
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Four students, including Xiao Ming and Xiao Hong, each applied to two universities, A and B, for independent recruitment exams. Each university has exactly two students applying. The number of possible ways that Xiao Ming and Xiao Hong do not apply to the same university is ________.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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