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I am curious why on applications law schools wish to know what other law schools you are applying to? Is there a certain reason? Is it bad or look bad if I plan on applying to multiple law schools? I just found it an odd question.

It's basically a marketing question. Schools are interested in seeing where they "rank" in applicants' minds compared to other schools.

Answering or not has literally no affect on your apps. Put down a few peer schools that you're considering applying to. No need for a full and complete list.

too see if you have regional loyalty, possibly gauge how committed you are and rank your chances of attending if admitted, keep their ratio low

AOTA

rinkrat19 wrote:It's basically a marketing question. Schools are interested in seeing where they "rank" in applicants' minds compared to other schools.

Answering or not has literally no affect on your apps. Put down a few peer schools that you're considering applying to. No need for a full and complete list.

Schools have three reasons for asking about your prospective schools, and many do request a full and complete list of schools. The adcoms can infer judgment, commitment and regional preferences from schools lists. That doesn't necessarily mean they are entitled to the information they seek. Facially, your schools list has little to do with your ability to succeed at a law school.

I personally advise people to write the following: "I respectfully decline to answer this question. If an answer is required for admission, please advise me and I will attempt to furnish you with a compilation of prospective schools. My current list of is incomplete and subject to change." If you list schools, they should either be reach, range and safe schools from the same region or "peer" schools if they are the elites (i.e., top-25)

The schools won't kill you for refusing to answer that question, but do not try this with the character-fitness questions.

Explanation: I wouldn't say that it has absolutely "no effect" on your application.

1) They want to extrapolate the likelihood of your accepting an offer.

2) Besides attempting to size up your likelihood of accepting an offer if you receive on, law schools try to ascertain what type of judgment an applicant has. If an applicant with T4 numbers is also applying to all of the top-10 schools with no extraordinary softs to speak of and no legacy, adcoms will question an applicant's judgment.

3) They can tell by looking at your list how clear and reliable your goals are, and that provides a glimpse into your focus. For example, if an applicant wants to go into environmental law, IP, PI, entertainment law, or some other focus but fails to apply to schools whose programs are tops in those areas, the applicant may not have done his/her homework.

One's regional focus can also assist schools in making a decision on you.

The question bugged me.
I put the regional schools I had actually already applied to, and the said others as yet undecided.
I also made sure I filled that question out near the beginning of my application process when I was more undecided than I would be later.
I ended up applying for one final school, at 2330 Feb 28th. So I was rather undecided on the final end of my list.

I was 100% honest and listed the 17 schools all over the country that I applied to... I think it is a horrible question to ask / pray this doesn't hurt my chances

PDaddy wrote:
I personally advise people to write the following: "I respectfully decline to answer this question. If an answer is required for admission, please advise me and I will attempt to furnish you with a compilation of prospective schools. My current list of is incomplete and subject to change." If you list schools, they should either be reach, range and safe schools from the same region or "peer" schools if they are the elites (i.e., top-25)

Your advice is shitty. It's a bad admissions move to very obviously and deliberately refuse to answer a required question on the initial app.

Just put down the other schools you're applying to and grow a pair.

Bildungsroman wrote:

PDaddy wrote:
I personally advise people to write the following: "I respectfully decline to answer this question. If an answer is required for admission, please advise me and I will attempt to furnish you with a compilation of prospective schools. My current list of is incomplete and subject to change." If you list schools, they should either be reach, range and safe schools from the same region or "peer" schools if they are the elites (i.e., top-25)

Your advice is shitty. It's a bad admissions move to very obviously and deliberately refuse to answer a required question on the initial app.

Just put down the other schools you're applying to and grow a pair.

+1, it says "I"m a whiner"

Opie wrote:

Bildungsroman wrote:

PDaddy wrote:
I personally advise people to write the following: "I respectfully decline to answer this question. If an answer is required for admission, please advise me and I will attempt to furnish you with a compilation of prospective schools. My current list of is incomplete and subject to change." If you list schools, they should either be reach, range and safe schools from the same region or "peer" schools if they are the elites (i.e., top-25)

Your advice is shitty. It's a bad admissions move to very obviously and deliberately refuse to answer a required question on the initial app.

Just put down the other schools you're applying to and grow a pair.

+1, it says "I"m a whiner"

If you don't want to (or can't) answer the question, I think it's better to leave it blank. That type of long-winded explanation comes across as weirdly aggressive and argumentative.