Today my daughter, who will be applying ED1 to Vassar College, found out that one of her good friends from her HS has decided to apply ED to the same school. This college has had very few applicants from our HS over the years even though it’s in the same state. Of course it’s a selective school and D was already worried about not getting in, but now she is feeling more worried because she thinks her friend is more likely to be accepted because he’s male and has better test scores. Academic rigor and grades are fairly similar (though his GPA might be higher).
On the other hand, this friend has not done any “official” visits, though he walked the campus and knows someone who attended. My daughter has toured twice, attended a class, met with a professor in her potential major. She is also submitting an interesting and creative video for their optional “Your Space” supplement, and thinks her friend is not submitting anything. She will do an alumni interview once her application is received.
The truth is, she hates feeling like she’s competing with him or that his decision to do ED will hurt her chances. She is hoping for the best and that they both get in, and she loves the idea of that because they’ve only gotten to know each other this year and she sees it as an opportunity to become even closer with him. I keep telling her that either Vassar is going to want her or not, and it won’t be dependent on whether they want her friend. Also, that there’s no reason why they wouldn’t accept two students from the same school if they thought both students were qualified. It’s not like there are 25 students from her school applying there. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the only two. So am I lying to my daughter? I hope not! Does anyone know anything about colleges comparing students from the same high school? Is it true that, if they would accept her if she was the solitary applicant from her HS, it won’t change anything if there’s another qualified applicant from the same school, even with higher grades and scores?
Ugh, I hate this sort of thing. It feels so awful and cutthroat and not how I like to be.
Of course I can’t control it, and of course I’m dealing with my own kid’s application. I was just wondering if anyone had any insight into how colleges might view two applicants from the same school and if they actually compare them to each other any more than they do to any other applicant.
Colleges look at ALL applicants. You can’t control that. You don’t know what the college might see in your kid’s application that is not in the other student’s application…or not.
You also need to understand the whole ED pool is looked at…not just the kids from your kid’s HS.
I really think this is something that is an issue that needs to be put aside by you and your kiddo. Her application will be reviewed for what it contains.
Yes, I know, @thumper1 you’re probably right! It’s helpful to hear that. It’s hard not to worry about things like this as they come up. I wish this whole process was very different!
Unless your D’s HS has seriously struggled to place more than one student to Vassar and comparable LACs historically, a second individual from her HS applying isn’t really a factor.
How many students on average get admitted to Vassar and peer colleges each year from your D’s HS going back a couple of years?
Your D will be evaluated separately from her friend. His application status will have no bearing on your daughter’s. Period. End of story. Male and female applicants at LACs are in separate pools. Now Vassar has a need for more boys, so your D’s friend will have an advantage there. But if your D gets deferred at ED and the friend gets in, it is not as if he took her spot. If she doesn’t get in ED, it is solely because they didn’t think her app was strong enough in the female pool.
What you need to stop doing is comparing. I get the feeling from your post, that because your D has done all the right things in expressing interest and her friend may have not, that you think she is more deserving. You just can’t go down that road. It will eat you up. And you really don’t know the ins and outs of this kids application package. Concentrate on your D and help her put forward her best . Forget about the other kid, but if you can’t forget about him, wish him well
I agree with others that your daughter will be evaluated on her own merits and she isn’t competing head to head with her male classmate.
That said, two points:
Her male classmate faces a lower hurdle. According to the last CDS, the admit rate for males was 35% vs. 21% for females. (see C1 on the linked CDS.)
Vassar doesn’t not take “demonstrated interest” into consideration so stuff like visits, attending a class, etc, while helpful in ensuring the college is a good fit for an ED application, will have little to no impact on her application. (see C7 in CDS)
I don’t know about Vassar’s admissions decisions, but was in a similar situation when my S was applying to college. He and his best friend both decided independently to apply ED to the same very small, geographically distant top LAC. I was very concerned this small school would not accept two students from the same HS.
Would both be accepted? Would both be rejected? At the time I told my S that he needed to be happy for his friend if he got in and my S didn’t. And if my S got in and his friend didn’t, not to gloat. While this was my S’s first choice, there were other schools he would have been happy to attend.
I personally felt it was unlikely both would be accepted, and thought my S’s friend would probably be picked over my S. He had higher test scores (commended), and a couple of national titles in his EC. My S had a higher GPA, more ECs and more leadership positions.
