<p>I apologize if this has been addressed before; just point me to the thread. I haven't seen anything about it, though. </p>
<p>I want to know how one's chances at a particular school are affected by contenders from the same high school. I mean, schools must be conscious of the message that they send out by accepting one particular student over another, right? And infinitely more so when the two people are in close contact with one another? </p>
<p>I recently found out that four or five of my overachiever friends will be applying to MIT next year alongside me. I joked with a few of them, like, "You. Me. One spot. YOU'RE ON," but then I started thinking: eek, that's probably pretty accurate!</p>
<p>I'd already been worrying nonstop about the ridiculously qualified students nationwide against whom I'll be competing, but I'd finally convinced myself that hey, it's worth a shot anyways; it's a crapshoot no matter what. But now that I'm competing against these nationally-ranked mathletes, debaters, etc., FROM MY OWN SCHOOL, I've gotten to thinking: what are the chances that they'll accept any more than two of us? </p>
<p>Schools won't accept too many people from one school, right? And, with that established, they'll no doubt pay attention to WHICH of us they accept. Are there certain things that they try to avoid when selecting one student over another from one particular school? Eek! Can anyone shed any light on this?</p>
<p>I worried about that regarding Penn. My school generally gets only around 1 person max into Penn, and 20 apply. I applied early partially because I didn't want to compete againt everyone RD round. But then I saw some schools that had up to 9 people get in from ONE school, so I think it just depends on the reputation of your school...</p>
<p>Ohh, you're right. Well, personally I go to a random, medium-sized public school that sends a few students per year to Ivy Leagues. (But when I visited the MIT admissions office, the guy working there said that he'd heard of my school! :D That was pretty cool.)</p>
<p>LOL... that's the bright side of going to a medium-sized underfunded school without windows... I mean there are many smart people, but I don't think many, if any, other than myself intend to apply to MIT</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry a whole lot (what good will worrying about it do?); if you are an MIT caliber student, you'll have a very good chance of getting in</p>
<p>The thing is, I may be an MIT-caliber student -- but if I am, so are these other kids; and for whatever small chance I have, they have a slightly larger one. Sighhh.</p>
<p>Thanks, though. My parents are like "shhh, you're competing against these kids no matter what; what difference does it make if they come from the same school as you?"... but I'm not sure. Sigh.</p>
<p>I just received a mailing for parents from Duke today. Duke specifically addresses this question: NO, it doesn't matter how many other students apply from your high school, Duke will admit all the students it wants to admit.</p>
<p>Of course Duke is going to say that. They want more applicants.</p>
<p>Unless multiple candidates can truly warrant an acceptance from one particular high school, it doesn't make sense for diversity to accept more than one. They want geographical diversity. Your odds are increasingly against you as more kids from your HS apply.</p>
<p>Don't worry about who's applying from YOUR school...worry about all the other 1,000's from other schools! If everyone from your school is great (not just grades, but essays, etc.) it should not matter unless 20% of your school is applying. Applications are read in comparison to all others. Only at the END of the process where there is debate among many who could be admits or not, would school affiliation be a consideration.</p>
<p>nretni wrote: "Unless multiple candidates can truly warrant an acceptance from one particular high school, it doesn't make sense for diversity to accept more than one. They want geographical diversity. Your odds are increasingly against you as more kids from your HS apply."</p>
<p>Well that's the issue isn't it? Schools will offer admits to those that they decide merit it. My local HS got 4 admits to Yale last year -- I think there were 6 apps. This is a HUGE statistical anomaly given the tiny overall admit rate. In prior years there'd be anywhere btn 0-2. </p>
<p>Schools may want regional diversity so applicants are in the same "pool" as everyone else in their region. Native NJ is right.</p>
<p>Poseur, you don't need to worry for MIT. It's one of the more statistically focused schools--what it wants is raw scores, not only on SATs but also on highly ranked math competitions- and doesn't worry as much about diversity & extracurricular interests. I don't think it'll matter how many students are applying from your school :)</p>