<p>I was wondering if the actual high school you attended makes an impact on admission to an elite school(ivies, MIT, Stanford etc.) My high school does offer pretty challenging courses, with many AP courses available. The high school I attend is a large public school in Illinois. I compared the colleges that the graduates of my school would be attending to the colleges another public high school near me's graduates would be attending. There weren't ANY ivies coming from my school. The valedictorian went to Notre Dame. So I was wondering if my high school is going to decrease the chance of eme getting into an elite school.</p>
<p>It’s not going to decrease your chances unless you didn’t have the opportunity to take AP classes and such. As long as you are competitive and can stand out from the rest of the applicant pools at the elite schools then you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>^^
Well, it’s not QUITE that easy. The applicant pool for these schools is made up of the cream of the crop. Doing well in the most challenging coursework your school offers, along with great test scores and ECs, might put you IN the applicant pool, but the schools you’re talking about are not sure bets for anyone. By all means, apply. But concentrate on match schools and safety schools as well. Do not get your heart set on an elite.</p>
<p>I agree with LasMa. Although it may be worthwhile to consider an Ivy college that matches you with your interests and environment, it is best to have a balanced list of places you could see yourself being happy with for a few years :)</p>
<p>To answer your question, I would say that according to what I’ve seen with admissions, unless you’re at a feeder school, chances are that your actual high school has a minor impact on your candidacy for admission at a great college-in comparison to, say, a great GPA and rank, and a solid SAT score :D</p>