<p>I am looking at a supplement that asks you to list all schools to which you are applying. I am not sure if it is proper to ask. What do you think?</p>
<p>If it asks, then u probably should…</p>
<p>answer the question. just be honest.</p>
<p>Son decided to apply elsewhere when that question arised.</p>
<p>I also intentionally did not apply to schools that asked this question.</p>
<p>File this one first. You don’t have a final list yet, so how can you share it?</p>
<p>My guess is that the school just wants to accumulate data to understand which other schools they are competing against to attract students, rather than intending to use that information against u.</p>
<p>Answer whatever you like, they are probably just collecting admissions data to see who their competition is, but it’s none of their business. </p>
<p>Put down a couple of colleges at the same selectivity level, and maybe a couple above and below. I would recommend NOT implying that they are your safety, just in case they are actually concerned about interest.</p>
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<p>Or they want to see if they are the applicant’s safety (i.e. if all of the other colleges are more selective ones), so the applicant is unlikely to attend if admitted. In this case, in the name of yield protection, they are more likely to reject or wait list the applicant.</p>
<p>Posts 4-9 suggest a more nuanced and strategic way to answer this question. Why? Because nothing good for the student can come of it. </p>
<p>Frankly, it’s none of the school’s business. But I would follow entomom’s advice – list 1-2 schools of similar selectivity and maybe 1-2 of lower selectivity. No need to spill all the beans.</p>
<p>Data collection? Pfft. Not at my expense!</p>
<p>This is your application designed to get you accepted. The risk as others have pointed out is listing several other schools that are higher rated and the school seeing they are most likely your safety. For a school that practices yield control this can work against you. List 1-2 peer institutions, 1-2 below, and one above. You want them to see you view their school as a match. I would say that not applying to a school that asks for this data is extreme IMO. Just answer in a way that benefits you, not the school.</p>
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<p>However, there can be an ethical problem if the list is not completely truthful – e.g. if it asks for “all” other schools to which you are applying, but you leave some out, that is not completely truthful.</p>
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<p>If the school was intended to be a safety, it is best to find a different safety instead (and perhaps drop the school in question if it is not more desirable than the actual safety).</p>
<p>^^^^ That is why I recommend filing the application first, before you have even finalized your list. Then you don’t have to feel bad about not feeding them any data at all. If you would ever be asked (and why would they anyway), you can safely reply, “My list wasn’t final so how could I give it to anyone? And, by the way, why do you ask about this?”</p>
<p>Will the application not process if you leave the space blank? Then try “undecided”, or “Why do you ask?”</p>
<p>I’d echo the advice you’ve seen; list a few schools slightly above, peers, and slightly below this school that you could plausibly be applying to. If this is innocent data collection there are plenty of ways they could collect this info anonymously. If not so innocent it could be used to reject you (if they think they are a safety and you’re unlikely to attend) or affect your financial aid (if they realize they are your reach and predict you will dig deeper into your pocket if accepted).</p>
<p>What’s wrong with saying “undecided”? Is there really a risk that colleges would hold this answer against the candidate?</p>
<p>One of my seniors had this question on an early admission form this week, and I advised her to say “this is my only early application.” That was a truthful answer and furthermore, there was almost no space to write a list anyway. It was a safety/low-interest application for her. They may sort that out, but I believe her response put her at an advantage. She isn’t certain of the rest of her list at this point though she knows a few schools. Should she just have listed those few? I don’t know.</p>
<p>This used to be a standard question but no longer. Competitive schools don’t tend to ask. I don’t think it’s any of the school’s business, but it’s their application. </p>
<p>Most colleges have no problem identifying your application as a safety, so I doubt if that’s the main point. Determining their position in relation to other schools (market research) is more likely. It makes me uncomfortable. I like the suggestion of saying ‘list not final’, and maybe adding 'except for XXX (an in-state public university, if that is applicable).</p>
<p>Thanks, CollCouns. I guess if the question is “list all colleges to which you are applying” then until the last application is actually submitted, “list not final” is truthful. So as long as the last app submitted doesn’t ask the question this strategy works. But schools must know that an applicant is giving this response in order to avoid disclosing the list - have you ever heard of a school reacting negatively to this?</p>
<p>Why would they? It truly isn’t their business.</p>
<p>Not to mention that any statistics they could possibly derive would be faulty. Where their applicants are also applying really doesn’t matter. Where their admittees have also been accepted and why some of those choose a different institution instead is what is worth paying attention to.</p>
<p>I am a stickler for ethics, I honestly am, but there is information here that could possibly harm a student and nothing to help them. The benefits are entirely for the university. Students update and revise the list of schools they intend to apply to right up to 12/31 and sometimes beyond. If the list the student writes down doesn’t match entirely the final list in January I don’t see that as a problem or in any way out of the ordinary.</p>