I asked this question in response to another post but I think it is important enough for me to put it in its own thread.
In regards to the early decision pool, do adcoms compare people to each other, especially if they are in the same school? As in this case, would they compare person 1 and 2 and only accept one? OR would they look at them as different people and possible accept both, even though they are from the same school?
Example…Person 1 & 2 from the same school. They look at Person 1 first. They like him/her. They accept him/her. They see Person 2. They really like him/her (more so then person 1).
<p>i was wondering that too. Me and my friend are both appying ED to the same school and our ECs and grades/coursework are almost identical. I don't know if this will hurt both of us or not...</p>
<p>I think what you are asking is more determined by the past history of the number of students accepted to the college from your HS. The HS I went to had double digits of students accepted to a particular college every year but the number of applicants could have been triple digit. We all knew we were compared against each other.......all factors were considered. In reality there are NOT quotas and the college may choose to take both students from your example....but look to the history of your recent success...your HS.</p>
<p>3 ED to Columbia- 2 accepted, 1 deferred
7 ED to Brown- 3 accepted, 2 deferred, 2 rejected
3 EA Miami- 3 accepted</p>
<p>The trend continues down the line. Schools, while they do look at your placement in school compared to other applicants, they realize everyone has something different to offer.</p>
<p>" We all knew we were compared against each other"
Most colleges say that they do not compare applicants against each other - they consider each application seperately when they make decisions. That said, most AdComs have been in the field for quite a few years and since at most schools, they only evaluate apps from a certain region or state, if you go to a competitive HS, they have probably seen quite a few apps from your HS and your high school probably has a "reputation" in their minds - they know what to expect from quality applicants. </p>
<p>Edit: Also, since they are evaluating each applicant as a seperate person, there may be significant differences between two applicants from a single school that make one or both of them attractive - things like non-school related EC's, essays etc</p>
<p>You are correct that each applicant is distinctive. As you can see from the results at your school.....they will look at each applicant and choose what they need/want in putting together a class of FROSH. I think students tend to think it is all stats but once the adcoms begin to assess the other elements it is truly what they need for their grouping. It is hard to make any hard and fast judgement when looking at applicants within any one HS...perhaps there was legacy,development etc. You must be careful in assuming that you know all there is to know about the other students you are applying with/against.</p>
<p>I agree with hazmat and jaug1. There are some high schools where 30-40 applicants will apply to a particular ivy. A college attempting to create a diverse freshman class can not take everybody no matter how qualified they are. They may accept 7 or 8, but they will not take as many applicants as they would if they same people were spread out across more high schools. (Some of the ivies have feeder schools that they depend on to supply a very high number of applicants each year. This is an exception to some extent.)</p>
<p>There have been a lot of articles about this in the Wash Post in the last year. Most of the articles are about students/parents at magnet schools who think that they would have had a better chance if they had stayed out of the magnet school and graduated as a val in a normal school.</p>
<p>Rachel Toors in "Admission Confidentials" describes conversations in the adcom at Duke where they would go over statistics from previous years. They go thru the applicants in order by state and high school name. When they get to a high school, they look up the stats from previous years, and someone might say: "We had 42 applicants last year, we accepted 8 and waitlisted 7, and only 2 attended. We have 38 applicants this year. I think we should only accept 6." </p>
<p>Some people don't want to believe that applicants from the same hs don't compete against each other. The opposite view is the myth among some that a college won't take more than one applicant from a single high school.</p>
<p>All of this is only relevant for the prestigious high schools who have double digit numbers of applicants to a single college. If your high school only has two applicants to a college, it won't matter.</p>
<p>I think what you are asking is if say both applicants are applying to say Wharton School in Penn......requiring a separate application or shall I say dedicated....up or down not a first choice with The College as a secondary choice or Nursing as a secondary choice or SEAS as a secondary choice. I think the same criteria apply. It is what the college is wanting in the assembling of a "class". I don't think it would really rule one student out. If you are speaking of a "major".....perhaps less significant for the colleges know how many students change majors. If you have a specialty say....IMO math, the department will know your status, interest and your history will indicate the dedicated interest. A particular department may then influence your admission as in a special quality.....like a hook.</p>
<p>The numbers can get really small if you break them down in absolute terms. Harvard has about 15000 applicants each year, and they accept 1500 for a freshman class of, I guess, around 1200. Out of the 1200, they filled up a big portion of it with SCEA applicants. Out of what is left; URM, legacies, international students and etc. take up a chunk. I think it is more depressing to think of it in terms of absolute number than it is in terms of percentages. It tends to emphasize how small your piece of the pie is. </p>
<p>With only two applicants from your high school, I really don't think anyone would keep one of them out for that reason. Anyway, if you can't change it, don't worry about it.</p>
<p>Yes... originally I was applying to this one program. But now I found that my friend is too. And I think he is going to be major competition. So I was thinking about applying to the other program I was interested in to avoid that competition.</p>
<p>Why run scared? Perhaps you have more to offer than you think. Is the program you are avoiding a one shot deal.......in/out? Check the details before you decide against what you want. Seek some counsel from some people in the know. Try to be confident. Will you regret not knowing how you would have fared more than you will regret getting a dinger letter?</p>