Hey everyone, sorry if this is in the wrong place, I’m pretty new here. I’ve had this question bouncing around my head for a while now, and I figured people on here may be able to offer some clarity.
So I’m a junior and one of my close friends is a senior. This year she got into a very prestigious school (Ivy League) which also happens to be my dream school. When she got in, everyone was cheering me on too because I have a lot of the exact same stats as her (NOTABLY extracurriculars – we share two of the same VERY UNIQUE leadership activities which she wrote her essays on and we’re pretty sure it greatly helped her get in).
Trying to keep this vague, but I have significantly expanded this leadership activity since she got in so I would have quite a different application. And of course, there’s also tons of other aspects of the app that come into consideration, so I’m not trying to pigeonhole myself in or imply that I will/will not get in just because of this.
My concern, really, was sparked by a talk I had with another friend. He said that I should be careful applying to that school next year because they might see me as too similar to her (again, two very niche extracurriculars that I think only we share).
So I’m not really sure where he got that from, but is that a valid concern? As in, do colleges compare you with previous years applicants to avoid bringing in people who are too similar? Should I take that into account when applying (I’m planning on doing early decision)?
With the whole quarantine lockdown, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this and I would love some other opinions. I know nobody knows for certain how Ivies process applications, but any insight is helpful. Hope you guys are staying healthy!