<p>So my girlfriend of over 5 years is currently an undergrad at the graduate school that I would like to attend. It is not a top 10 school, but in the top 20 and I certainly would love to go there for other reasons besides ranking. Would it be valid to state somewhere on the application that one of the many reasons for me wanting to go there is my girlfriend, or should I avoid this?</p>
<p>I’m just a fellow undergrad, but this sounds like a really bad idea to me. They want to know that you’re interested in the program, not in your girlfriend.</p>
<p>sounds like a bad idea</p>
<p>Very bad idea.</p>
<p>awesome, thanks for letting me know 
won’t mention it at all</p>
<p>Related:
If you are trying to coordinate graduate schools with a significant other who is also applying to programs at the same time, when (if ever) in the process would it be appropriate to bring that up?</p>
<p>
When you make your decision. Seriously, what are they supposed to do in this situation? They cannot get another school to admit your SO, nor are they going to take an underqualified SO just to get YOU.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t be appropriate at all, I don’t think. Like cosmicfish said it’s unlikely to help you in the admissions process at all, and I fail to see how it will help you when you are deciding between schools.</p>
<p>Just going to say I know from experience with my friends that schools will make admissions decisions for students based upon the two body problem if one of the students is desirable enough.</p>
<p>^ That’s what I have read in doing a bit of looking online about the “two body problem.” But what is the tipping point for being that really desirable student, and could it also be detrimental to bring it up?</p>
<p>
Can you give any more details? Where they both in the same department? What made the one so desirable? What evidence is there that they really did swing things to get the other? And how does the second body feel about getting admitted to a program only because they wanted the first body?</p>
<p>I am having a hard time imagining a department saying “Well, we were going to admit someone else who we thought was better qualified, but your boyfriend/girlfriend was just so intriguing that we decided that we would screw over those better qualified people and admit someone who we really didn’t think was good enough.”</p>
<p>cosmic, both were in the same department. One had already received a rejection letter. That one was a very solid student and admitted to other top 10 programs. The other was all star of our class, and well liked by everyone in the department. A professor at the prospective school asked what was holding them back from accepting, and they said it was their SO wasn’t admitted. Professor asked for name of SO, and a week later a letter arrived which started with, “Upon further reconsideration of your application…”</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think the one was unqualified (I was rejected as well), it’s just they might not have had as much of a match in research interests as the other students which had been accepted.</p>
<p>After doing some more looking, the general consensus seems to be to mention nothing before an acceptance. If one person is accepted and the other is still waiting, then it could be worth bringing it up.</p>