<p>One of my son's schools asks on the supplement what other school are you applying to. On the one hand it is kind of obvious why they ask but it also seems a bit nosey really. </p>
<p>So should you really answer or only put in the top school names? What have others done?</p>
<p>Please read the statement on the signature page that says something along the lines of “All information contained herein is accurate to the best of my knowledge.”</p>
<p>Now, I think you’ve just answered your question. Yes, you should really answer the question they ask if it’s a required question. Providing an incomplete answer is lying by omission.</p>
<p>If the question is optional, you may choose to omit it at your own risk.</p>
<p>Well that is an interesting point of view. Since only one of the 8 schools he is applying to wanted to know, I wanted to why they did. </p>
<p>My son has nothing to hide and the question is on the supplement and does not have optional next to it. He has no reason not to but it leads one to think of the possibilities.</p>
<p>For instance, if he applied to all Ivies (he didn’t) and this school isn’t (its not) then they would think they were the safety school and he wouldn’t come if the other schools took him and might influence their decision.</p>
<p>I don’t know if anyone can give you a definitive answer (except the person who made the college put it in there) but I view the question the same way you do – it could be used against you if the school asking perceives they’ll be used as a safety. On the other hand, it could make your child more attractive if they think “we don’t want to lose him to XYZ State!”</p>
<p>It also could be for marketing purposes. Maybe the school wants to know who their competition is so they can plan to advertise on google whenever someone searches for the competition.</p>
<p>I agree with redseven’s take on it – this is no time to wiggle out of a commitment to accuracy, but then again, it is entirely feasible to interpret the question this way: right now, as of this moment, where else are you applying?</p>
<p>So if you happen to add another school last minute after you’ve submitted your app, there is no need in my mind to inform the school that asked for the list.</p>
<p>We struggled with this question last year. My daughter was told by a college guidance counselor that she should leave it blank, or put down one or two schools that were on par with the school asking the question. I believe my daughter chose to write one or two that she was applying to that were indeed on par. (On par meaning not a safety or reach in comparison to the school in question.)</p>
<p>Much like you said above, the guidance counselor told my daughter it was none of their business. She felt the schools use it to gauge your child’s interest in the school. </p>
<p>Best wishes to your son!</p>
<p>In this case, my son is applying to this school’s competition so that make work in his favor. I just think it is pretty bold of them to ask out right so you do feel you have to answer. I agree with RedSeven as well, we don’t plan to omit any schools on his list.</p>
<p>My S had 2 interviewer’s aske him this question… he said it was very hard figuring out tactifully what to say… he even had one ask him if he happened to get into all of them how would he choose…</p>
<p>Good to know, my son has an interview next month.</p>
<p>We have seen one that asked that question in the supplemental application. I can imagine they like to know what their competition is likely to be from the financial aid standpoint, especially if they give merit scholarships. I’ve heard they can see other schools listed on FAFSA (farther down the line) and make use of that info.</p>
<p>At an information session I asked the admission rep why they asked this question. I was told it was optional. (that was NOT stated on the supplement) and there would be no negative impact of not answering. She said they asked for marketing purposes basically.</p>
<p>Other thoughts from previous threads - list schools alphabetically rather than by reach/safety etc.</p>
<p>Thats a good idea.</p>
<p>My son and I pondered on the question… at the end, he didn’t apply to the school because of this question. It’s none of Rice’ business, and it’s their loss. They lost an applicant.</p>
<p>wow. This school is one of my son’s top choices so he will be applying, but I did email his counselor to see what he thought.</p>
<p>I would be tempted to ask: Which other applicants are you considering?</p>
<p>I reviewed the application for every school I applied for, including the ones I was thinking about applying to (Rice, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Stanford) and some questions like that ticked me off and I decided not to apply. I saw the what other schools are you applying to, and I didn’t want to tell them my other choices. </p>
<p>But perhaps it’s so they know what other schools they are competing against for applicants?</p>
<p>This subject comes up periodically on CC. It’s astounding the number of people who say that they didn’t answer this truthfully. It’s impossible for me to believe that the schools don’t know that this information is highly inaccurate. Plus, they know what their scores are and the kind of students who are likely to accept their offer. Yield management has gotten pretty sophisticated at all schools, even the less comptetitive. They certainly don’t need your school list for them to figure out whether they are safety school for you or not. </p>
<p>Every school that D was eventually admitted to asked her where she was attending when she turned them down. That’s got to be far better information for them in terms of who their competition is. </p>
<p>I think the most likely thing is that if they use it at all, they use it for merit aid purposes. Or, if you’ve said you want a school with characteristics like theirs you actually are applying to other schools with those characteristics.</p>