Just as the title says… Will someone similarly competent as me applying to the same uni (and same major) as I do affect my chances of getting in? I’m applying to Princeton SCEA btw.
Yes and no. Top tier schools like to have students from different high school/regions. If your high school is a typical school (not one of those top boarding schools) then it is not likely Princeton is going to admit 5+ students from your school, but would they admit 3 or 4 instead of 1 or 2? Probably.
Alternatively, they could admit zero this year. There is no min/max/quota, but it is highly unlikely that the number will be drastically different than history shows.
It’s not just your own hs in consideration, but others in your immediate area. That school acoss town that offers some mighty great candidates this season, could affect the number of kids from your school who get the nod.
The only thing YOU can control is your own best app and supp. And that means knowing enough about any target that you can properly self match (to what they want, not your own wishes) and then make your own best self presentation for them. Again, that’s per what the colleges want, not what you want.
Yes, being international can also affect your chances, for institutional reasons.
My daughter is a class of 2023 for Princeton. She is in a huge HS over 1,000 kids. She is the only accepted student out of 12 applicants from her HS. That being said there is another metro HS in the area of similar size and they had 7 accepted students. I think while highly selective universities do want diversity they still look at every individual and what they will bring to the school.
If you use Naviance, you can go to the scattergram provided to see how many students have applied from your school over the past three years along with how many, if any, were accepted and then enrolled. I find this information helpful, albeit discouraging, when considering schools like Princeton. Unless you attended Exeter or Andover, the odds of any one high school having multiple students accepted to Princeton will be extremely high.