"To what other colleges are you applying?"

Applying to College
1

<p>When I applied to college, I was honest in my applications about the other colleges to which I was applying. Luckily, I was accepted to almost every school I applied to, and ended up at my first choice, New College of Florida.</p>

<p>However, the schools I applied to weren't necessarily in competition for each other. With all this craze over US News, yield rates, and strategic admissions policies, what is the incentive to divulge this kind of information? On the face of it, it seems like it could only hurt you. But on the other hand, it could help you if the college believes that the other schools to which you're applying are NOT as good as the theirs. </p>

<p>It's unethical to lie on an application, but what is to stop somebody from leaving this section blank altogether? Does it raise suspicion in the eyes of admissions counselors? How is this information REALLY used, and what should my little brother, who is applying mostly to top LACs, do?</p>

2

<p>Colleges already know you're applying to other colleges. The real question is if they want to know which ones. Many college admission people do exchange information (names) and they also read discussion groups like this one, check Facebook and MySpace accounts.......for the simple reason of trying to get an idea on how a student will fit in their college. They want students to stay to graduate and do well. Why? Again you said it, it makes the college look good.</p>

<p>So, would it make a difference to tell them what specifically are the "other" schools, I don't think so. Would it harm or help your chance? I don't think so.</p>

<p>The colleges have so much more other criteria to look at to find out about a student. I do know that it will NOT help if you call or write them and say: "if you don't pick me soon, I'm going to college XXX".</p>

3

<p>I asked a Davidson admissions officer the same question several years ago. Her response:</p>

<p>1) Colleges keep track of their competition. According to Boston College, for example, their competitors are Georgetown, Harvard, Tufts, Boston U, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Notre Dame, Columbia, NYU, and Yale. </p>

<p>2) Colleges like to see a common trend in applications. A student applying to Sarah Lawrence, Ohio State, and Vanderbilt would raise eyebrows, whereas a student applying to Denison, Kenyon, and Carleton would be viewed in a more favorable light. A bit unfortunate for those who aren't sure what they want, but it's used to weed out prestige seekers.</p>

4

<p>Does anybody know whether it is considered suspicious to withhold the information?</p>

5

<p>my brother actually told me it is better to withhold the information. But I think supplying it wont hurt your chances.</p>

6

<p>When an application asks me what other colleges I'm applying to, how obligated am I to report all the colleges I'm actually applying to? I don't want schools to necessarily know I'm applying to their rivals, or to cheap public schools that I'm overqualified for or prestigious private schools I'm underqualified for.</p>

<p>Honesty, or no?</p>

7

<p>I have a FAQ about this. </p>

<p>You could quote chapter and verse from the Statement of Principles of Good Practice of the National Association for College Admission Counseling:</p>

<p>


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<p><a href="http://www.nacacnet.org/NR/rdonlyres/9A4F9961-8991-455D-89B4-AE3B9AF2EFE8/0/SPGP.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nacacnet.org/NR/rdonlyres/9A4F9961-8991-455D-89B4-AE3B9AF2EFE8/0/SPGP.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>and once you have done that, you could say, based on whatever is the truth, "Not wanting this to be construed as a statement of my order of preference, I am applying to"</p>

<p>a) "other colleges that appear to offer some of the same features as your college"</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>b) "a varied list of colleges to ensure that I carefully consider what is the best fit between me and each college"</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>c) "small liberal arts colleges with a focus on undergraduate teaching" (or whatever summary characteristic applies to all colleges on your list)</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>d) "a list of colleges developed according to policies of my high school counseling office"</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>e) "[actual list] but this list should not be taken to be in preference order"</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>f) "a list of colleges that I would rather not mention here, so that we take extra care to follow NACAC principles of good practice."</p>

<p>Your own creativity can probably come up with some more choices. I do NOT see this question on many of the college application forms I have downloaded from the Web this year.</p>

8

<p>I'll merge in some other threads here, because this is a Frequently Asked Question by applicants, even though the question is NOT a frequently asked question on applications.</p>

9

<p>I feel one of those responses would be perfect, tokenadult, but my box for this question has a 50 character limit!</p>

10

<p>so does mine, bandtenhut. i went over.</p>

11

<p>Then you say, "Please see attachment." :) </p>

<p>Well, if they are only giving you fifty (50) characters, they're not expecting much detail, that's for sure. Just the full name of some colleges gets you most of the way to fifty characters.</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
It's unethical to lie on an application

[/quote]
Really? Any question they want to ask you, for whatever reason they want, you are obligated to answer? </p>

<p>If you want to discuss ethics, what ethical right does a college have to learn where <em>else</em> you are applying? Shouldn't they make their decision on the basis of your grades, recs, essays, scores, etc? Is it ethical for a college to waitlist or reject you because they decide you might prefer a different college you're applying to over them, and they estimate you might get in there? Is it ethical for them to change your financial aid package based on their estimates of how badly you want them, assuming that if they're your reach you'll pay more if you get in?</p>

<p>Here's my advice. Colleges (or interviewers) are out of bounds when they ask this question, and you are under no obligation to answer their question. At the same time, leaving it blank is suspicious. Therefore populate it with what they want to see. Everyone applies to State, when answering this question so do you. Pick 3 or 4 of their competitors, but schools that they are slightly more prestigious than.</p>

13

<p>My ethical advice is say something truthful, and possibly say something only fifty characters long, :) so don't say anything untruthful. My practical advice is apply to colleges that don't care where else you are applying, which seems to include the great majority of Common Application colleges and plenty of really good state universities. Mine my lists of outstanding and noteworthy colleges </p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/437362-still-looking-college.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/437362-still-looking-college.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>to find some other colleges to apply to. </p>

<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>

14

<p>why wouldnt you just leave it blank? isnt it optional on every app?</p>