Not that there’s anything to do about it, but I’m asking the forum’s opinions about whether the admission of a recruited athlete from my daughter’s high school affects her own admission chances. She attends a public school in Ohio that went 0/10 for Harvard applicants in prior 3 years so we are not a “feeder” school. The athlete and my daughter are both NMFs and terrific kids. My D has higher scores and grades (perfect/perfect) but the other student is strong academically as well and obviously excelled at sports.
Does the forum believe that already accepting a student from her school makes Harvard less likely to accept her? All else being equal, I suspect yes.
This has been asked and answered in other threads, but here it is again:
Harvard accepts STUDENTS not high schools. As such, when a recruited athlete is accepted from a high school, it does not effect the chances of other students applying from the same high school, as those students and the recruited athlete are not competing in the same category or “role.” Here’s something I posted a few years ago.
Hooked and unhooked applicants are NOT competing for the same “roles.”
What does that mean? Well, think of a high school musical director who is choosing a cast for a show. Let’s use “Urinetown” as the example. The director needs to cast so many males, so many females, so many sopranos, altos, tenors etc. They need to cast for particular roles – Officer Lockstock, Officer Barrel, Bobby Strong, Hope Cladwell, Caldwell B. Cladwell, Little Sally etc.
Admission to a top college works pretty much the same way. In a very real sense, you aren’t competing against everyone in the applicant pool for admission; you’re competing against those who can play the same “role” or “roles.” So, at most top colleges, about 15% of the places will be reserved for athletes. If you’re NOT an athlete, those spots are not for you. About 10% will go to internationals; if you are a US citizen, those spots aren’t for you either. Some places will go to underrepresented minorities (URM’s). Again, if you’re not a URM, that’s not a role you can play.
If you’re applying solely on academics, then you are competing only for that “role” (not that of an athlete, a legacy, a URM or a developmental case).
But, I agree with @gibby Harvard, and its peers, do not have a min/max/quota per HS. But also know that if your school is 0 for 10, with 37K US high schools (not even counting home-schooled and international applicants) vying for 2K acceptances letters, most high schools will have no Harvard acceptances.
Generally I agree with gibby and ski that the school is trying to “cast a play” and athletic recruits are vying for different spots than other applicants, but as initial reads are geographically allocated, as a practical matter applicants are first compared against other candidates “trying out for that role” in the same geographic region that the first reader covers, including classmates from the same school. So, while it is not “you” vs “classmate” competing for the role of Officer Lockstock, it is “you” and “classmate” competing against all other candidates in your region trying out for the Officer Lockstock role. Further, as a practical matter, it will be easier for the first reader to compare “you” vs “classmate” as transcripts are more directly comparable and there may even be shared LoR writers.
Harvard does consider geography when accepting students, in my opinion. I would say that it may impact your daughter’s chance of admittance. Do not let it discourage you from applying.