<p>OP is asking if it is dishonest. When you sign your app you are explicitly saying you answered all questions completely and to the best of your knowledge. So, yes, it is dishonest to knowingly answer any question wrong, including this one. </p>
<p>Just because you think the question is unfair doesn’t mean its ok to lie about it. </p>
<p>Ethically the right thing to do is either answer correctly or state that you are choosing not to answer the question.</p>
<p>Agree, if the list is unfocused or random, it’s more ethical to omit the answer completely. If the list makes sense then there’s probably no harm in telling “all” because it would make sense to any admin.</p>
<p>I am not sure I see how failing to answer the question at all is any more ethical than providing an incomplete answer. If by signing and submitting the application, the student is saying that the information is complete and accurate, then leaving the “what other colleges” question blank seems no different than listing only some of the other colleges. In neither case is the answer complete and accurate.</p>
<p>Stating “decline to state” seems ethical; it’s totally honest.</p>
<p>Of all the schools on my son’s application list, there are 2 that ask this question - both Common App schools. There is no red asterisk on either one, so answering them is not required. I’m guessing a lot of students won’t realize the question is optional, however.</p>
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<p>If the school considers “level of applicant’s interest”, then a high stats applicant who honestly lists more selective schools that s/he is likely to be admitted to may be rejected or waitlisted on the assumption that s/he will not attend.</p>
<p>Otherwise, if the list does not contain any peer schools or slightly more selective schools, the school in question may choose not to offer a merit scholarship that it may otherwise consider offering, on the assumption that the applicant needs no additional incentive to attend.</p>
<p>Adcoms trying to craft a class must have a good laugh reading the various theories of how this question should be answered.</p>
<p>Just because someone (or some entity) asks you a question, it doesn’t mean that they are owed an answer. </p>
<p>Colleges do not have a need to know where else you’re applied. They don’t. They don’t have a legal right to that info. </p>
<p>If they really, really, really needed that info, then they would demand updates if you applied elsewhere after submitting their app. And, if they really needed that info, then the Common App schools would devise a system that they could see where students had applied. </p>
<p>Why do we think that we “have to be honest” when someone asks a question that they have no business knowing?</p>
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<p>No more than I laugh at the notion of adcoms crafting a class.</p>
<p>You are not obligated to answer. You can try leaving it blank or say something like “undecided” or “in process” or something vague.</p>
<p>answered all questions completely and to the best of your knowledge</p>
<p>Just imo. To the best of your abilities, you may have interpreted the question. And decided one way or another. That’s it. Imo, adcoms aren’t going to test your ethics or honesty on this one issue. They’ve got the whole rest of the app and supp to see if you look like their sort. If a kid is seriously interested in a college, a great match, that will come through in the rest of the supp. If he’s disinterested, just walking through it, that’s a bigger threat.</p>
<p>You could call and anonymously ask if it is critical to answer this one- or just put down the names of two very like colleges, equally strong in the kid’s field(s) of interest (so it shows he thought this through.) IMO.</p>
<p>I would like to ask the college whether it would give me, in return, a list of all the applicants to that college. ;)</p>
<p>Here’s another possible answer: “I am in the process of finalizing the list of colleges to which I will apply. It will include [X (or X to Y) number of] colleges, both within and outside [state name].” Or leave off the first sentence and start the second sentence “My list of colleges includes …” That answer is honest but doesn’t reveal much.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to answer truthfully with something like: 1. Princeton 2. Brown 3. Several others.
(assuming Princeton and Brown are peer schools to the school that is asking. That’s enough info for them, and it’s true.</p>
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<p>This and other answers that say that you don’t know your college list yet are honest but also kind of weird. Unless you apply early, all your applications are submitted at the same time–Jan. 1. How are you going to say that you are still undecided on which colleges to apply to?</p>
<p>Looking like you are evasive may backfire as well.</p>
<p>^^Agree. Either tell it or don’t tell it, but trying to come up with some coy answer is a) silly, b) navel gazing and c) bound to backfire if anyone even pays attention to this question.</p>
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<p>I think that is the way to go. “My list of colleges includes several of the UC’s, and a few Ivies.” Perfectly honest, even if you are applying to 25 schools.</p>
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<p>I don’t think S submitted any of his apps at the same time, even the CA apps (and he had several that were not CA). He couldn’t have honestly answered this question in Nov-Dec when he did most of - but not all of - his apps. He added schools later, or used their no-fee online apps, or had to use an institutional app for some (public as I recall).</p>
<p>I think he listed 3-4 of the ones he was sure about when asked this question.</p>
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<p>No kidding. I can’t believe how much personal information everyone spills everywhere just because they are asked. I decline in almost all cases, and if you want that information about me, get a warrant or show me the code/statute/ordinance that requires it.</p>
<p>My kid has applied to both regular colleges and conservatories and honestly hasn’t decided yet what type of education he wants to have. We’re afraid that the academics only schools will see the conservatories in the list and think they’re ALL back-ups in case he doesn’t get into a conservatory. (The first question he’s been asked in every academic interview is “given that all you do is practice your instrument all these hours every day, why aren’t you going to a conservatory?”). Does anybody else have a situation like this?</p>
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So now people who answered the questions on the application are stupid? The question is “where are you applying?”, not “List some of the other colleges you are applying to.” </p>
<p>What about if you took classes in college during the summer and didn’t do so well? Does that mean you can just not send a transcript from there and pretend you didn’t go? </p>
<p>You aren’t obligated to answer a given question, but it is not ethical to mislead them with an incomplete answer. When I applied, all the deadlines were within a couple of days of each other (~Jan. 1), and I think it’s rare for people to hand in applications months in advance. You’ve got to get recs as well, which need to be requested at least a month in advance of the deadline, so the scenario that you wouldn’t know where you are applying seems moot.</p>