University”>Office of Institutional Research | Brown University; . Lots of other schools check the “Considered” box for this.</p>
<p>As an alumnus interviewer, I do not try to figure out the interviewee’s chances, and I don’t let myself become personally interested about any aspect of the interviewee’s life. That can be a slippery slope. But I can understand that other alumnus interviewers take a different tack.</p>
<p>So, interviewees, understand that “level of interest” is “Very Important” to Brown. And be prepared if your alumnus interviewer strays from the instructions and asks you about other applications or how you rank Brown–out of personal interest or inattention to the instructions. You can turn this to your advantage. No lie!</p>
<p>Why are you bothered by this question? Tell the truth! </p>
<p>If you tell, don’'t assume it won’t get written in. If it’s written, don’t assume it won’t get read. The only danger, in general, is kids who get nervous and state another school is their dream or their #1. But that’s ordinary logic. </p>
<p>If OP is from VA and said UVa and WM, OP is fiiine.
If not from VA, still fine. </p>
<p>It is an unfair question that we are told not to ask but unfortunately there isn’t anything you can really do if it get’s asked and you stand to do more damage by getting confrontational or awkward with your interviewer than by just answering it honestly (but of course say Brown is your #1 choice even if it’s not - even though I fully get that it won’t be every applicant’s #1, I would still find it odd that the kid didn’t have enough social tact to know you don’t say that to me)</p>