Hello, I am currently a Junior and I really want to apply to Harvard next year. The problem is that my high school has only sent about 2 kids there in the past 10 years and another guy in my grade has already been accepted, they are an athlete. Will this ruin my chances and is it even worth it to apply now since another kid has already gotten in? Or, will Harvard still consider my application with an equal weight, despite having already accepted a student from the same school.
I would definitely say the chances have decreased, but there still is a possibility of your acceptance. You had better be the top scholar in your whole school district, though, and have some big awards.
My take on this is maybe, up to a point. If there are, say, five really terrific applicants from one school, they’ll take them—I’ve seen that happen at a couple of schools. I do think they compare them, so if there are, for example, twenty applicants from one school, the college will probably choose its favorites. But let’s say a college didn’t really want to take more than five from a particular school yet had seven really great applicants from that school. I think the college would accept its top five choices and waitlist the other two.
“but does a personal struggle / (major) life altering disease count for anything?”
No , UNLESS you can demonstrate that you were able to overcome that hardship and perform at the top of your class, despite your illness.
Dont look or even hope for “sympathy acceptances” from colleges that tens of thousand of students apply to.
I am certainly not looking for sympathy. Without being too specific, I have done what you described (overcoming illness / treatments while also being top (or close) to the top of my class. I was just wondering if that was something that is taken into consideration by HYPSM? Thanks for the help!
“if you deserve to get in, you will get in”
Oh boy oh boy … :-q
I hate to be the one to burst your bubble but this is NOT the truth.
The most selective colleges have to chose who to REJECT , not who to admit, because so many applicants ARE deserving of acceptance.
The reality is there simply aren’t enough openings at top colleges to accept all who DO deserve to be admitted.
It is what it is, and HS students need to realize and accept that rejection by any college does NOT diminish who you are or what you can accomplish.
Your worth is NOT determined by where you go to college.
Life does NOT end at age 22.
@menloparkmom no need to get worked up - all I meant was that if an applicant would have been accepted by the elite institution as the only applicant from his/her high school (‘deserved’ the acceptance), that applicant should still get in acceptance even if there is another equally/better qualified applicant from the same high school. what you’re commenting on - that elite colleges reject well qualified students routinely - is noncontroversial.
Hi @GhostKoi Your regional admissions officer will be your best source of knowledge on this. All colleges have stats about high schools that are unpublished but included in decisions. Is your AP program considered easier than the HS down the street? Do students from your school typically succeed at the college? What is the yield rate of accepted applicants from your school? (Naviance can help with this). My dear friend is a college recruiter and has been at 3 top 20 colleges. She knows that given all equals, a 4.5 from school A and a 4.5 from school B are not actually equal. And she knows that a 4.5 GPA with low test scores might mean grade inflation by teachers. So it has a lot to do with your school as well as your own statistics. Your regional officer is usually the one who reads your essay, so get to know him/her in the next year. Good luck!
I wouldn’t say that they have a cap on how many kids to take from one high school (although an elite school likely wouldn’t take more than four or five in a given year from the average public or private high), but they likely compare your GPA, course rigor, ECs, and scores against others from your school. If someone they accepted has much more course rigor or leadership, they will likely expect the same of you.
@T26E4 totally agreed they won’t tell students this directly, but they can get to know the kids personally in many. If they are close with guidance counselors, they will often tell them lots. I learned first hand what our counselors knew about some college’s thoughts about our school and others. More importantly, Naviance is a small wealth of stats between that HS and that college that every applicant can and should look up.