Long story short, my S got in ED and his friend was deferred, then rejected. I have no way of knowing if his friend had applied ED and my S had not applied whether his outcome would have been the same.
My S was the only person from our state in his class.
Both graduated from college in May. Friend ended up attending a school my S had on his list if he didn’t get in to his ED school and had a fabulous college experience. S loved his school as well.
@doschicos Yes, I’ve seen that on the CDS. But there is a part of me that wonders, when a college like Vassar is choosing among many qualified students and they are trying to determine “fit” and build a class, if knowing that the student did a lot to learn about the school herself/himself and concluded that it was the best place for her/him has at least some impact on their consideration. Just like I know Vassar’s alumni interviews aren’t evaluative, yet the alumni provide a report to the school after interviewing students.
I could envision where that might come into play, maybe a tad for schools that say they don’t weigh it, for the RD round. For ED round, however, the fact that a student is applying ED sends the best signal there is that the student feels it is the right spot for them.
The CDS says interviews are considered.
It is what it is. No sense in getting stressed out, although I know that is easier said than done. I do believe that things work out the way they should. One of my kids got in ED, one didn’t. The one who didn’t wound up at a school which my child and I see to be a much, much better fit.
Yes, good point about ED. And the truth is, if Vassar doesn’t accept her but she gets into her second or third choice, she’ll still be over the moon. ;
My S and one of his best friends applied to oberlin ED, both were admitted. We’ve had years where middlebury has taken multiples from our school. I’d guess if your D is applying to vassar, she’s going to end up at a great school.
My D is in the same situation with cornell CALS. Her stats are good for the school, we’ve told her (and we believe) that if they don’t take her, it’s for the best, because the reject is all about fit. As other have said, focus your d on putting together a great application, everything else will take care of itself.
She will get in - or not - regardless of her classmate. I know it often doesn’t feel like this, but particularly in this case, when both candidates are so different, they are not competing against each other. Hopefully, they’ll both get good news in December. (And your credibility will be restored!)
I always thought it did make a difference when more than one kid applied from the same school. At least in a small school in the Northeast. When my son was applying, one of his good friends really wanted to go to a school that was #4 on my son’s own list, so my son didn’t apply there so as to avoid interfering with his friend’s chances. Maybe that was misguided. We are lucky in that our school at the time was low stress about these things, and kids did not know each other’s GPA’s or scores- or, in some cases, even their own GPA. Things have changed now, unfortunately.
If Vassar is your daughter’s first choice, and she has her heart set on it, I think during the coming months you might prepare her for not getting in and also help her continue to develop a friendship rather than seeing the other young person as a rival. This is the kind of thing we parents really can affect over time, despite the culture of a high school in regards to admissions. And help your daughter grow enthusiasm for some other schools so that she will be happy no matter what, and to lessen the feeling of competing with a friend.
@compmom I know the other student’s stats because they are good friends. She doesn’t really see him as a rival, and is mostly excited at the possibility of being able to attend Vassar together. But yes, she is already prepared for the possibility of not getting in and has other schools on her list where she knows she would be super happy!
I was going by what you wrote: “The truth is, she hates feeling like she’s competing with him or that his decision to do ED will hurt her chances.” This sounds like viewing the other student as a rival. Perhaps you did not intend that.
I wish schools would tell kids not to tell each other their GPA’s and scores.
Glad she is prepared for all possibilities. Good luck!
I do believe colleges do not like to admit too many students from a school, region, country…because they want diversity. It is why a student from Montana, all else being equal, would have a better chance of getting to a highly competitive school than a student from NJ/NY or any of states from the NE.
That being said, in this case there are only 2 students from this school applying ED, and they are male and female. I don’t think they would be competing for the same spot.
On the other hand, the application is in, there is no point in sweating it now other than to tell your daughter to get her other applications ready before the ED decision comes out.
Good luck.
I’m not sure acceptance trends from any one HS matter as much as you may think. In the last five years, only three people have been accepted to Vassar from my son’s HS and all three were class of 2015. I don’t know what Vassar’s “formula” is, or if they even have one/some, but at least from my limited vantage point, number of applicants from one school isn’t a predictor.
