Why do they want to know which other schools I'm applying?

[Sucre_J]

I'm just curious.

What kind of information do they get from that inquiry?

Just measuring the applicant?

[mop]

They mostly want to see how well they can recruit against other institutions who are trying to get the same student

[username1824]

I also THINK (this is me being very speculative) that it helps them when offering various fellowships. Some schools offer extra stipend money in the form of fellowships or scholarships to their top candidates. These get offered at the time of acceptance, so before a candidate makes their decision. So I think if a school sees that you are choosing between a lot of top schools, they may offer you a fellowship if they really want you to make their school more appealing. Again, I'm just speculating.

 

As mentioned above, they definitely use it to see what schools they are compared to and how successful they are against various schools.

[Sucre_J]

thanks a lot for your replies

 

Hmm.. it could affect fellowship offers. hadn't thought of that.

[ImHis]

In our field, it's discouraged mention other schools. You want to make sure that's the school you want to go.

[Appsitude]

It is very common in biology/biomedical sciences to be asked where else you are applying to.

 

There are a couple reasons for this:

1) As others have said, if you are deciding between similarly ranked schools (and the school you are applying to knows this), you may be offered a fellowship to make the deal more sweet.

 

2) Institutional research and rankings take this information into account.

 

3) I had graduate students and professors genuinely curious about where I was applying as they had either gone through similar decisions or knew people at those institutions.

 

In general, don't worry if you get asked this. Just be sure to not gush about another university you applied to while at a different interview

[Crucial BBQ]

How funny would it be if you, say, applied to Harvard and listed all third-rate/no-rank schools as the others you are applying to-and for a "softer" major?

 

This question seems to come up a lot, by the way.  

[grad1492]

I heard that it's a good idea not to give away all the schools you are applying to so you don't dilute your top programs of interest.. some schools ask on the online app what other schools the applicant is applying to, but I'm hesitant about listing all of my schools of interest..

[Appsitude]

I heard that it's a good idea not to give away all the schools you are applying to so you don't dilute your top programs of interest.. some schools ask on the online app what other schools the applicant is applying to, but I'm hesitant about listing all of my schools of interest..

 

Honestly, in the long run it probably doesn't matter. But do what you want!

[gliaful]

I heard that schools ask for this information to evaluate your interests -- to see if you would be a good fit for the research interests of their program. For instance, some neuroscience programs emphasize cellular/molecular/"basic science" neuroscience, while others focus on the so-called "systems neuroscience", which is much more psychological/behavioral in its approach. If I applied to a cellular/molecular neuroscience program and listed other schools notorious for behavioral neuroscience, they might suspect that I am unsure of where my interests truly lie.

[Appsitude]

I heard that schools ask for this information to evaluate your interests -- to see if you would be a good fit for the research interests of their program. For instance, some neuroscience programs emphasize cellular/molecular/"basic science" neuroscience, while others focus on the so-called "systems neuroscience", which is much more psychological/behavioral in its approach. If I applied to a cellular/molecular neuroscience program and listed other schools notorious for behavioral neuroscience, they might suspect that I am unsure of where my interests truly lie.

 

That is definitely a possibility. I remember getting comments that all of the programs I am applying to where umbrella biomedical science programs, so it is definitely something that they could notice.

[Catria]

I heard that it's a good idea not to give away all the schools you are applying to so you don't dilute your top programs of interest.. some schools ask on the online app what other schools the applicant is applying to, but I'm hesitant about listing all of my schools of interest..

 

And some schools won't allow you to list all of them, if you're applying to a large number of schools; in fact, there are schools where you have limited spots to do so (Tufts have 3, Notre Dame has 4, Princeton has 8) and you then have to strategize.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Catria

[tuckbro]

I kind of thought they usd it to strategize. I feel like they know when the interview weekends are for the other schools and time their decisions accordingly. I received word from Rice a few days before heading to MIT and had a decision from MIT to ponder just as I was preparing to leave for JHU. I definitely viewed JHU very differently after getting an MIT acceptance. They weren't top choice after that.

Then again, it could be just random timing and not strategy at all. Haha

[Appsitude]

I kind of thought they usd it to strategize. I feel like they know when the interview weekends are for the other schools and time their decisions accordingly. I received word from Rice a few days before heading to MIT and had a decision from MIT to ponder just as I was preparing to leave for JHU. I definitely viewed JHU very differently after getting an MIT acceptance. They weren't top choice after that.

Then again, it could be just random timing and not strategy at all. Haha

 

^^^ Excellent point.