What other schools are you considering? If we accepted you today, would you come?
Yield probability, and your honesty under a slightly uncomfortable question.
The trap
An obvious lie in either direction. Overclaiming 'you're my only choice' when they know you applied broadly damages your credibility more than an honest 'this is among my top choices, and here's exactly why.'
How to structure your answer
Be honest without listing everything → speak genuinely about what draws you here → be sincere about your enthusiasm.
- It's fine to say you're considering several strong programs
- Don't promise you'd commit if that isn't true
- Do say specifically what makes this school compelling
- Warmth matters more than the literal answer
A weak answer
Honestly, this is my top choice. If you accepted me today I'd cancel the rest of my interviews on the drive home. This is where I've wanted to be since I started the process, and everything I've learned about the program since then has only confirmed it for me. I'd sign whatever you put in front of me right now.
An overclaim they've heard before and can't verify. It costs credibility.
A stronger answer
I'm interviewing at a few programs, and I'd be lying if I said otherwise, since you all know we apply broadly. This one is at the top of my list, and the honest reason is half the curriculum and half that my wife is a hospital nurse who can keep her seniority here instead of starting over somewhere. I spent six years testing software and I'm done being adjacent to the work I want. If an offer came today I'd be thrilled. I'd call her before I said yes, and I think you'd want someone who does that.
Honest about breadth, specific about the draw, promises nothing he can't keep.
Nobody believes "you're my only choice." They do believe a nurse's seniority and a man who'd call his wife first.
These are illustrations, not scripts. An answer you memorize sounds memorized — the point is the shape and the specificity, in your own words and about your own life.
Reading it isn't the same as saying it.
Most people can explain a good answer and still fall apart saying one out loud. Admitted asks you all 100 questions in a faculty voice, records you, and scores your pace and filler words.
Try one interview freeGet the guideMore fit questions
- Why did you apply to our school?Fit
- What will you contribute to our class?Fit
- If we admitted you, what would you want to get involved in here?Fit
- What concerns do you have about dental school?Fit
- Is there anything we haven't asked that you'd want us to know?Fit
- Why should we pick you over an applicant with the same GPA and DAT score?Fit