Listing Other Schools on Applications

[callmelilyb]

I remember reading a post that covered this issue a month or two ago but not I can't seem to find it anywhere.

I'm just wondering what you guys think about listing other schools that you're applying to on your application? Are you guys dropping big name schools, showing your range or just keeping mum?

I'm not sure what to take from this application questions or why they want this information...any insights?

[hinesaj]

I remember reading a post that covered this issue a month or two ago but not I can't seem to find it anywhere.

I'm just wondering what you guys think about listing other schools that you're applying to on your application? Are you guys dropping big name schools, showing your range or just keeping mum?

I'm not sure what to take from this application questions or why they want this information...any insights?

I'm listing all of the schools I'm applying to. I honestly don't think that a school will accept me (or not) based on this list, though I was told by a professor close to me who was on the adcom at a top 10 school last year that they do take a look at the list. He told me that they use it to try to determine where else you may be getting in to figure out their yield. For example, say you're a really stellar Victorianist and you apply to X, Y, and Z universities. X and Y are the top two Victorian programs in the country and you are clearly the cream of the crop and will get in to those places. Program Z only has one Victorianist on the faculty. Program Z may not accept you because they'll say to themselves, well this person is going to get into those schools and would most certainly choose them over us, let's open up this spot for someone who is a better fit for us. At the same time though, University Z may think the best way to strengthen their Victorian-era scholars would be to lure some top grad students so they may accept you and try to give you a really attractive package that will encourage you to go to Z over X and Y.

I would say, however, don't intentionally omit programs. The community is frighteningly small, and there's no reason to give the adcoms any reason to be suspicious about your application. Colleagues between departments will chat about applicants, and say someone from X mentions to Y that you'd be great for Y, and Y is surprised that you applied for X that may not be so great.

I don't think schools are going to judge you based on your list either, so there is no reason to list top tier schools and not lower tier schools. Be forthcoming.

[greekdaph]

I applied to more schools (15!) than I had room to list on most applications, so I listed schools that were peer schools with the schools I was applying to, schools that, from what I knew, offered comparable funding packages, had comparable placement records, and were similar fits for my interests. I also tried to list schools that were--again, from what I could tell, which, as we all know about this process, wasn't much--equally or more competitive than the school I was applying to. Hinesaj is totally right that the same information from you could be used by programs for two very different ends; my thought was that I wanted to show each school that I was applying to schools in its range, and to err on the side of showing that I was a confident candidate who was aiming for the top programs in my field. (Though that could backfire, of course, as schools want to admit candidate who they think will seriously consider their offers.)

I saw an Econ student talking about this topic once, in another form, who was convinced that his/her partner didn't get into some schools because the other schools he or she listed on the application had very different methodologies and atmospheres. This isn't as much of a danger in English, but if you're applying to a school known for being, say, a collaborative, nurturing environment where a lot of people historicize their work, it's probably best not to list the school known for being hardcore competitive and only into high theory. I don't think these lists of schools ultimately matter much at all, but they're a place on your application to show that you have a strong enough sense of the discipline to know which programs have relative strengths in which areas.

[Sparky]

I asked about this...people were basically in agreement that it is best NOT to state where else you are applying. This was my general gut instinct as well.

The horrible, horrible exception to this rule, in my particular case, is that one of the programs to which I'm applying is the Ph.D program of the school where I am currently working on an M.A...and the "admissions committee" is comprised of two of the three professors who are writing recommendations for me.

Common sense, I lack thee.

[callmelilyb]

So we've got "be forthcoming" and "don't list anything" out on the table....

Ultimately, I agree that it's probably not a seriously important factor on the apps, but I have a feeling that they use it for something if they specifically ask for it....and the uses that other posters have mentioned seem likely.

I'll have to chew this one over for a little bit longer and see if anybody else weighs in.....

Thanks!

[pea-jay]

So we've got "be forthcoming" and "don't list anything" out on the table....

Ultimately, I agree that it's probably not a seriously important factor on the apps, but I have a feeling that they use it for something if they specifically ask for it....and the uses that other posters have mentioned seem likely.

I'll have to chew this one over for a little bit longer and see if anybody else weighs in.....

Thanks!

I'm only applying to two schools. One school asks this question, the other doesnt. Both schools are aware that applicants apply to both. When I was visiting both locations, I was asked by both schools if I had checked out other programs. So I'm going to be honest with this question and leave it at that.

[lotf629]

My two cents: don't do anything that's openly deceptive, but whenever possible, leave the information off. More realistically, if you are asked to list four or five other schools and you are actually applying to nine or ten, make it a point to choose four or five peer institutions, rather than your four or five top choices. If Rutgers asks you, better to list UVA than Yale, even if Yale's your dream school. Etc.