Listing other schools you're applying to?

Question

How come some schools ask which other schools the applicant is applying to? Do they care? I wonder if they would go so far as passing up on an applicant if they have a higher potential of attending another school, perhaps a more highly reputed school that they have listed.

Also, I wonder if they expect us to come clean on which other schools we're applying to. This is like going to a job interview and telling them I might join another company, so save your offer.

pelihu · Answer

That's interesting. I haven't started filling out applications yet so I haven't seen this. I have heard that Kellogg is tired of being a back-up school for Harvard and Wharton applicants and that they are trying to increase their yield (under 60% vs. 90% at Harvard), so they have been trying to admit candidates that have Kellogg as their top choice. I guess if all the other schools on the list are ranked lower, a school can feel like they are the top choice. If many of the other schools are ranked higher, the school may see themselves as a back-up.

On the other hand, it could just be to see if you have done your homework. They might like to know if you have a well-defined career goal, and if you have done the research to apply to schools that are best in these areas.

rhyme · Answer

You know thats a good question. I saw that on one of my apps already but I dont remember which one. KGSM, Chicago or Harvard but I dont know. Where did you see it?

jaynayak · Answer

Chicago has that question and so does Darden.

In my opinion, apart from the reason mentioned by pelihu, the schools want to see whether you are just applying to schools ranked better or whether you take the pain to research schools and apply to schools that have something similar to offer.

agsfaltex · Answer

Texas as well. Its funny all these schools (and presumably more) are in fact standard 'fall back' schools. They're fighting back.

Even if you haven't done in depth research, its not hard to list similar schools for the area(s) you want to concentrate in.

gmatmba · Answer

So what are you guys doing? Listing the schools you are really applying to even though it may hurt your chances at this school, or providing false information??

luminos24 · Answer

Hey guys,

I went to a free session of Kaplan and the admissions counselor there mentioned that most of the top schools are looking to increase their â€œyield %â€

pelihu · Answer

Yes, that's essentially the same thing I heard about Kellogg (as a back-up to Harvard, Wharton).

Yield is directly related to admission percentage, which is even more closely tied to the perception of quality and prestige. Harvard, for example, has a student body of 900 and must admit about 1000 people to fill their class (yield of about 90%). Chicago, on the other hand, has a class size of 550 and must admit almost as many people to achieve their much smaller class size. Thus, the admit rate at Harvard can be kept mighty low, given the volume of applications.

I believe that it is a good suggestion to not list other schools that the school you are applying to has a natural inferiority complex to (NYU to Columbia, Berkeley to Stanford, etc.) Of course, you must back it up by showing in your essays that you have good reasons why this particular school is at the top of your list. If someone from San Francisco lists Berkeley or Stanford as their first choice that makes sense, but Cornell as their first choice, they will have to explain why and convince the school it isn't just a back-up.

Listing other schools you're applying to?

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