Application asks me if I'm applying to other programs. "If yes, please provide us with the names"

[InternationalStudent]

What am I supposed to do here? I don't want them to know that I'm applying to other programs, but at the same time if it comes to the point where I need to ask for a decision extension it's gonna look bad if I tell them that and I answered no...

[RyanS]

That's interesting.  I was waiting to see if others also had this experience. We were always told not to ask this, but I'm not sure why. My assumption is that it's just to figure out who their competitors are. I don't think they are using it to judge your application. If I got an application with that question and it said "no," I would just assume it meant the student doesn't want to say.

Edited October 25, 2020 by RyanS