I think ucbalumnus makes lots of relevent points. If schools are going to ask applicants what other colleges they are considering (versus “applying to” - big difference), it behooves the student to answer in a way that benefits him/her the most, i.e., “game” the answer. For each college, the answer may be different, depending on what that college’s CDS profile considers most important. The goal, of course, is to maximize your chances of getting in and getting aid.
This is also true of the number of schools listed. If the student lists only two schools, one being the target school and the other a state U safety school not known for big aid packages, then the student likely won’t maximize their offer from the target school. On the other hand, if the student lists several safety schools, perhaps with less prestige that are known for big aid packages, then the target school will need to do its best to compete. However, if the applicant lists a dozen safety schools, that may be too many, as it may indicate that the student is just fishing for the best aid package and the target school may just save its resources for the next applicant.
In any case, if enough applicants try to game the process, it will devalue the information the schools are getting from it and it will matter less.
Assuming Colleges ask the question, the response should be very simple. “I’ve applied to multiple colleges where I feel I am a good fit in order to hedge the odds in my benefit for matriculating at a school that has the greatest oppurtunities of success and happiness as well as being financially within my reach.”
No order. No preferences. Just a number crunching event. No one is guaranteed a roster spot, therefore, the schools should not assume that someone want to go to their school over another.
I think it’s a stupid question, but I also think that the colleges have a right, in total, to put a limit on the number of colleges applied to within the Common App. If particular colleges don’t like that idea (and long and pant to have the dubious privilege of being the 35th college the student is applying to), they can move their application process outside of the Common App.
Probably because I am not a parent of a college-bound senior, but I honestly don’t see a problem with this question.
First of all, a lot of people are assuming that colleges use it for yield management, but it’s not clear that that’s what they are using it for. They’d have to have some sort of algorithm that predicted the probability that said student would get into a competitor or higher-ranked school and the probability that that student would choose that school based on a variety of factors. I think that’s a bit too complicated for most admissions offices to do well.
Is there any evidence out there that colleges ARE asking this question for yield management purposes?
But secondly, even if they are using it for yield management…well. Colleges never made promises that they will admit people solely on the basis of their academic qualifications. In fact, we already know that there are all sorts of other things that go into admissions decisions - that kid who plays an obscure African instrument, the kid from rural Wyoming who makes the 50th in the 50 states so the school can brag about it, that kid who scored 150 points lower than average because she was single-handedly raising her 3 younger sisters, the kid who’s a 3rd-generation legacy on both sides…you get the picture. So how is this any different? It’s just like the whole “showing interest” thing. They want to attract kids who seem interested and likely to attend.
Unfortunately, a certain magazine has made yield have outsized importance in a school’s ranking…ironically, it the school didn’t do some yield management, its ranking would fall, and fewer of you all would want to go there anyway
A school like RPI might be asking students who were admitted and went someone else questions for less-than-nefarious purposes. It might be less about creating a yield algorithm and more about finding out who the peer institutions are and what they have that is attracting RPI students away. For example, let’s say that RPI finds out that they are losing 30% of their admitted applicants to two similar tech schools who just started an HCI major, and with a little more investigation they find out that most of those students wanted to do HCI or like a CS + social sciences thing or something. Then maybe RPI invests in starting that program to attract students.
This is a particular peeve of mine for students auditioning for performance programs (theatre, musical theatre, dance, instrumental performance, etc.) as it has started to creep into the audition room. Surely the auditors know that students apply to many programs to have a fair shot at a slot getting in somewhere. I’m not sure how the answer benefits the auditor and I think it only flusters the prospective student. Is there a right or wrong answer? One prominent coach advises students to say “please feel free to contact my audition coach for my full list”. I’ve also heard students advised to say, “right now I’m only focused on your school.” But seriously, how is this question even relevant?
@Sally_Rubenstone Colleges may see choices through FAFSA, but isn’t the financial aid office the one that sees this and not the admissions office?
