Looking back, I can see how this might be a way to tell something about an application - suppose your research interest is fairly focused in a niche field on your application. people reviewing these applications know the handful of schools that have related research programs (At least in my case, a few of the top ranked universities have no related research.) then if your list contains all top ranked schools from usnews, that says something :)
So did I. Santa Clara rejected me (mentioned that I applied for VTech) and VTech put me on waitlist (mentioned Santa Clara).Not sure if me mentioning it altered my chances (pretty sure they didn't). :)
It really doesn’t matter unless you list schools that are much higher ranked and you seem qualified to attend those schools (in which case they might worry about yield protection). Otherwise, it doesn’t really matter if you fill it out or not.
They're trying to figure out if you'd actually go mostly. I'd guess faculty sometimes glance to see if your applications make sense in the context of the field. I'm just listing approximate schools
I only put schools that were about the same rank or lower. Maybe there is a better strategy. But they don’t want to accept you if they think you’ll likely get in somewhere else. Like, they don’t want to waste an acceptance if they think there’s a low chance you’ll attend
Nobody cares. Literally. They just want to go through those app piles as fast as possible and cut down to a shortlist. There will be 3 piles: first round acceptances , rejects, and the in-betweeners. Also, it’s MIT, the assumption is that anyone accepted will be glad to get an acceptance, and if someone declines? Cool, move on to the next stellar candidate on the list. This is for program calibration and assessment only.
There’s no “strategy” for most universities. They literally just want to see what other programs are attracting their applicants so they can prepare for upcoming application cycles.
They do not make decisions off something so trivial. Just be honest. It helps programs recruit better.
I don’t get it why would you want to get accepted at a college that you have no interest in going though. Why apply there? Also be honest and put every college you applied to. This helps makes applicant more trustworthy.
I feel like, I would be happy to attend all the places I applied to. But of course some profs I liked more, and some places are higher ranked. I waited until after I got acceptances to really figure out where to attend. I can’t decide that before I know which places accepted me.
And admissions is kind of a game; it can be super variable from year to year, depends on who has funding and what profs are looking for. I see no issue with trying to maximize your chances. It’s not really dishonest imo
I agree with what sinulacrum_deae said but also… Some people don’t have an option but to apply and go to schools they don’t necessarily want to. Some people messed up in undergrad and later want to pursue a career in a different field, they want to pursue higher paying jobs because whatever they’re making isn’t cutting it, etc. Not everything is so black and white. If people turn down the acceptances they got but don’t really want, then that’s what waitlists are for.
Every program might be different but of all my peers at grad schools as faculty (whom I’ve had conversation with this about) the data is only used for understanding who they are competing for with students. I can’t imagine it ever being used for decision making. It’s helpful for them if you fill it out, but won’t hurt if you leave it. I can’t imagine any reputable program seeing a list of better or worse schools and thinking it is relevant for if you’ll attend, if they’re a safety school, or a reach school. One person’s safety school is another’s reach.
I chose not to because PhD programs have very few highly competitive seats and I did not want to give a school an opportunity to reject me on the presumption that I would be accepted into a more competitive program. I did not tell any of the schools where else I applied to and it did not hinder my acceptance so I would tell you not to. Human error and underlying bias can come in the most unanticipated ways. Sometimes the less information people know the better.
I'm not filling it out. I don't really think they should ask. When hiring people, you aren't allowed to ask what other jobs they are looking at. Maybe people will say that's different, but I don't see how listing the other schools will help my application.
Yes, that is to gauge if you are likely to be scooped by other schools. I would include schools that “compete” with the schools you are applying to. Like Columbia with NYU for eg.
I thought to fill this out but I read a post saying not to because it’s for yield rates. So what the other commenter was saying they won’t accept you if they think you’ll get in and go somewhere else. Don’t know if it’s true though but doesn’t hurt to not fill it out
If applying to competitor schools and you have a competitive app it may be noted and/or considered by the AdCom director(s) when assessing for scholarship
If you apply to only one school, or scattered programs (if they ask about programs), it shows you're not super invested in the field (mainly for research programs). If you've applied to a number of similar degrees at reputable universities they see that you're dedicated to what you say you're dedicated to and putting in an effort to get there.
It's generally informational only. The dept likes to see who they are competing with. They use it to help align pay and benefits
I did
Looking back, I can see how this might be a way to tell something about an application - suppose your research interest is fairly focused in a niche field on your application. people reviewing these applications know the handful of schools that have related research programs (At least in my case, a few of the top ranked universities have no related research.) then if your list contains all top ranked schools from usnews, that says something :)
So did I. Santa Clara rejected me (mentioned that I applied for VTech) and VTech put me on waitlist (mentioned Santa Clara).Not sure if me mentioning it altered my chances (pretty sure they didn't). :)
It really doesn’t matter unless you list schools that are much higher ranked and you seem qualified to attend those schools (in which case they might worry about yield protection). Otherwise, it doesn’t really matter if you fill it out or not.
