<p>S1's interviewer for a selective college asked him what other top schools he's applying to and if he has received any acceptances. Is this normal? I'm really concerned about the spectre of Tufts Syndrome. He even asked if S1 applied to any international colleges :confused:.</p>
<p>I know ds got asked at least once because we were there (this was at the end of a big day of touring and not a formal interview, so his dad and I were there). I noticed the woman made notations and months later, after his acceptance, the regional recruiter we met with mentioned those colleges and commented on how HE thought ds would do in the merit aid dept (this was right before he mentioned that he was nominating ds for a big-buck scholarship). So, i know that the notation went in his file. This was a safety/match school, so it could have been a Tufts situation for ds, but, obviously, it didnât keep them from accepting him or offering him lots of money!</p>
<p>I wouldnât spend too much time worrying about it. Whatâs done is done. I will admit, though, ds didnât play his whole hand when listing colleges. All those years of playing Texas Hold Em paid off, I guess.</p>
<p>Hi PCP,</p>
<p>First off, congrats on your sonâs Intel accomplishment! There were 3 semi-finalists from our HS, all of whom are incredibly bright, dedicated kids. </p>
<p>My D had 4 interviews (all selective schools); she was not asked about other colleges, nor were there any kind of âtrickâ questions, fortunately.</p>
<p>PaperChaserPop,
I donât believe that they are supposed to be asking those kinds of questions. I know that on some college supplements that my son filled out, that question was asked. His college counselor (a former Ivy League admissions officer) told him never to answer that question. I believe she also told him that they were not allowed to ask that question. In face to face interviews, she told him to handle it by saying something like, âOh, Iâm applying to other medium size research universitiesâ or âother small liberal arts institutions.â So far, he hasnât really been pushed for an answer. But, I do agree with YDS. If he does give specifics, try to only name institutions âon the same levelâ as the one for which he is interviewing.</p>
<p>YDS, would you mind sharing what college it was that asked your son and notated it? Just curious.</p>
<p>Some college ask this right on the applications. I think itâs okay to share a couple of names (maybe of places that are similar in feel) but not all of them. Clearly they know that youâre not just applying to their college.</p>
<p>I think this is becoming a common question to ask in an interview (and do some schools still include the question in the written app? Some did a few years ago). When d3 was applying to schools, interviewers at Muhlenberg and GWU asked her where else she was applying. Because weâd read about this possibility on CC, she was prepared and gave a selective list (she named any colleges that were ranked lower than the interviewerâs school :rolleyes:). It was up to her how to respond, but I suggested beforehand that she didnât owe the interviewer her full list. I do object to the question, whether written or spoken, on the grounds that itâs none of the schoolâs @#$% business. Sure, they can ask, but I see no ethical obligation to give a full answer.</p>
<p>(Intel semi-finalist!!! Congrats to you and your son, PCP!)</p>
<p>Son was asked exactly that. It was also on his supplemental application to certain schools. You can choose to answer or not answer I suppose, but really? Who doesnât apply to other top schools. I think itâs a very nice entry into why this particular school is a top choice or THE top choice.</p>
<p>Was this a college interview or an alumni interview? Might make a difference. I wouldnât worry about it too much. Good luck</p>
<p>I think this question should be turned into an opportunity for the interviewer to sell his school to the interviewee.</p>
<p>I donât remember if my D was asked this in an interview; I know it was on several applications. She was a bit startled when the Tufts alumni interviewer asked her why she hadnât applied ED! (Talk about Tufts syndrome) This was in the fall and she hadnât decided on a top choice; wanted to keep her options open. (She was later rejected from Tufts which was not a major blow to her feelings.)</p>
<p>B. Admission, Financial Aid and Testing Policies and Procedures
Postsecondary members agree that they will:
- accept full responsibility for admission and financial aid decisions and for proper
notification of those decisions to candidates;
2.2 not require or ask candidates or the secondary schools to indicate the order of the
candidatesâ college or university preferences, except under Early Decision;
3.3 permit first-year candidates for fall admission to choose among offers of admission,
financial aid and scholarships until May 1 and will state this deadline explicitly in
their offers of admission; - not offer exclusive incentives that provide opportunities for students applying or
admitted Early Decision that are not available to students admitted under other
admission options; - work with their institutionsâ senior administrative officers to ensure that financial</p>
<p>under #2 they are not supposed to ask where else are you applying etcâŠ</p>
<p>I think there is a difference between asking the question on the app and asking the question in an interview. I know some colleges ask the question on their apps, but at least the applicant can choose not to apply and pay the $75 app fee. It is a different situation when the question is asked in an interview after submitting the app with payment. Btw, I did anticipate this question and told S1 not to give a complete list, but I thought it was unlikely an interviewer would ask this question (and asking it in such details).</p>