Well, I do think colleges (specifically private ones) are BUSINESSES first and foremost and have the right to pose whatever crazy requirements they see fit and admit whoever they want as long as they aren’t violating any law. That said, I personally wouldn’t want to apply to any college that was being so invasive. I vehemently disagree with this. I can definitely see colleges that are notoriously known for taking into account interest, like GWU, abusing this, and thereby rejecting someone that is also applying somewhere more selective/prestigious, like Georgetown, solely on the fact that they may decrease yield rate.
Realistically, I would have probably just listed my safeties, with 60-70+% acceptance rates, and “forgotten” to include the other reach schools I was applying to.
@thanksagain -At some colleges, the admissions and financial aid offices are kept very separate throughout much of the decision-making process; at other schools this is not so. But, especially at the “need-conscious” colleges (which means most schools), the admission folks would have access to a student’s college list, if they feel that they have reason to see it.
For instance, if a student seems like a very strong candidate and all of the essays or short-answer responses suggest that this student is indeed very interested, the admission staff may want to see where else the student is applying in order to assess whether or not the student is truly a serious contender … or just a convincing writer.
But even if it turns out that this student’s list is very long and diverse, it may not ultimately affect the student’s admission outcome. The vast majority of admission decisions are not predicated on where else a student may be applying, even when admission officials have this information/ But–on the other hand–sometimes this list (both its content and its length)–can play a role.
Perceived level of interest is a *different/i issue. I think that this criterion has taken on greater importance than ever before at some colleges, despite the fact that, in many cases, the admission folks can’t really gauge the level of a student’s interest with true accuracy.
Sometimes, of course, the two issues go hand-in-hand … i.e., the college list may be used as as a tool to help assess a student’s putative level of interest.
This question is really unfair to ask, as it can send colleges the wrong message, especially during the ea round. For example, my dream school is MIT who has non-binding ea. However, I also want to apply to Umich ea, so I can be considered for Ross preferred admission. If I am forced to state that/what other schools I am applying to, my statement claiming that MIT is my dream school will seem shallow as they see I am applying to several other schools.
I’m pretty sure MIT realizes that you can’t count on admission to MIT and have to apply to various places.
The issue is more at lower levels where a school doesn’t want to be a safety if they think you will get admitted to higher-ranked schools. But then, they might not know that you can’t afford the higher-ranked schools, and really would seriously consider attending the safety if you got admitted with a good financial package.
I personally see it more as a way to protect yield than anything else, and it makes me rather uncomfortable because I think I got burned by it.
I applied to Northeastern and this question was on their supplement to the Common App. I answered honestly (I had applied to 7 other colleges including one Ivy, a couple of tech schools, and a few state schools). What I didn’t realise was that one factor of their admission decision was interest. I was really excited at the possibility of going there if I received a scholarship, and I thought I was very qualified. I was not accepted, and I think it was because the Northeastern admissions staff thought I wouldn’t go there even if I got in.
Plus, IMO it is a really private question. It’s like if you vote for one candidate and then the other one comes up to you and says “Hey, why didn’t you vote for me? How come you liked the other guy better?” Colleges have no right to ask us about our application decisions when we have no right to ask about their admissions decisions.
@ekdad212 Your devaluing idea is interesting. But I think colleges will still try and yield protect. It’s similar to how ECs and leaderships etc are supposed to be used to judge passion and determine who should be admitted, but now are gamed by a lot of students making it less valuable but still used
I think the problem with the question is that the list alone really isn’t an “explanation” of why you chose those schools. Constraints might include using GI BIll money and having to pick all schools with Yellow Ribbon programs, the existence of a faculty tuition waiver agreement, where your grandparents and extended family live, a medical condition that requires you be able to access certain services, wanting to be close to a specific ethnic community, wanting to join a particular sports team, study a specific subject, needing to board your horse, etc.
It’s basically impossible for someone to just look at your list of schools and have any indicator as to what is motivating your choices – or your ranking.
