<p>I was just reading the thread about that in reference to college applications on the parents forum and was thinking about it for our applications too. It's not on the applications, but certainly my son has been asked in every interview.<br>
What are your all thoughts about it? We are still early in our visits, so our top couple have changed and may change again. How do we communicate with the school that they are our top choice? Especially if it was one of our early visits?</p>
<p>Had the same question. How would the following response sound: "Getting into school X is my (my child's) top priority. However, since we realize how very competitive school X admissions are, we wanted to be prepared for a contingency"; follow this by a thank-you note after interview in which you could reiterate how much you love school X and would definitely attend given the chance.</p>
<p>Parent here. Each school asked us the same question. Perhaps we were naive but, we answered candidly each time. After listing the schools to which D was applying, we explained the reasoning for our mutual choices (geographic location, rigor, appealing EC's, interesting opportunities, etc.). D was accepted at the four schools she applied to which some on this board would argue was a mix of "top tier" & "second tier" schools. We never considered the theory that some have mentioned on these forums that acception or rejection could somehow be tied into her list of schools.</p>
<p>D wrote thank you notes after each interview thanking them for their time & consideration and highlighted one aspect of each school that appealed to her.</p>
<p>My son has listed 3 in the interviews including where we are at and has said right now my top choices are "X, X, X." As parents, we have not been asked the question.<br>
The thank you's have said how much he loved the school and that he feels it would be a great fit for him, etc. The hard part is we still have 5 visits, and we scheduled what we thought we not be the top choices at the beginning. Turns out one of them **IS **likely the top choice. So when all the interviews are done and we have determined his top choices, I'm wondering how we get back in touch.</p>
<p>But also, I really wonder how much they pay attention to the other schools answer. Especially this early on, he has answered schools that we have since ruled out.</p>
<p>At one school last year, my son was asked the question (well, probably at all of them, but this experience stands out). The interviewer loved his answer and shared it with me, thinking he was such the comedian: "I'm looking at applying to 8 schools. You see, I figure one of them has got to let me in." I blanched. "That's my boy!" I think I muttered, to compound the fiasco.</p>
<p>She mentioned it again when she walked back with me to the reception area. "What a riot he is!" she remarked to another interviewer we had met earlier at a TSAO event.</p>
<p>Maybe she was sincere. I think the answer killed him (relieving them of the burden of opening up his application to find other things that would kill him). The only reason we bothered to pursue that school was because he loved it so much. Who really knows? Maybe they didn't extend an offer to him despite his sense of humor. I've always had confidence in my son being able to speak for himself and use humor when appropriate and to understand how to go about an interview. I decided then and there that my estimation of him was misplaced and, frankly, unfair. He spent time after that going over this and other questions.</p>
<p>In the end, I think his prepped answer was more along the lines of saying that his decision (of which schools to apply to) wasn't final, that he was looking at a number of schools that had various offerings and that this school was important to him because of several unique things, including...blah, blah and blah. If he abandoned that and went back to his Joel Goodsen-esque reply that "one of them's gotta let me in!," I wouldn't be surprised. I just don't want to know about.</p>
<p>That is exactly why you need to "practice" or "coach" and someone on another topic said not to. I told my son a couple of things NOT to say in an interview that seemed obvious to me and he said "Mom...I'm not THAT dumb" but I bet at least one of them he WOULD have said if I hadn't mentioned it!</p>
<p>As other posters have already observed, IMHO this question is really designed to discover whether the person being interviewed is enthusiastic about and would be a good fit for their school. For example, when we were applying last year, we applied to both boarding schools and day schools - in part because we were still considering both these options. So during the parent portion of the interview, we made sure to let the BS we applied to that we had no doubt our son would be succesful in that type of environment (In fact he ended up going to a BS).</p>
<p>Similarly, if you are applying to Exeter, and all the other schools you are looking at are very small, you need to have a compelling story of how Exeter to onto your list. Basically, if there's one school that's the odd man out on your list, you need to explain why its there. On the other hand, if the schools you are applying to are arguably very similar, for example someone applying to the "usual suspects" (i.e. AEDSC, etc.), you should be able to explain why each school is on your list.</p>
<p>In the 5 visits we have done, as parents, we have not been asked the question. They have all asked my son in his interview. It's interesting that it seems like other schools ask the parents.</p>
<p>We have been asked during the initial meeting w/ adcom hen parent and child were both present. D responds, giving her list, which is only 3-4 schools, all w/ similar characteristics and all w/i 3-4hrs of home. </p>
