Realistically, if you’re coming from an average public school with limited university recognition (especially those outside of the US), are your chances of getting in HYPSM or some other competitive program/institution increased or decreased if others from your school also apply?
I’m asking because I once heard someone suggest to me that people from the same school should apply to different places, and I want to hear your thoughts or experience on this.
Colleges don’t care where your classmates are applying. They look at your app and your app alone. The idea to “spread” out makes no sense b/c colleges work individually and have no qualms about admitting multiple students if they find them interesting enough. There’s no quota on your school. It could be five this year admitted to Dartmouth and zero for the next fifteen years.
If you live in a rural area or small town, your chances are probably decreased. The reason is that selective universities have the opportunity to pick and choose among fully qualified candidates. They want a diverse student body and geographic/social factors are part of the diversity.
If you are number three and the valedictorian is applying, I’m not saying it’s impossible, and if you have any particular “hooks” it can throw it the other way, but it’s difficult. Just my opinion from observing 30 years of a collection of smaller towns with discrete high schools.
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