"Where Else Are You Applying?" Question Bites the Dust

Applying to College
1

One refreshing change that emerged from the National Association for College Admission Counseling annual conference this month is that, starting next year (with students planning to enroll in the Fall of 2017), applications can no longer ask the often-dreaded “Where Else Are You Applying?” question.

In a previous College Confidential thread, students and parents expressed concerns that revealing a college list … especially one rife with competitor schools or more selective ones … could have a negative impact on admission outcomes. See http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1769422-where-else-are-you-applying-can-you-answer-without-anxiety.html

And, because admission officials have no way of verifying the responses to this query, students often spend time fretting (and strategizing) over which target schools to include and which to omit. So, fortunately, soon all of those mental gymnastics won’t be necessary.

However, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, colleges will be forbidden from asking the 'Where else …?" question “in formal written communications with students,” BUT … “the new policy covers only official documents and surveys. Whether it’s OK to ask the question during a conversation is murky.” See http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Else-Are-You-Applying-/233626/

So, it sounds as if students preparing for an interview next year should arrive with a response in mind, just in case the heinous question does pop up there.

2

The question is still fair game at school functions, barbeques and holiday parties, though.

3

I think it often gets asked in interviews more to get a feel of what a kid is looking for in a college. My older son, for example was applying mostly to tech schools, the interviewer actually spent a lot of time trying to persuade him Harvard offered everything he was looking for. Any way, I think students can be a bit vague unless the interview is very late. “I’m applying to several school in cities that seem to be especially strong in IR, but I haven’t finalized my list yet,” is a perfectly acceptable answer. Any way I’m very glad to see the question is gone. Colleges can ask where else you applied after they accept you. They usually do want to know what you turned them down for.

4

And the list of schools is off the FAFSA this year or next as well.

5

I was especially glad to see that. Students applying for aid often have strikes against them from the get-go, so this change does make the process a little easier and fairer for them.