<p>^ That had occurred to me, yes. But none of my reach schools are asking; mostly matches. And it is an honest answer; my college list IS irrelevant to my application.</p>
<p>Only one of D’s schools asked this question and it is a low match/safety. Nevertheless, it is one of her favorites and very high up on her list and she really did not want to give them the idea that its “just” a safety, so she finagled the answer by listing some of her 15 schools. Most were chosen to be similar in selectivity and size, one was an obvious reach, and one was the state flagship (which is completely not comparable to the school in question on any level).</p>
<p>Personally, I doubt they use this info as part of the individual evaluation process at all. It must be perfectly obvious to them based on your stats whether their school is a reach, match or safety, and they probably have a very good idea what their yield rate is for kids like you. </p>
<p>I think they send it off to their marketing department or some such to help them understand how they’re being perceived relative to the competition.</p>
<p>At the CMC info session we attended this summer, the rep says all they use the info for is so they know their competition. He stressed that it was not used in admissions decisions.</p>
<p>S1 listed the flagship and a partial list (similar schools to the place that asked the question) if asked on an app. I don’t believe he was asked too often. If one gets to the semifinalist level at Intel STS, on the other hand, they want to know the entire list and one’s top two choices. In that situation, he gave an alphabetical list and no top two. S did not want to publicly reveal his hand about his top choices (and if one progresses to the finals, those two schools are listed in the student’s bio). </p>
<p>Will also mention that the local newspapers are also fond of asking this question – so if you win an award or scholarship, think about whether you want to reveal your college preferences to the reporter. It will make its way online, and potentially to the other colleges on your list!</p>
<p>On principle, I’m uncomfortable giving a tailored partial list. It seems dishonest and skewing to the school’s data collection.</p>