<p>So - quite a few universities (such as Rice University, Boston University and a few others) have a section on their supplement where they ask you to list the other colleges and universities that you intend to apply to.</p>
<p>In answering this honestly, will it affect my chances of getting in? For example, if BU see that I am applying to UPenn, Harvard, Columbia, Notre Dame and USC, would they reject me because they may think that I am applying to BU as a safety only? i.e. would they be offended that they are my safety school?</p>
<p>I'm a little miffed because I honestly don't see how it is any of their business to know which other institutions we are applying to (especially considering that all these apps will be regular decision). </p>
<p>You don’t have to answer the question. If you choose to, I’d recommend only listing peer schools or saying something vague like “mid-size universities with a strong english program.”</p>
<p>I was thinking this too. I love BU and don’t want them to think I am weighing Harvard or UPenn any higher than them. Would it be okay to not list all the schools? Like I already put down 2 safeties and may just put some reaches</p>
<p>So the question is truly optional? One of my safety schools have it, and it’s very clear from my list that it’s a safety. I love the school, but if I got in to one of my top choices, I wouldn’t go to the safety. You can just leave it blank?</p>
<p>Speaking from an ethical viewpoint - either answer it or don’t. From what little I know, schools use this information more for general understanding of their applicant base than to decide about any given applicant. Knowing where else potential students are applying is helpful.
I think part of the reason for this question is to help schools predict yield. Look at it from the school’s viewpoint. They need to admit enough students to fill the freshman class but not so many that they run out of dorm space. The more accurately they can determine the number of students to admit, the better for all, in my view.
thOmb93 - hey, if you have the stats for Harvard and UPenn, BU will know you are probably applying to some elite schools. I doubt that they will hold that against you. They certainly didn’t for quite a number of candidates I personally know about over the last few years.</p>
<p>^but if it is obvious from the list that BU is a safety, then the student has undermined his/her chances. What if BU ends up being the only acceptance? I agree that it is really not their business…list peer schools and maybe a reach. Do not give them the ammunition to discredit your application.</p>
<p>Just like it is inappropriate for an interviewer to put the applicant on the spot by asking where else that person has applied, it should be considered unfair for this question to be on an application. Nemom, the schools find out a lot about their applicant pool after the fact, i.e. after decisions. My son, now at MIT, received polls from Chapel Hill and Duke asking where he applied, where he was accepted/rejected, and where he ended up.</p>
<p>Even if you don’t list them, some schools may have ways to determine which other schools you have applied. So, either be honest and don’t lie or pretend that you didn’t see that question. :)</p>
<p>I doubt it affects your chances one way or another. But, if it did, it could just as easily be a positive. If they want you, they may well improve the financial aid package they offer depending on who they think they’re competing against. There are many ways to manage yield…</p>
<p>I’d also be interested in knowing how schools could find out where else you’ve applied. Common app certainly won’t give that info out. It used to be that the Ivies “shared” info on applicants, so that cross- admits were reduced, but this no longer is the case.</p>
<p>I have heard from a source on CC that every institution you submit the FAFSA to can see the other institutions you submitted the FAFSA to. I would appreciate any official word on this.</p>
<p>Well, I applied as a transfer student to Georgetown & George Washington this year. I put GTown on my other schools applied to place on the GW app. Turns out I was rejected at GW and accepted at GTown…found it strange haha</p>
<p>I think this rumor started with the Andi thread a few years back. He wondered if maybe his son was rejected/waitlisted at some low match/safety schools because the FAFSA revealed he was also applying to more competitive schools. </p>
<p>It is none of their business. They should evaluate you on your application – scores, grades, classes, letters of rec, etc. You’ll see some people here claim “the schools just want to know where else their applicants are applying” but they could easily find that out by sending an anonymous postcard for people to return. And just google “Tufts Syndrome” to find out what nefarious uses this info could be put to (although Tufts denies they do it).</p>
<p>So fill it out to your best advantage. If you’re worried for some reason about the “ethics”, here’s what you do: put the apps that ask in the mail first (or complete them online first), the rest only after they are sent/done. Why, you ask? Well, if you haven’t applied to any other schools at the time you irrevocably submit the apps to schools that ask, the best you can do is help them out by listing the schools where you intend to apply. Any you can “intend” to apply to the schools you tell them about right up to the second after you submit the apps, then change your mind. Oops…</p>
<p>My advice is give them an obvious safety like a State school you’re sure to get in, a few of their peers including 2 or 3 ranked slightly higher, and one that is an obvious reach. You want them to think that if they admit you they’ll have to compete for your business. The way they look at it, if you’re choosing between them and a slightly better viewed competitor, they better come up with a decent FA package to be competitive.</p>
<p>I’m going to try and avoid this answering this question, and it isn’t a required field so its not as if I’m violating any rules. I don’t want to lie on the app by stating colleges that I’m not applying to just because they are peer colleges for BU, because if they find out about it, I’ve lost all chances of getting in.</p>