<p>How is it recommended to respond to this prompt? Just list everything, just list schools in other geographic regions? Why do schools want to know this?</p>
<p>Please help me understand this one....</p>
<p>When do schools ask this question? Personally, I would be slightly suspicious of a school that did because it is none of their business. The only time I have been asked this is a post application anonymous survey</p>
<p>I would list only the other schools that are roughly equal in selectivity. If the school to which you are applying thinks they are your obvious safety, and they believe there is little likelihood you would attend if admitted, they may deny you to protect their yield.</p>
<p>In Rice’s case (don’t know if you’re talking specifically about Rice, just using it as an example), the question is “If you have applied or expect to apply to other colleges or universities this year, please name them.” In that case, I think you should name all the colleges that you are applying to within the word limit. Nothing specifies which ones to list and which ones not to list, it implies a listing of all the colleges you are applying to. You don’t want to get caught up in a possible lie on your application. The purpose of the question is to determine whether an applicant is likely to attend that school, which is a fair concern of admissions officers.</p>
<p>I have seen that question on 5/11 common app questions series so far…</p>
<p>I don’t think you need to worry about getting “caught in a lie” on this. Colleges know this is really none of their business. List the colleges you think are comparable. I think colleges want to know in order to judge whether you are likely to come if accepted. If you have reaches listed and they think you will be accepted, they may be less likely to admit you. Or if they can see they are your safety, they might not accept you.</p>
<p>I guess I’m the only person who sees leaving out all the schools you plan on applying to in your answer to the question “Which school do you plan to apply to?” lying. In my opinion, not telling the whole truth is lying. I guess it depends on what you’re ok with personally. I would list all the other colleges to which I’m applying, but it’s your decision.</p>
<p>Why is this the college’s business? They should not ask this question. It is essentially anti-competitive. They certainly are not going to tell you who else applied there (equivalent question). Plus – you might change your mind. Send in your apps to a few schools, then decide to add or take some off your list. Then the app you sent in is wrong… should you tell them, as you would with the parts of your app that do matter (course selection, etc)? I can’t imagine an applicant emailing and saying, “I would like to inform you of a change to my app… I have added college X to my application list and removed college Y”. Colleges KNOW this question is out of line. They are just hoping kids are suckers enough to give them the full info because it gives the college an edge in the yield calculation process, and puts the student at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>I agree with @inparent, only put what you want. I think you can also leave it blank with no problem. I personally see this as gathering market research information, but who knows if admissions uses it for evaluation. They should not and they may even say they don’t not and maybe they don’t. There is just no way to know.</p>
<p>I don’t think it should matter whether or not it’s the college’s “business.” If a college asks you a question on an application, answer it as truthfully as you can. Some might say that a college asking the sexual orientation of an applicant is “none of the college’s business,” but that doesn’t give applicants the license to lie to the college about it. Might I add that on the apps I’ve read that have this question, the question is optional. If you are going to answer the question, answer it as truthfully and fully as possible. If you are convinced that the college is out of line asking the question, don’t answer it at all. Especially in this case, don’t give a half-true answer when you have the option to not answer at all.</p>
<p>Which brings up another point: OP, check to see if the question is required or not. On the applications I’ve seen, it’s thrown in with the required essays despite it being optional.</p>
<p>Seems very intrusive. I think they can get the info if you file a FAFSA, though</p>
<p>Hmm Rice is highly selective, they know they’re not anyone’s safety, so don’t worry about them.</p>
<p>I like this question. From what I’ve heard, a lot of financially-needy students fear that colleges will judge them based on the colleges they list on the FAFSA, and this levels the playing field for all applicants (i.e. now colleges know where the rich kids are applying).</p>
<p>Of course, students can “game” this question (in terms of “level of applicant’s interest”) by listing only what the applied-to school considers to be “peer” schools, hoping to attract more scholarships, and not listing any significantly more selective schools that the student may be a match for, in order to avoid making the applied-to school look like a “safety”.</p>
<p>FAFSA filers can also “game” the system with the order of schools listed (since some colleges assume that the rank order correlates to the student’s preference order) or file separate FAFSAs for each school that considers “level of applicant’s interest”.</p>
<p>Not optional on any of the 5. For now, I am listing the half dozen “for sure” schools we are applying to. We still have some visits to complete this Fall.</p>
<p>These mind games are annoying. Everyone has enough to worry about without adding stuff like this to the mix.</p>
<p>I agree with what a lot of people have been saying, it really is none of their business where else you’re applying. You shouldn’t have to answer it, they’re trying to suck you in.</p>
<p>If they really wanted to do it for informational or survey purposes they could do it post-application, through an anonymous survey like I said. Schools like Northeastern, Fordham, and William and Mary have taken this approach and I have been happy to comply, but doing it while you are in the middle of applying just seems very, I dunno, sketchy. As if they are going to base a portion of whether you get admitted or not on how you answer this question</p>
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<p>If the school considers “level of applicant’s interest” and believes that you are applying there as a last choice “safety”, then that can result in rejection or waitlist. Obviously, be really careful about choosing safeties if any of them consider “level of applicant’s interest” – at the very least you need to show interest in a way that they look at.</p>