"To which other graduate schools are you applying?"

[Dr. Old Bill]

I've come across this question (or one similar) in a few applications so far. I've been answering honestly, of course, but I can't help but wonder: why do they want this information, and how is this used? I'm applying to 14 schools overall, and I worry that listing 13 schools other than the one I'm applying to on a given application makes me look indiscriminate, and goes some way toward discounting the integrity of my SOPs (which are obviously earnest and honest too, but might appear less so since I'm saying similar things about fourteen programs).

 

Do you suspect it would be more prudent to just list a few of the other schools? Leave the field blank? List everything as I've been doing? Just curious.

 

 

[ComeBackZinc]

This is a perennial question around here. The broad answer is that programs are very interested in trying to assess their place among programs in their field-- their perceived prestige, the perceived difficulty of getting in, the kind of clustering by discipline/focus/time period, etc. Now there are always people who pop up and say that this is a stealth way for them to evaluate you. I reject this because it's part of the most wrongheaded way to think about the process, which is a) that you need to do something special to get in and that they need to do something special to keep you out. People are forever deciding that they need to find some sort of gimmicky way to make themselves unique in the eyes of the programs that they apply to. They are also forever deciding that the programs are looking for gimmicky ways to keep you out. But the reality is that there are plenty of reasons in your actual application for departments to decide for or against you. It's simply not necessary for them to find sneaky ways to entrap you. There's so many perfectly mundane, legitimate reasons that they might reject your application.

 

So fill out that section or don't, but please recognize: they don't need to find any special pretext for rejecting you. Honest. They aren't looking to catch you up. They're reviewing hundreds of these apps, and they're looking at grades, SOPs, letters of rec, writing samples, and GREs. They don't have time or inclination to read the tea leaves of the other schools you're applying to and come to some conclusion about you. Why would they need to?

[Dr. Old Bill]

Thanks CBZ, and I apologize for the redundancy -- I hadn't come across this question at GC.

 

I definitely don't think of the question as a way for them to trip an applicant up. I'm honestly trying to put myself in an adcomm's shoes. I can envision them saying "Okay, so he says in his SOP that he thinks we're the best match, yet he's also applying to thirteen other programs...so does he tell them that they're the second-best match?" In other words, I'm probably overthinking it, just as I did for the ethnicity question. But in a situation where most folks say it comes down to intangibles, trying to anticipate as many of those intangibles as possible strikes me as prudent, even if there's not much that can be done about them.

[ComeBackZinc]

Thanks CBZ, and I apologize for the redundancy -- I hadn't come across this question at GC.

 

Hey, no problem.

[mikers86]

Many programs limit that question to 5 or so schools. I always thought it was more for the graduate school to see which other institutions applicants are considering than for use in the actual department. If they even get to your SOP and see your interests, adcomms will likely have a sense of which other programs would fit for you.

[jhefflol]

I have personally decided that this is not a part of the applications that I plan to worry about. I think the advice given here has been solid. During this stressful time its definitely easy to get caught up on the little things!

[toasterazzi]

I think I only had one school that asked when I applied, but it was optional so I skipped it *shrugs*

[peachypie]

I filled those out without thinking twice about them.  Because when I went to interviews a question that came up from PIs and other students was always: "where else have you interviewed/applied?"  and one PI went so far as to say, what is our competition, because trust me that is how they are seeing it.  When I made my decision and filled out the declination for the schools that all accepted me one of the questions always asked was, where did you decide to go?  Why did you feel this school was a better fit for you,   etc.  they all want to know how to get the applicants they want and how to improve themselves.  Remember its kind of an interview process for them to show you what they can offer you too.  Just like we don't know all of our applicant competition, they don't know either and they are equally as interested.  Best of luck and let that be one of the easiest questions to fill out in all of the application forms!  

[Dr. Old Bill]

Ahhh...what a great response, Peachypie. That's really interesting. Thanks!

[rhetoricus aesalon]

I filled those out without thinking twice about them.  Because when I went to interviews a question that came up from PIs and other students was always: "where else have you interviewed/applied?"  and one PI went so far as to say, what is our competition, because trust me that is how they are seeing it.  When I made my decision and filled out the declination for the schools that all accepted me one of the questions always asked was, where did you decide to go?  Why did you feel this school was a better fit for you,   etc.  they all want to know how to get the applicants they want and how to improve themselves.  Remember its kind of an interview process for them to show you what they can offer you too.  Just like we don't know all of our applicant competition, they don't know either and they are equally as interested.  Best of luck and let that be one of the easiest questions to fill out in all of the application forms!  

 

This. I will just echo that it is absolutely a way for programs to gauge their perceived competition with other schools. This can both work for you and against you. It can help you because it can motivate schools to offer you more funding, opportunities for fellowships, etc. It can work against you because if a school believes you will get offers from "better" schools you've listed, you may not receive an acceptance since they will assume you will not decline their offer until late enough in the season to affect their recruiting other students high on their list.

[subjunctivity]

As someone who had a good experience re: this question, sometimes listing more schools is a good thing! The schools (the grad student advisor, mostly, and relevant profs) that accepted me knew who to watch out for and even asked me about places when I went to the recruitment events. More than one school asked what they could offer that would help me make a decision & followed through (which made it more difficult in the long run!)