<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>