Hi all.
I’ve been dragging myself through this last portion of the app process, which is all real fun.
I have come across this question “To what other schools do you expect to apply?” in interviews and some supplementals.
What’s the best way to respond to this question? Should i be completely transparent and list off the other schools I’m applying to? Is there another way?
Also, what is the aim of AO’s asking this question? Will being transparent lower my chances at the school?
Thanks, lol.
I wouldn’t overthink it. IME it’s just a way for schools to gauge who their peers and competition are. If you’re comfortable with it be transparent, if not just say something like, “I’m still finalizing my list.”
ETA: peers/competition for students in general, not you as an applicant in specific.
Part may be to see if they are your safety.
Don’t overthink it. My answer when I applied was:
“I’m applying to schools that offer X, Y, and Z, such as AA, AB, and AC,” where two of the schools are at the same level as the school asking the question, and the third is a step below. I would not list all the schools, and I would list them in random (or alphabetical) order. Since some schools ask this question to predict yield, you do not want to reveal to a school that it is your safety (if it is in fact a safety).
DD nor I cannot recall being asked or seeing this question. However I read somewhere that if applying for FA the schools can see other schools you are applying to.
Does anyone know if this is true?
I’ve been asked that at almost all of my interviews. I’m not sure if it’s an aid thing though.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to answer this inappropriate data mining question. It can’t benefit you and is none of any school’s business. If you feel compelled to answer, use @Sue22’s response: “I’m still finalizing my list.”
@ChoatieMom The thing is, I’m filling out a supplement form. It specifically asks me that exact question, and since I’m ABC, my list is already finalized and they know that.
I’ll probably just list the schools. I’m pretty sure ABC tells them anyways so it doesnt matter much, i guess…
We were only asked by one coach and that was right before decisions came out so it was a bit odd.
I agree, when applying through a program like abc I’d assume the schools know from abc.
I think many ask to see if you have given priority to what interests you or havedone your research. If you are saying that it is really important to go to a school where you can keep playing squash but the other 4 on your list have no squash, well…
I have always liked @skieurope 's approach.
Yes, some schools may be interested in knowing where they fit relative to the other schools on your list, but most are really trying to figure out if you know what you want and if they offer that.
FWIW, I see lots of chance me threads that would not pass this test.
I am surprised so many people are asked this when applying. We were asked at the revisit days which schools were we deciding between, but that is a bit different than asking upfront. I’d be as vague as possible.
It’s on some of the application supplemental forms, and we also wondered how to handle.
Colleges used to be able to see the other schools that a student put on their FAFSA, but that stopped some years ago, maybe 4 or 5 or so. Now colleges have no visibility on the admissions or fin aid side to see what other colleges an applicant has applied to.
@Mwfan1921 this is concerning BS applications/interviews not college.
They are trying to assess overall fit and the likelihood that you would pick their school if you were admitted elsewhere.
For example, if all of the other schools you applied to are 3X the size of their school, they’ll wonder whether you secretly want a larger school environment.
If there is no pattern to your list of schools other than similar “prestige” or notoriety, they might wonder whether you’ve done your homework to understand their school or are just applying to some magazine’s random “Top 10” list. They might suspect you’ll choose a school based on ranking, not fit.
Of the nine schools where I interviewed, four of them asked me where else I was “looking.”
our kiddo was asked this question at every interview and my husband and i were also asked during the parent portion of the interview. regardless of the answer you decide to go with, it may be a good idea to talk to one another and make sure you are on the same page so conflicting responses aren’t given to the interviewer.
FWIW, we used the advice of @skieurope a couple of years ago. Kiddo was asked this question by almost every school. One school AO in CT asked Kiddo to rank them. Our hunch (based on what the ‘20 & 21’s had posted) was that the AO’s wanted to weed out who viewed their school as a safety. Do be mindful of your answer to this question when interviewing with an AO from an all-girls or all-boys school. If you state that you REALLY want the unique offerings/experience of a single gender school, but then list a co-ed one in your top 3, it kind of gives you away.
Interviews early in the season were easy because it’s easy to justify lots of visits if you are traveling up to New England for a week. And it’s easy to be a little vague and mention a couple of examples without pegging down a hard number.
But one of her applications asks this in their supplemental form and at this point in the process, of course we know exactly what her school list is so it does feel like she is being coy if she answers “I like x feature in school so I’m applying to schools like X, Y, Z.” But listing out the exact list seems like a bad idea too? She really does love the school and doesn’t want them to think they are a safety.
If the question specially asks “what other schools” as opposed to “type of schools” then a politicians answer which you are proposing will come across as a politician’s answer (ie you are avoiding answering) it’s a tough one but I personally would list the schools.
I actually think that there is some validity to the notion of weeding out students who see the school as a safety. Yes this is purely anecdotal, but I remember being asked what schools I was applying to in some capacity when I applied to Kent and Mercersburg. Out of principal, I told the truth. I ended up getting waitlisted at both, but got into Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Choate, and L’ville