<p>Is it even ethical to ask this question? How would this be viewed in a real world job interview, if an interviewer asks where else have you sent in your resume? This episode just left me with an unfavorable impression of the school. Mom wasnât happy either. S1, otoh, seemed impervious.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It was an off-campus interview with an alum who has been interviewing for many years. How significant is the difference?</p>
<p><a href=âhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/809234-why-do-colleges-ask-what-other-colleges-you-applying.html[/url]â>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/809234-why-do-colleges-ask-what-other-colleges-you-applying.html</a></p>
<p>some ideas for interesting ways to respondâŠ</p>
<p>our kiddo has had coaches ask which other schools he is looking at, and on the forms it asks where else is he consideringâŠ</p>
<p>we answerâŠother schools with engineering or physical /sciences & math studies as well as this sport</p>
<p>I think the reason they ask is perhaps </p>
<p>âcuriosity, making conversation
âconsidering where they/their school stacks up in the listâsince schools get that âsummer meltâ as waitlisted kids movement takes affect after all the acceptances are in
âstrategy/competitionâwhat is it going to take to get this âstarâ student into our campâŠmerit aid etcâŠ</p>
<p>just my thoughtsâno basis in fact</p>
<p>Perhaps this was an alum going rogue? lol. My daughterâs interviews were at the colleges, where there may be more control and review of policies.</p>
<p>One nice thing about Naviance is that it gives you a pretty good read on whoâs practicing yield protection (at least on your schoolâs students). And at our school the answer appears to be âalmost nobody.â Iâm seeing it from three or four of the lesser Ivies, who apparently think some of their strongest applicants are Harvard bound. At these places, a 4.2/2200 candidate might have a better shot than a 4.5/2350. But outside of these Ivies, I only found one institution that seemed to have a clear pattern that looked like Tufts syndrome (and it wasnât Tufts).</p>
<p>We were worried about answering this question on the supplemental application to one of our sonâs safeties until I checked this out. Colleges that are likely to be anyoneâs safety do not seem to be denying overqualified applicants (again, this is just the word from my sonâs school).</p>
<p>Actually the NACAC principles quoted above do not appear to prohibit asking where else the student is applying. They prohibit asking the applicant to rank order their preferences.</p>
<p>I donât think this question gets asked for nefarious reasons. I think interviewers are genuinely curious about how kids choose colleges and where their college fits in the spectrum. I can think of all sorts of questions that might come out of reciting a list. Questions about size, or programs or locations that a kid might be looking for. If your school is different from other schools on the list you might ask what attracted the student to your school when it is say bigger, or more urban or more whatever than the other schools. </p>
<p>Harvard certainly doesnât suffer from Tufts syndrome, but my so was asked (a few years ago) why he hadnât applied SCEA. My son told the interviewer the truth - it wasnât his first choice. Luckily Harvard doesnât care and I think they probably found it refreshing that he didnât lie. The interviewer spent a fair amount of time telling my son why Harvard was just as good as the school down the river. Iâm glad someone told him since the school down the river ultimately rejected him. (Of course then my son ultimately rejected Harvard, but thatâs another story!)</p>
<p>In any event, I donât think you should overthink the question. Interviewers ask (even when they arenât supposed to) because they want to know. Remember interviews are as much an opportunity for the school to sell itself to the applicant as it is for the applicant to sell him or herself to the school.</p>
<p>Both of my sons were asked this question in nearly every interview. Their response was to rattle off a list of colleges roughly similar to the college at which/for which they were interviewing. I think this is a very standard question in interviews.</p>
<p>On a couple of applications, the same question was asked. My sonsâ school college counselor advised that they could leave the answer blank, and they did. In each case, the school asking the question was a safety school, and answering the question would have highlighted that.</p>
<p>
But itâs not as if the colleges donât know it anyway. Say youâre an admissions staffer at a school where 25% of freshmen have a GPA over 3.75 and the SAT middle 50âs top out in the low 600âs. And say you get an application from someone with a 3.9 and a 2100/2400 SAT. I donât think youâre going to need a list of his other choices to know that youâre one of his safeties.</p>
<p>True, but sometimes safety schools can offer merit aid that makes them affordable, where the match they get accepted to offers only loans. If youâre interviewing, I assume the safety school is not completely out of the running. Tell them what other schools youâre applying to, but also tell them the OTHER reasons you applied to their school (location, merit money, school spirit???)
I think itâs best to be honest, just donât be insulting.</p>