I found someone from my school is also applying to the College of Engineering at Cornell, and his profile looks more competitive than mine(higher class rank, slightly weaker course load but he took AP Physics C + AP Calc BC, comparable if not better ec’s). Should I be worried and expect a rejection from Cornell Engineering? If two students from the same school apply to the same college, will it lower the chances of the less competitive student?
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Your application will be reviewed as YOUR application, not in comparison to other applicants from your high school.
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I would suggest you stop talking to others about where you are applying to college.
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- Cornell does not have a min/max/quota per HS. They may select one, or both, or neither.
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The reason that colleges with low acceptance rates often seem to be choosing only one student from a college is that it is a numbers game. If a college is, realistically, accepting 2% of all unhooked applications, and there are 20-30 applicants from a high school, that comes out to one or two admissions.
While the high school does affect admission rates, it is because the high school is the context for the academics and letters of recommendation, not the number of applicants. So the high school will affect the chances of all the applicants equally, and will not change, no matter how many apply from that particular high school.
My high school is pressure cooker competitive, and I am surrounded by people who kept talking about where they are applying early.
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That tends to make life more difficult, I know. Your best strategy is, as difficult as it may seem, to step away, and ignore that. My kid’s high school wasn’t as bad, and the school itself (as well as the parents) worked to keep that from happening. However, among some of my kid’s friends it was happening. My kid simply refused to play that game.
Indeed it is a game, and a stupid game at that. There is no prize for getting the “best” admission, or getting the largest number of admissions to “elite” colleges. When you start your freshman year at college, nobody cares, or even wants to know, how many colleges accepted you, or whether you were accepted to better colleges than your friends.
The point is for you to find the RIGHT colleges for you.
You are not a supplicant, reaching out to “elite” colleges, trying to convince them that you are good enough. Therefore, getting more acceptance or acceptances to “more elite” colleges is not an indication of how good you are.
You are trying to find a college which will fit you, and which you will fit. You are a high school Senior (I guess) and you do not actually know which of these colleges is the best place for you. Cornell may be a great place for you, and it may be a terrible place for you.
Find a good selection of colleges with different acceptance rates where you feel that you will do well. Make sure than one is a safety.
Also, in general, the vast majority of highly qualified applicants to Cornell Engineering are not accepted. So you should expect a rejection from Cornell, and so should the other applicants. That is just how admissions work, when there are 20 qualified applicants for every place at a college.
Again, set up a good list of colleges, which has at least one safety which you would be happy to attend, and ignore the stupid, useless, and juvenile games of “I got into a better college than YOU”.
Good luck. You’ve done very well in high school, and should be proud of yourself, regardless of where you end up.
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I’m a broken record on this site for saying this, but you should read “Who Gets In And Why” by Jeffrey Selingo. It does a great job of explaining how admissions officers actually apply the holistic admissions process, and it does so with actual examples from the three schools he followed for a season (Davidson, Emory, and the University of Washington). It’s a fascinating look behind the curtain and will probably relieve some of your anxiety.
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Try and block it out. Also, for what it is worth, 5 kids went to Cornell from our HS (in MA) last year so it isn’t as if there is some kind of quota. If you aren’t accepted, it won’t be because another student from your school also applied.
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What’s the worst thing that could happen? You don’t get in, right. Or is it that you don’t get in and your classmate does?
I am sure you have a plan B for both scenarios above. Having a plan of action always alleviates stress and anxiety.
I agree with many of the above comments. Focus on what you can control, forget about the rest, have a balanced college list, and don’t engage in college talk with your friends/peers. Maybe that other student who said they are applying ED to Cornell Engineering really has no intention of applying there, no one knows but that person.
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It isn’t worth your time or energy to stress about something you cannot change.
Agree with the above.
If all else fails, outwork the other kid in your school. Make contact with the AD in your area. Ask them questions…see if they are going to be in the area for recruiting. Make your name the one from your school that he/she knows when reading apps…and can maybe even put a face to the name.
Respectfully disagree with some of the advice. Admissions officers are swamped and are not looking for unnecessary contact with applicants. In face excessive contact for no meaningful reason can become a turn off.
It is fine to ask an AO a question only if it is important (which may be difficult to come up with since the OP already decided to apply ED) AND you cannot find the answer anywhere on the website/internet.
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So as an administrator on a board designed for students and parents to get advice about possibly the most stress a student has ever experienced…your suggestion is “don’t worry”?
I’m not suggesting stalking, but some appropriate, intelligent interaction can’t possibly hurt.
You seem to be objecting to something that wasn’t said.
“unnecessary contact with applicants…excessive contact for no meaningful reason” isn’t “appropriate, intelligent interaction”
“I’m not suggesting stalking” seems to be in agreement.
Fwiw, I agree to “not worry” that another student in the same school is applying.
You are suggesting OP should worry about something they can do nothing about?
She’s not an administrator (nor am I) and what she said was:
I will also point out that Cornell does not make public the email addresses for its AO’s. While there are email addresses by region, my guess is that any email asking “Are you coming to my school” is answered by support staff. Certainly ask questions that need answering (and can’t be answered elsewhere), but with 67K applications, it’s unlikely one email will stand out come reading time. Multiple emails may stand out, but not in a good way. 
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Apologies if I misunderstood your post. Agree that one “appropriate intelligent interaction” would not be a problem (and could be a positive in some circumstances). Unfortunately a few applicants (and at times even parents of applicants) do take the notion of interacting with an AO to an extreme to where it can become a detriment. In general, I think we are in agreement.
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I am not an administrator for this board. I am a volunteer moderator.
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I do stand by my comment that one should not worry about things one can’t change. The OP has completed an ED application to Cornell – at this point he/she can’t change his/her academic/EC record or control who else from his/her HS applies to that college. This does not negate the idea that waiting for admissions decisions is an incredibly stressful period for applicants. I’d suggest focusing on family, friends, finishing other applications etc.
Wishing the applicant all the best.
When my daughter went through the process a couple of years ago we found that she got into schools that some higher ranked students from her class did not. You just need to submit your best application and then it’s out of your hands. You can’t know what the AO’s are looking for and whose application might stand out and why.
I also HIGHLY recommend you try not to engage in talk about where you’re applying. Yeah, it’s great when your classmates know it’s Ivy Day and you are waiting for decisions when things go your way…but it’s awful when things don’t go your way and everyone is waiting for you to tell them how it went. It’s best to surprise people with your awesome admissions results.
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I think your hypothetical would come out to one acceptance every few years on average, but this isn’t to say that Cornell won’t take 2 or more kids from a high school in any particular year, especially if it is a competitive high school.
Also, it might be worth considering that if it is an extremely competitive high school with a large number of applicants with hooks then there may be practical limitations as to how many unhooked students a school like Cornell would be able to admit to a single class. But we’d need much more information to know if this was such a situation.
So my son’s school was competitive also. You attempt to do your best. Also just assume your not getting into Cornell or any low acceptance rate school but apply if your qualified and have some reaches for sure.
On the Ivy decision day, most kids are disappointed but… Your all disappointed together… That’s the key. To the ones that get in Congratulate them if your friends with them or hear something in passing and that goes for any student accepted anywhere not just the Ivys. Your common experience is your school. If someone got into Princeton, or Cornell or some local school down the block that awesome for them and they came from your school, which is cool.
So if someone says I applied to the same school you did tell them good luck and you hope they get it. You would want that in return… There is nothing wrong with being supportive. Everything else is just noise. Being humble is cool.
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