<p>I am a senior in high school and deciding which colleges to apply to. I have an interest in Notre Dame and was planning to apply there to keep my options open but I don't really have a defined first choice school. My friend, however, has had his sights set on Notre Dame since he was a kid. He fits the profile perfectly: male, white, and Catholic. Our stats are pretty similar, all in the top percentiles, and we are both very involved.</p>
<p>He would die to go to Notre Dame, and I only am interested in it and want to see if I'd get in. Would it be detrimental to his application if I applied as well? I wouldn't want to detract attention from him because he wants to be admitted so badly, especially because even if I did get in I'm not sure I would even attend. The only difference between us is he is male and I'm female. My worst fear I guess is that I get in and he doesn't, and then I turn down the acceptance letter. </p>
<p>Is it worth applying? I am not nearly as passionate about the school as he is, so I don't want to ruin his chances, but I still like ND.</p>
<p>You are over-thinking. Good colleges do consider each applicant as individual, and often accept multiple students from the same high school. For example, this past year, Harvard accepted two EA students fom our local HS, while ND accepted 7.</p>
<p>You’re very nice to be so considerate of his feelings, but there’s no quota set by schools. If you’re interested in attending ND, you should apply.</p>
First of all, if this happens there is no way you can know that he would have gotten in had you not applied. That 2 people from the same HS who are Catholic apply to ND is probably not an unusual occurrence. Second, even if you don’t apply how are you going to prevent anyone else from your HS from applying and spoiling his chances? Or anyone else from your school district? Your county? </p>
<p>Apply where you want, let everyone else do the same. While it is kind of you to care, you are worrying about something that is at best a 3rd order effect.</p>
<p>Whether a college admits more than one depends on more factors than you can guess. This is a case where you should make the best decision for you- you have no control over whether they like his app and offer him a spot. Ime, another mom was so worried about this when 3 girls in our hs applied to one school, that she melted down. In the end, all 3 were accepted- they were 3 gals with different strengths and interests. Each was accepted on her own merits.</p>
<p>I’m not Catholic to clear that up, but thanks for the insight. I think I will apply. He was supportive of me applying as well, I guess I was just worried.</p>
<p>I agree that generally speaking each applicant is considered individually however, I would add one caveat to this discussion. If your school has not had many applicants recently to Notre Dame, your application will provide context for his application.</p>
<p>To illustrate, if his GPA is 4.1 then it will appear that he has been successful if ND has little additional information about your high school. However, if your application shows your GPA of 4.75, then the impact of his GPA will be diminished. Similarly, his 3 AP classes might earn a “Most Rigorous” courseload from your GC. But your application with 8 AP classes would show his as somewhat lacking.</p>
<p>Having said all that, I would definitely encourage you to apply. It was generous of you to discuss this with him and kind of him to support your decision but you only get one shot at college applications.</p>