Competition between Schoolmates

<p>Hey guys… there are about 8 or 9 kids applying early from my school in a class of about 220 with about 100 going to competitive colleges. Some of the kids inclue the number 1 and 2 kids in the class. I am pretty qualified but wonder how much the admissions officers compare kids in the same school and whether a qualified kid wont get in because they have already accepted too many from one school? What are your thoughts</p>

<p>Their is a lot of speculation on this issue. Unforuntately, since UPENN want to be diverse and choose students from different schools, I believe it has so kind of "quota" for each school. Although this should not be, I dont blame UPENN for doing it b/c most selective colleges do it. As long as you are in the top (2-3) of the 9 applied, you have a chance. Als, remember, you do not know wht UPenn is looking for! You may just have tht special talent/ability tht puts you over the edge - while a person more qualified does not fit into the classes unique mold. Do not fret! Whatever happens will happen - try not to think about it.
However, many other people have said that colleges DO NOT do this at all - if you are qualified, you are accepted... I guess it comes down to what you believe they would do... Common sense for me says that they will compare students of the same school and toss out those that fall short...
Good Luck!</p>

<p>it really depends on the school. 25 students from my school have grone to penn in the last, and even more were accepted and chose other schools. apparently, penn likes my school and is willing to accept an abnormally large percentage of students. does penn like your school? if it (maybe penn is a she...) does, then your chances are fine. if not, then good luck ;)</p>

<p>pinkmuscat--what is it about your school that Penn likes? it's affiliation or is it private/public?</p>

<p>it's just a small private school in the northwest (aka the boonies)... past graduates have done really well at penn, so penn knows that we are quality students. plus we have produced a couple of virtually self-made moguls like bill gates and james west, the original batman. im sure that doesnt hurt.</p>

<p>isn't it adam west?</p>

<p>What is your school's track record? How many usually get in from your school on a yearly basis? Although you are not supposed to be officially competing against one another, you are all coming from the same exact high school profile, so from that point of view you are. If your school sends the same number of kids each year, that's an indication that Penn likes your school and wants to take good applicants from there - so again, though no one will tell you it's a direct competition, I think it's not far from the case.</p>

<p>my school has a decent track record with at least one or two people every year but some years has had as many as 5. my class is a pretty strong one and we have never had our valedictorian and salutatorian both apply early to penn, so im wondering how it affects my chances</p>

<p>3/16 last year... pretty average... but an additional question, is there competition between apps for cas/wharton/seas? cuz i think there's only 2 seas apps right now, me and the val, and i think i look bad compared to her haha</p>

<p>That's a good question b/c there are some really good candidates applying from my school to different schools at Penn.</p>

<p>I know at least 9 or 10 applying ED from my school (3 to Wharton, 4 or 5 to the college including myself, 1 to nursing, and 1 to SEAS)...they're all applying to one of penn's schools lol. so yeah...im basically screwed :(</p>

<p>and for RD its crazy too-litterally i know like at least 23 ppl applying RD (maybe even more depending on how most do during this ED round at other schools). but see, whats somewhat ironic is that in the years before, only a handful of students applyed both ED and RD and about 35% of them got accepted. i really wonder what it will be like this year with many applying to penn</p>

<p>I know one other person is applying ED from my school and maybe 4 more RD. Since my class only has 46 or 48 kids, that's a pretty good amount. And out of my class we're applying to every Ivy except Dartmouth and someone's doing MIT. Not everyone in my class is competative but from the 15 of us that are, it's killer.</p>

<p>We have 19 applying ED from my school this year. Last year, more than 85 applied in total (ED + RD), and 17 matriculated. I can see that Penn is getting more popular each year. I, too, wonder how competition from each school might turn out.</p>

<p>We have about 20 out of 190 that applied ED. :(</p>

<p>While it may be difficult to accept, you need to just focus on doing your best. Wondering about these things won't change the admission officers' minds come evaluation time.</p>

<p>But it always feels more productive to wonder about things like this. Then you're not just sitting there waiting for decision time. It gives me something to do, at least.</p>

<p>How does competition work for a student applying from a school that never had one go to an ivy?</p>

<p>Collegeman - if your class is a strong one, I'd say you have a good shot. Your school has a proven track record with Penn which will be an advantage, despite the increase in ED apps from California - some of which may come from relatively unqualified apps.</p>

<p>jhum -That's been know to be an advantage in some cases: for example a rural or inner city background, first generation college app with good credentials will get a boost by that.</p>

<p>hahahaha. this is very funny.</p>

<p>there are only 2 out of 678 students applying to Penn ED in my school, including me. I'm applying to the SEAS and the other person is strictly applying to the Huntsman Program.</p>

<p>well, my school sucks anyways, only 40% of graduates end up going to a 4-year university. </p>

<p>btw, the funny thing about all of this, is that im getting alot of heat from teachers and counselors by applying here rather than PENN STATE. hahahaha.</p>

<p>also are you compared to students who are applying to each of the different schools or is it just compared to the school you are applying</p>