<p>In my GWU application it asks for other colleges I am applying to....could this hurt or help me in any way as to what colleges i put down and how many?</p>
<p><em>You're</em>- grammar is very important when applying to college!</p>
<p>I would put down two or three other colleges, maybe a safety, a reach, and a match. Some people think then the colleges will bargain with each other for you, but that's not true. A lot of times the idea is just so colleges can know for their own purposes what schools their own is considered comparable to. Just don't put down ten schools- it's not necessary and it won't help you :)</p>
<p>No, do not put down any school. By looking at your list the school could figure out where they fit in within your list. There is no reason for them to know if they are a reach or safety for you.</p>
<p>Rice asks a similar question on their app. My son (who's currently a sophomore there) put down all of the other schools to which he was applying -- including schools like Stanford, MIT and Cornell. Rice ended up offering him 2 merit scholarships. So in the end I don't think it hurt him at all -- it showed Rice that if they wanted him they might need to show him.</p>
<p>I applied to GWU, and put down all of the schools I was really applying to*. That included such rivals as AU and Gtown, and I got in fine. In some senses, some may say it helped me, as it showed I was genuinely interested in the DC location.</p>
<p>*I applied to U Minnesota out of a family obligation, but ignored it on the question, as it was never really a serious choice</p>
<p>I didn't put anything down in any of those questions. Not worth it. And if I was asked in an interview, I just described characteristics that the colleges I applied to had- then swung it back to their college.</p>
<p>yes, it can hurt you 2 ways. First, admission. If a school figures they're the safety, or a school you just applied to on a lark because it doesn't fit what else you're considering, they can turn you down. Second, financial aid. If you're applying to their close competitors, the FA office may realize a juicy package can swing things. On the other hand, if you're applying to either mostly reaches compared to them or much easier schools, they can give you a lousy package. For the kid with mostly reaches, by the time you consider them you don't have any other choices because the reaches said no. For the kid with much easier schools, they figure you'll pony up to get into the more prestigious school.</p>
<p>Best advice: find out who they consider some close competitors, and list those. For that matter, if most other kids consider those as substitutes, why shouldn't you?</p>
<p>I would not put down any school and in its place write</p>
<p>"I will lose the will to live if I dont get in here" just kidding</p>
<p>but my main point is if you dont put any school it may show your really interested</p>
<p>or it may not just my two cents</p>
<p>If your schools are not need blind, ad FA is part of the admissions process, they will be able to see from the FAFSA the list of schools which you have submitted the FAFSA (applied for Financial Aid/applied for Admission).</p>
<p>I personally don't think it mattered. I was honest with all of these questions in my college applications (I applied to 15 colleges, so obviously I didn't put down all of the other 14 - I tend to choose schools that I think fit the college's "level" that I'm applying to, plus one safety/match - for example for Stanford I put down MIT, Harvard, Caltech, and Berkeley). I got into 12/15 with significant scholarships at the lower schools so I didn't think it made a difference.</p>
<p>I think college admission officers use the information for admission purposes (figuring out what their major competitors are, for example) and sometimes really just to know a bit more about yourself. For example, let's say Candidate A put down Anyville College and Sometown College, which are traditionally close rivals in academics. If Anyville sees that this potential applicant is also applying to Sometown, and Anyville judges that the applicant has a solid chance as well as getting into Sometown, Anyville might be tempted to offer a stronger FA/scholarship package to the applicant to entice him. In this case, being honest works out nicely for the applicant.</p>
<p>I personally don't agree with the argument that by putting down a list, you're "giving away" what you consider to be your potential. I think that if the admissions office is worth their salt, they would have easily figured out what schools you're looking at based on your stats and be quite accurate with their prediction too. Moreover, I don't agree with the "passion" argument (not putting down any other school to demonstrate passion). I honestly do not believe that adcoms would believe that you would only apply to their college but nowhere else.</p>
<p>Long story short - I don't think it makes a big difference, but do what you will. It's most probably something that won't swing your decision at all.</p>
<p>well im applying to gwu (early decision), fordham (early action), northeastern, temple and upitt (in state)</p>
<p>this thread was featured on CC some time back: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/415868-posting-apps-what-other-colleges-you-re-applying.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/415868-posting-apps-what-other-colleges-you-re-applying.html</a> (#20 especially is interesting)</p>
<p>If you're applying early decision, it doesn't really matter what other schools you put down, because adcoms know that if they accept you, you're coming to GWU.</p>