Difficult Interview Question

[Allison0423]

I am going over a few interview questions in anticipation of interviews this cycle. I came over in one that I did not know how to answer. If a school asks:" What other schools did you apply to and where do you want to go?"  Obviously this is really easy if this is your top choice, but if this were to be your 4th or 5th choice school and they ask this question how do you answer? Do you be honest and pretty much sabotage yourself or do you lie and respond with what they want to hear? Is there some other roundabout way to answer this? I'm just curious because I wouldn't want to outright lie. 

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

[UGoLong]

I am going over a few interview questions in anticipation of interviews this cycle. I came over in one that I did not know how to answer. If a school asks:" What other schools did you apply to and where do you want to go?"  Obviously this is really easy if this is your top choice, but if this were to be your 4th or 5th choice school and they ask this question how do you answer? Do you be honest and pretty much sabotage yourself or do you lie and respond with what they want to hear? Is there some other roundabout way to answer this? I'm just curious because I wouldn't want to outright lie. 
Thanks in advance to anyone who answers!

Interviews are a two-way street; you learn about them while they’re learning about you. I suggest you be honest when questions are asked but there is no need to rank the schools you applied to. Tell rhem what you like about their program.


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[JTATC]

I had a similar question; I was asked by one interviewer what other schools I had interviewed at. I simply answered the question. Don't sweat it. It is no secret that most applicants apply to at least a handful of schools, they will be expecting this. 

As for where you want to go, I agree there is no need to rank the schools you applied to. I would suggest describing the type of program that you want to attend, and highlighting the ways that the school you are interviewing at fits with your vision of what type of program you want to attend. 

[Allison0423]

@JTATC @UGoLong Thank you for your helpful answers!

[SHU-CH]

It's not a pointed question. Typical applicants have usually applied to 8-12 schools. 

We ask where else you have applied to because it helps us to see who our peer programs are. It can also give some insight into whether you used some sort of rational selection process. Presumably the schools you select would have some common thread that interested you. 

[Allison0423]

@SHU-CH Thank you! Very helpful to get some insight on why the question is asked

[SrTaM]

I was asked this and rather than give specific school names I mentioned which states I had applied to programs in (because I applied to programs all over), and then added "but this program is one of my top picks because...." Kind of dodged the question but they seemed to like my answer.