Will a summer program at one college hurt you at another?

RReaders in Stanford's admissions office, the office we learned from, were asked a question that worries many families: what does a rival college think when one school's name runs all through an applicant's activities? Once a student starts building activities through a favorite college, the page may show volunteer work with Duke's student groups, a reading list from a Duke professor and a summer course on Duke's campus.

A reader elsewhere, the reasoning goes, might conclude that this applicant will never come. Families have heard about yield, the share of admitted students who enroll, and assume readers guard it closely, so some students hedge before they have even begun. A reader in that office answered the question directly, and the answer starts with what a reader is actually weighing.