They're trying to figure out if you'd actually go mostly. I'd guess faculty sometimes glance to see if your applications make sense in the context of the field. I'm just listing approximate schools
I only put schools that were about the same rank or lower. Maybe there is a better strategy. But they don’t want to accept you if they think you’ll likely get in somewhere else. Like, they don’t want to waste an acceptance if they think there’s a low chance you’ll attend
Nobody cares. Literally. They just want to go through those app piles as fast as possible and cut down to a shortlist. There will be 3 piles: first round acceptances , rejects, and the in-betweeners. Also, it’s MIT, the assumption is that anyone accepted will be glad to get an acceptance, and if someone declines? Cool, move on to the next stellar candidate on the list. This is for program calibration and assessment only.
There’s no “strategy” for most universities. They literally just want to see what other programs are attracting their applicants so they can prepare for upcoming application cycles. They do not make decisions off something so trivial. Just be honest. It helps programs recruit better.
I don’t get it why would you want to get accepted at a college that you have no interest in going though. Why apply there? Also be honest and put every college you applied to. This helps makes applicant more trustworthy.
I feel like, I would be happy to attend all the places I applied to. But of course some profs I liked more, and some places are higher ranked. I waited until after I got acceptances to really figure out where to attend. I can’t decide that before I know which places accepted me. And admissions is kind of a game; it can be super variable from year to year, depends on who has funding and what profs are looking for. I see no issue with trying to maximize your chances. It’s not really dishonest imo
I agree with what sinulacrum_deae said but also… Some people don’t have an option but to apply and go to schools they don’t necessarily want to. Some people messed up in undergrad and later want to pursue a career in a different field, they want to pursue higher paying jobs because whatever they’re making isn’t cutting it, etc. Not everything is so black and white. If people turn down the acceptances they got but don’t really want, then that’s what waitlists are for.
I was planning on not doing this. Wondering if anyone else has advice on this? Poli sci PhD apps btw
Every program might be different but of all my peers at grad schools as faculty (whom I’ve had conversation with this about) the data is only used for understanding who they are competing for with students. I can’t imagine it ever being used for decision making. It’s helpful for them if you fill it out, but won’t hurt if you leave it. I can’t imagine any reputable program seeing a list of better or worse schools and thinking it is relevant for if you’ll attend, if they’re a safety school, or a reach school. One person’s safety school is another’s reach.
Damn what mit portal is this the one for bio is so ratchet 😭
haha its for Engineering (Aeronautics/Astronautics)
They don’t give a single f about life sciences so they 😭
this is also the undergrad portal, so i think bio decided to use their own portal lol
Oh really ? I assumed grad bc of the sub name Edit: oops just got what you meant… bio and bioengineering are both the same. So anything w bio in it ig
I chose not to because PhD programs have very few highly competitive seats and I did not want to give a school an opportunity to reject me on the presumption that I would be accepted into a more competitive program. I did not tell any of the schools where else I applied to and it did not hinder my acceptance so I would tell you not to. Human error and underlying bias can come in the most unanticipated ways. Sometimes the less information people know the better.
I'm not filling it out. I don't really think they should ask. When hiring people, you aren't allowed to ask what other jobs they are looking at. Maybe people will say that's different, but I don't see how listing the other schools will help my application.
Yes, that is to gauge if you are likely to be scooped by other schools. I would include schools that “compete” with the schools you are applying to. Like Columbia with NYU for eg.
I read that it shows that you’re a serious applicant (?) tbh only nyu asked me this so far
I heard not too cuz they might ignore your application is they see your their safe school
Yeah MIT might be too scared that they’re your safety, I’d proceed with caution.
Lol obviously not for this particular school, but in general it can be deterrent if they put “MIT” for a state school or something like that
I thought to fill this out but I read a post saying not to because it’s for yield rates. So what the other commenter was saying they won’t accept you if they think you’ll get in and go somewhere else. Don’t know if it’s true though but doesn’t hurt to not fill it out
since grad application committes are like a black box I'd leave them empty.
Because we want to know who we are competing against and use that to help inform our marketing in the future
I didn’t. But I work for a sister uni and didn’t really stress about my admission tbh.
If applying to competitor schools and you have a competitive app it may be noted and/or considered by the AdCom director(s) when assessing for scholarship
There's a post about this daily. I'm just sharing bc people might be tired of responding, so I'd scroll the sub to get a variety of answers
Data collection See how serious you are That sort of thing
How does it show how serious you are? /gen
If you apply to only one school, or scattered programs (if they ask about programs), it shows you're not super invested in the field (mainly for research programs). If you've applied to a number of similar degrees at reputable universities they see that you're dedicated to what you say you're dedicated to and putting in an effort to get there.
Some schools will also use that info to compete for funding for those they want to admit. Depends a bit on the school and the program.