Similar Application to a Classmate -- What Are My Chances?

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!

Short answer: No, they don’t care about similar applicants in the same school across different years.

Longer answer: Yes, they do care about similar applicants if they’re in the same graduating class. Harvard isn’t going to take two pretty similar applicants from your school if they’re both pretty much the same in terms of ECs, grades, whatnot. They might take you both if you guys both cured cancer and both travelled the world to distribute this cure, but otherwise, these selective universities want unique, accomplished kids with a great narrative.

However, you might not even have a chance at these schools. You haven’t included GPA or SAT or anything…

No they won’t care. For feeder schools, they try to keep the same number acceptances per year. But they won’t go back and compare you to your friend.