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Berkeley asks students to indicate which schools they are applying to. I have been told that Berkeley "may not admit candidates if they think they have a shot at Stanford because they want to keep their yield high." This is making me nervous about saying I'm going to apply to the GSB. Am I just being paranoid? The website indicates that "it's used for statistical purposes only," which seems unlikely to me...

Wow, that's interesting. I hope one of the experts can give you more insight, but if it were me I don't think I would list any other schools. I seriously doubt they would penalize you for not listing any other schools, and if you feel uncomfortable giving them this information you shouldn't have to. Its impossible to understand if listing that information could hurt you or maybe even help you. For example, if the school really wants you and sees you are applying to its direct competitors, it might offer you an incentive, hypothetically. I have yet to see a school ask for this info in my applications.

Hey Machichi:
I suppose that I am a little late to the party, since you did post this 10 days ago. This is my opinion - nothing is ever really used for statistical purposes. You and I know this - if someone is asking a question, it should always have a purpose.

Haas does want to know if you are applying to Stanford, and yes just because they are interested in trying to figure out if you really in "love" with Haas - or - if you are simply in "like" with Haas.

However, this isn't the only way that they determine whether or not this happens to be the case - that you are simply using Haas as your second best option. It's important to examine the history of the questions that Haas has asked over the years. They used to ask a question similar to this - "what steps have you taken to learn more about the Haas community?" That is akin to "tell me I am pretty." School of essay has a slight chip, and these to show their hand more directly. Take a look at the 750 word goals essay that the school still employs. An essay that long requires you to tell them a lot about the school, which if done correctly tells them that you really are into the school.

The Haas admissions committee knows that well qualified applicants are going to apply to Stanford, and of course other programs (like Haas.) I mean an applicant would have to be foolhardy to just apply to perhaps one or even two schools. In fact,it would be a little weird if all of your goals and background seemed like a good mantra Stanford, and then you did not list that you are applying to Stanford on your application. It would not be a dealbreaker, but it could be a slight red flag (when taken in conjunction with other small red flags.)

So what is the bottom line? That answering "Stanford" in that particular application question is not going to sink your battleship. However, not visiting the school (if you are a domestic applicant), not attending information session (if you are an international applicant), not understanding the four principles by attesting to then through your essays/examples, not speaking with any current students or alumni (even over e-mail or the phone), and then listing "Stanford","Harvard", "Wharton", "Columbia" on your application and will tell the admissions committee that Haas is in fact a backup. Then your application dies a quick death.

BTW - one could make the case that it's more important to visit Haas than Stanford. I would run that up the flagpole and see who salutes it.

Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti

machichi wrote:Berkeley asks students to indicate which schools they are applying to. I have been told that Berkeley "may not admit candidates if they think they have a shot at Stanford because they want to keep their yield high." This is making me nervous about saying I'm going to apply to the GSB. Am I just being paranoid? The website indicates that "it's used for statistical purposes only," which seems unlikely to me...

Thanks for the comments and thoughts. Completely agree with you. I was able to spend an entire day on campus two weeks ago which hopefully is a good start for showing Haas that I'm into them!

I ended up submitting my application and following the complete honesty approach and listed all the schools I'm applying to in round 1.