<p>How do you answer this question? Should you tell the interviewer about your other acceptances or just be as vague as possible? I have my interview in like a week...</p>
<p>They’re explicitly not suppposed to ask that question as stated in the interviewer’s handbook.</p>
<p>I got asked that. I told him Columbia, and he said his daughter goes there, so that was definitely the right answer.</p>
<p>Even though interviewers are not supposed to ask this question, some do. If you get asked, be honest . . . but. also be prepared to tell the interviewer why you would choose Harvard, if accepted, over other schools on your list.</p>
<p>Hmmmm alright. I’m just worried that if I say I got accepted to another school early they’ll think I’m not really interested in Harvard… Oh well I guess I’ll just see how it goes.</p>
<p>Be honest about where else you applied, but DO NOT tell the interviewer you were accepted early somewhere else! </p>
<p>If your interviewer asks why you didn’t apply to Harvard SCEA, I think it’s perfectly okay to tell a white lie. Tell them “I wanted more time to work on my essays.” That also gives you the opportunity to talk about your essays and helps guide the conversation into a more comfortable area.</p>
<p>When it came up in interviews, my son just blandly mentioned to which schools he applied, and then moved on without further comment or conversation.</p>
<p>If you were applying to Harvard and had not been accepted already, I would not think much of your intelligence if you weren’t applying to other colleges. It’s not like the Harvard interviewer is going to conclude from your list that you only applied to Harvard as a safety.</p>
<p>I say use it as a way to show how thoughtful and analytic you are. Give the list, with a short explanation why for each college on it, and explain how they offer a second-best chance (after Harvard) at the benefits for which you are hoping to be accepted at Harvard.</p>
<p>I would say something to the effect, “I am looking at some schools similar to Harvard. What I like about Harvard…” It will give you another opportunity to talk about why Harvard. I don’t think there is a need to list your schools.</p>
<p>“DO NOT tell the interviewer you were accepted early somewhere else!”</p>
<p>Why not? I’m assuming that you aren’t talking about a cheating student who did binding ED elsewhere. Harvard dominates its competition in head-to-head matchups. Just have intelligent things to say about why you aren’t sure School X is the one and what you want to learn about Harvard. Harvard would LOVE to steal Yale’s EA admits!</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, since I interview in Hyde Park, I’ve had more than one interviewee who was accepted early at Chicago. Also had some who had been accepted at Michigan. It is, if anything, a positive factor that you had a smart admissions strategy and that excellent schools have already given you a thumbs up.</p>
<p>I think where Harvard is concerned, this question is not really going to bite you. I mean, EVERYONE has to apply to other schools besides Harvard. If you didn’t, you would be too dumb to get into Harvard anyway… If they ask, do what notjoe’s kid did and tell there where else you are applying. Then maybe go on and ask a question of your own to change the subject. 