<p>I haven't been concerned w/ identifying a top choice, since I don't want D to have her heart set on any particular school. Also, since we are finaid applicants, no one has pressed us to identify a "top choice" - - I think all the adcoms understand that, regardless of preference, w/i in college and the other looking at BS, we may have to follow the $.</p>
<p>An applicant's response to this type of a private/ sensitive information question may serve as an indication of the applicant's maturity. Additionally, it may help determine how aggressively the admission's officer will push for admission and/or financial aid as the answer can reveal school preference.</p>
<p>"*t may help determine how aggressively the admission's officer will push for admission and/or financial aid as the answer can reveal school preference."</p>
<p>I think that's what parents fear and why everyone is so guarded.</p>
<p>
[quote]
initial meeting w/ adcom when parent and child were both present
[/quote]
I guess this is what we're missing...the school's we've been to have gone like this. Receptionist greets - gives son a form to fill out if we hadn't gotten one in the mail to do before hand - offers us drinks, gets the student tour guide - off we go. Upon return, the admissions rep will come in, introduce themsleves, say "I'm going to spend some time with your son, then we'll switch, have some coffee if you'd like." And off they go. One of the 5 there was some chit chat while waiting for the student tour guide and a formere classmate of my son's to stop in and we were greeted by the head of admissions and our admissions rep. Other than that, it's been pretty much the same, we have not been in the same room for any questions.</p>
<p>The question will show up on some applications as well.</p>
<p>This question has come up at all the interviews my son has had so far. The lacrosse coach asked my son when I was present at our am visit today and after hearing the schools, he then commented on the fact that he could see that all the schools were strong in lacrossse. In the pm interview, my son must have mentioned that he wasn't applying to one of the schools he visited and the interviewer commented to me that it was good to visit a lot of schools and get a feel for what is a good fit.</p>
<p>I'm sorry to interrupt... but am I supposed to explain (one by one) why these other schools are on my list? I thought I was just supposed to list them down, reiterate that I'd love to attend whichever school I'm interviewing with, etc. I'm confused...</p>
<p>Be prepared to answer that question. I don't think there's a need to volunteer that information. You're correct in thinking that your interests are best served by focusing the conversation on the appeal and the attractions of the school you're visiting. But it sure helps to make that case in its most convincing terms if you understand why you're applying to those other schools and how, by comparison, the school you're at compares favorably to the other schools on your list. </p>
<p>By the way, you'll want to focus on SUBJECTIVE MEASURES in making this sort of favorable comparison. That way you can't be "wrong." If, however, you say you like HERE AND NOW ACADEMY because it has more Chinese classes than GOVERNOR SUMOTHER ACADEMY, you're screwed if the HERE AND NOW ACADEMY AdCom knows (or just believes) that GOVERNOR SUMOTHER ACADEMY has (or, as of next year, will have) a vastly superior Chinese program.</p>
<p>All my son has done is list them. In fact, he has said "I'm visiting many, right now the top of my list includes...and states 3 including the one he is at." Many cases, the admin rep has commented on them to him in some way - nothing negative about the other schools, but something like "you'll find a good lacrosse program at those schools too" somthing along those lines.</p>
<p>Good comments above. Maybe one way to respond is to answer a slightly different question - what schools you're looking at. I think what makes a lot of people nervous about this question is that one of the goals of an interview is to convince the school you're at that you (or your child) is enthusiastic about and would be a good fit for that school. This question has the potential for undercutting your efforts in that area. For example, if you're at a small school, it's only natural to talk about why that quality is attractive and how you think you (or your child) would thrive in that kind of environment. If the interviewed then asks what other schools are you applying to and you say: "Andover, Exeter and Choate" it can't help but undercut your prior "small is beautiful" answer, even if you weren't being disingenuous. It may well be that you see both large and small schools as having their own unique advantages and may really like Littlesex's small size and Giantsexes state of the art science center. But you can end up not only sounding less than forthright but making the interviewer wonder how enthusiastic you really are about his school and whether it would be a good fit, thereby undercutting one of the primary goals of your interview.</p>
<p>Agree 100% about the "looking at" versus "applying to" distinction. </p>
<p>Until you put the postage on the envelopes, you're just looking at schools and shouldn't feel obligated to state which schools you're going to wind up applying to. This allows for a very easy segue to more comfortable territory in which you can expound on your answer with something along the lines of: "the main reasons I'm looking at your school -- and will surely apply -- is because of its wonderful this, that and the other..."</p>