I’ve heard conflicting theories about this, so I’m just wondering about all of your thoughts.
Depends on the school etc.
One problem with several applicants is it shows what is possible. In my kid’s school there is always that one 4.0 and everyone else has at least a few A-
I always worried that it would show that my kid did not succeed as well as the straight A kid. If the averages are close it will not matter.
Not really. Perfect example, my graduating class of 455 students had 46 accepted to Cornell (magnet high school often ranked top 4 in the country).
This is an oft-discussed topic. I disagree with SeekingPam. In my experience, the individual applicant’s strengths outweigh any motivation to “spread the wealth”.
The only reason to limit admits per school would be to spread the wealth in order to keep some HS principal or headmaster happy. But top schools don’t give a darn. They admit whom they want w/o regard for what some HS feels. They aren’t setting aside slots to please anyone else. My district’s top school one year got 5 kids into my super selective college – a statistical anomaly by any measure. Normally it’s 1-2.
Mixed bag. Nothing you can do about it.