I think it is okay to mention an EA acceptance, too. But you better be prepared to say why you love Harvard most if they ask about your preference among the schools.</p>
<p>“Why not?”</p>
<p>Because, IMHO, it unnecessarily puts pressure on an applicant to justify their decision – and it’s none of the interviewer’s business!</p>
<p>Before Harvard returned to having an early program, it made sense for an applicant, who applied to Yale SCEA, to let Harvard Admissions know they were admitted early, but really would prefer to attend Harvard. But now, it’s basically saying, “I really, really want to attend Harvard more than any other school in the world, so I applied early to Yale!” How in the world does that make sense?</p>
<p>Unless, the applicant has now changed their mind about why Harvard would be a better fit. But that is going to require a good explanation – and, as I’m sure the interviewer will note the conversation in their report, and make a judgement call about whether the applicant is serious, I just don’t think most applicants need to go down that road.</p>
<p>“Because, IMHO, it unnecessarily puts pressure on an applicant to justify their decision – and it’s none of the interviewer’s business!”</p>
<p>Wait a minute. You said that the kid shouldn’t say he applied early somewhere else. That’s what I disagreed with. Now you seem to be arguing that the interviewer shouldn’t ask the question. That’s an entirely different matter.</p>
<p>“it’s basically saying, “I really, really want to attend Harvard more than any other school in the world, so I applied early to Yale!” How in the world does that make sense?”</p>
<p>17-year-olds are allowed to change their minds. Anyway, the whole point of EA is that you don’t have to make up your mind about your final #1 choice at the time of application in the first place – you just make a reasonable guess. Besides, to be blunt, Harvard assumes correctly that a lot of kids who didn’t think Harvard was their first choice will give it serious thought when the acceptance is in hand. I have never encountered a “trophy hunter” in real life (meaning a kid who is 100% certain he’s going to the EA schools and just wants to collect admit letters elsewhere). Doing additional interviews and essays is a pain in the butt for an extremely busy kid, and they are all extremely busy. They keep applying after an EA acceptance because they genuinely want to explore their options in April. In Harvard’s case, at least, they are very happy to admit such a kid and THEN work on convincing him to enroll.</p>
<p>"Wait a minute. You said . . . " </p>
<p>Sorry if I wasn’t clear. An applicant, if asked, should be honest about what other colleges they have applied to. The applicant, however, should NOT tell an interviewer what schools they applied early to, and if they were admitted.</p>
<p>My son’s choice of which school to apply SCEA wasn’t based on which was his first pick but rather, the recognition that getting into a certain class of universities is, at best, a reach, and using the SCEA strategically in that light. He chose the Ivy to which he was applying where he thought he had the lowest likelihood of rejection, and then applied SCEA in the hopes that it would give a little boost to his application.</p>
<p>Hopkins was his first choice most of the time through most of the process of applying and picking a school, but his preference wasn’t strong, in part because none of the schools in which he was really interested were schools where he could just assume admission. So, he didn’t want to get his heart set on a school where the odds were against him.</p>
<p>I doubt he was unique in his approach.</p>
<p>I’d be willing to bet that most interviewers understand that many students have a similar approach, and therefore, don’t read an application to another school made SCEA as a sign that their school is no better than second choice.</p>
<p>I’m realistic and give my list of in-state schools, LACs, and other Ivies. Both times I was asked and answered the question, the interviewers did tell me that it was smart based on how difficult/competitive it is to get into the schools these days and that there are no guarentees/promises in this game.</p>
<p>@gibby</p>
<p>how do you not answer the question “which school did you apply early to and were you admitted, deferred or rejected”?</p>
<p>It really depends on the situation and the schools involved.</p>
<p>If an applicant used the specific strategy of applying to a broad range of non-binding schools such as MIT, Georgetown, UChicago, UMich and their state school to increase their overall chances of getting in somewhere early – I would advise the applicant to tell the truth and detail their strategy. After all, if the applicant is a viable candidate for Harvard, they probably were accepted to two, three or four schools – all of which would be very impressive.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if a student applied SCEA to Yale, Princeton or Stanford, they must have done so because it felt like a better fit. If they haven’t changed their mind, or cannot think why Harvard is now a better fit – I would advise the applicant to deflect the question with a simple white lie: “I wasn’t 100% happy with my essays and wanted to take the time to work on them, so I didn’t apply early.” In this way the conversation moves forward without complications, awkward explanations or the need for damage control.</p>
<p>Well, my personal situation wasn’t SCEA. I did a wide range of EA schools so that I wouldn’t be going into the spring with no acceptances, and got into MIT (among others). So I guess I will say that, if it comes up. I can also say I’m not sure about the hardcore STEM atmosphere (which is true), is that sufficient explanation? Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Yes, if the topic comes up, detail your non-binding strategy and list all of your acceptances. But, instead of saying you were unsure about Harvard’s hardcore STEM atmosphere, ask the interviewer about the differences and similarities between Harvard and MIT, specifically as it relates to STEM. That’s a more positive way of getting an answer to your question.</p>