<p>I know that the official stance of Harvard is that there are no limits set for how many students can be admitted from one school, but my guidance counselor has said something's that makes me think she believes otherwise.
Any information or thoughts?</p>
<p>“Are there quotas for admitted students in my HS? Am I competing against my peers?”</p>
<p>This is an often-asked question and I answer it the same: NO.</p>
<p>To assume that selective colleges have quotas (either min or max) at your school assumes they are setting aside slots for some other school (to make someone happy) or setting aside slots FOR your school( to make someone happy). The top schools are under no pressure to please anyone at your HS so therefore feel the complete freedom to admit as many as they want or as few as they want for years on end. The individual applicant is what matters most and the schools will admit solely to meet their own goals – not some perceived reputation at your school.</p>
<p>Plus students are not admitted in one mass pool. If one year your school has the nation’s top 2 water polo players but also 2 science prodigies – top school X may well admit four. The very next year, only two science prodigies apply – guess what? Only 2 get offers of admission.</p>
<p>Okay, I was wondering because naviance showed that for the past eight or so years 3-15 people applied annually, while one person has gotten in each year. I didn’t think that spots were set aside, just that they wouldn’t want more than one student per year from my suburban, dull, mid sized public school</p>
<p>one school in my county had 5 people accepted so i doubt they have quotas</p>
<p>Let’s put it this way: I came from a small, rural high school. We hadn’t sent anyone to Harvard in 25+ years (likely because almost no one had applied). I applied with a friend, and was sure that when I got in he had been rejected… nope, he was in too. Two from my small,small town (we’re talking three stoplights small) in my year, three from Australia. Same thing happened with the two of us at Yale. There really aren’t any quotas.</p>
<p>“Am I competing against my peers?”</p>
<p>YES, you are competing against your peers! At my son and daughter’s high school, with a graduating class of about 900 students, routinely 150 to 200 of the very top students apply to Harvard every year. Even if Harvard loved every single student who applied, it’s just not possible for them to admit so many students from one school, so Harvard picks and chooses who they want to admit. Although your application is considered in the context of your high school, to be successful, your application must rise to the top – it must stand out against your peers. So, in a very real sense, your peers are indeed your competition!</p>
<p>It is quite clear all top schools want to cover all 50 states, so there might be a slight advantage if you are from South Dakota over an applicant from CA, so to speak.</p>