I go to a competitive magnet high school, which would normally hurt me in admissions as everybody here is very smart
We have a spreadsheet showing the colleges everybody has applied to since 2021, their (anonymous) stats, and whether they were admitted or denied.
One of the colleges I was looking at, Belmont University, does not appear at all on this list. I donāt know of anyone here who went. So, Iām pretty sure it doesnāt get a whole lot, if any, applicants from my high school.
What I was wondering about wasnāt if this would boost my chances of getting in, as it has a ~90% acceptance rate, but I was wondering if it would put me in better standing for merit scholarships if 1) they see I come from an academically rigorous, āprestigiousā (as prestigious as a public high school can beā¦) school, and 2) Iām not competing with anyone else from here, as I would be with some other colleges.
I know of course this stuff mostly depends on my stats and ECs themselves, but I was wondering if the context would help. Since Belmont is a very expensive school and they seem to be generous with merit aid.
Belmont is not a hard in as you note. Their acceptance rate is higher than 90%. It is a religious school - so make sure you understand that.
Looking at who has applied, who gets in and more from a school is silly.
If you want to apply somewhere, apply.
I donāt care who has applied or not applied and who has gotten in or hasnāt.
If you donāt apply, youāre not getting in.
Your question may be fair for some schools but when you have one that lets in just about everyoneā¦.wellā¦you have to be a C or below student to not get in anyway.
I didnāt say it was. My current high school has a low acceptance rate.
My question was about scholarships. For many colleges that lots of people from my school apply to, itās harder to get merit aid because I go to a competitive school.
Just in case you have not looked- above is the link for merit aid information.
This is what stands out:
āGPA, essay, co-curricular activities and test score (if submitted)ā
āAdmitted first-year students with academic credentials that meet or exceed the Universityās first-year student class profile are considered competitive candidates for these awards. The first-year class entering fall 2025 had an average ACT composite score of 25 or SAT score of 1225, with a cumulative high school grade point average of 3.7 on a four-point scale.ā
Do you meet the minimum above? If so- you most likely will get some merit. Perhaps if they take a holistic view- then the fact that no one has attended from your school could intrigue them to offer a little more just to entice you- but I would not hold my breath on that. There may be a reason no one from your school attends here?! (fit may not be good?)
To answer you questionā¦.I donāt think being the only applicant from your HS will provide a meaningful boost in terms of admission/merit aid. There are over 30,000 high schools in the country and there is no pressing need to have any one particular high school represented at a given college. A decision will be made based on your merits.
If Belmont is a good fit and appears affordable, go for it!
nobodyās applied, either, so I think itās about individual fit rather than thereās something about this HS and that college that donāt match. At first I thought it was the high acceptance rate, but a good chunk of people here go to Mary Washington, which I know also has a very high acceptance rate (and isnāt a good fit for me, lol)
Yes. Just wondering if the school profile would boost itāa 4.1 W from a rigorous school isnāt the same as a lower ranked one. But thank you for the info
I should have specified this in the question, but I mean relative to if I was competing with people from my school.
hmmmmm - Iām not buying itās harder to get merit because you go to a competitive school.
It depends on where.
Many donāt have merit - just need.
Others have auto merit - they donāt care where you go - they care about your stats.
Others, like Belmont, have to use merit or few would go - they canāt afford to charge top $. Belmont is $60K and 87% get aid of some sort. The average merit there is a bit short of $10K.
Iām not buying your rationale.
Many may or may not get scholarships at schools for varying reasons - but itās not because of where you go.
If you want to go to a school, it has the possibility of being affordable, then apply. Let them tell you no.
Make sure, of course, you have one assured entry (like Belmont) that is assured affordable (run the NPC to see).
But put it this way, most colleges need you and your $$ a lot more than you need them.
Less then 1:5 that Belmont wants - wants them back. And many of those they get - they are paying to get themā¦.or relying on the reputation of their music programs.
ahhhh - thatās different - if you are talking about publics.
Not sure your state - but an in-state school already costs less than for out of state students.
Schools have more in-state competition but they also like the out of state $$ these students bring.
But it is a competitive marketplace - so if school A is $50K a year out of state and school B is $60K per year, well school B might throw a carrot to get that student to comeā¦.because they want that $50K.
The instate cost might be $30K vs. $60K - so the merit is going to be less - because the price is less.
You might find this episode below of Your College Bound Kid interesting. Itās an interview with a dean of admissions at Connecticut College. Yes, more competitive than Belmont. However, he describes how they think about admitting students from schools that donāt normally send many students. My take away is that it can be somewhat hard to predict how the school will act. If they think youāre not coming, then in theory they may not even accept you. Belmont may not be that aggressive. But then thereās also the question of what would it take (how much of a scholarship) for Belmont to yield you if they accept you. Seems thereās some behind the scenes math that takes place for that.
This is a long way of saying that I think you may struggle to predict how much scholarship youāll get until they tell you.
What I have experienced is compatible with what I have heard from others: University admissions is very good at adjusting for the rigor and grade scale used in different high schools. As such what high school you are coming from really is not going to make much difference for university admissions. I can give you two examples, but I have seen more.
One example: I came from a high school where no one in the entire high school had straight Aās, or even anything remotely close to straight Aās. There was only one student in the entire high school who had an overall average of 90 or better. The number 2 student in the high school graduated with an 89.9 average (which is sort of easy to remember since he missed ā90ā by the smallest possible margin). This did not hurt us in university admissions. Two students went to MIT. One went to a top school in Switzerland (possibly EPFL Lausanne). Several others went to McGill. If we have gotten the same grades at a normal high school in the US, we would not have gotten into these schools. However, admissions adjusted our high school results based on the grade scale used in the high school that we attended.
Similarly as a freshman at MIT I met a lot of students who were either number 1 or number 2 in their high school. I met one freshman who had only been number 7 in their high school. However, they had attended a famous high school that is known for math and science and academic rigor. MIT admissions interpreted their high school results based on the high school that they came from. Being 7th in a normal high school would not have gotten him into MIT. However, if he had attended a normal high school he probably would have been ranked higher than 7th, and likely still would have gotten into MIT.
I do not think that coming from a highly competitive magnet high school is going to make much difference one way or another in terms of helping or hurting your admissions to university. However, it might have two effects. You might be surrounded by students who expect to to attend famous universities. Ignore them. Look for a school that is a good fit for you. Also, your grades might not look quite as high as they would have been if you had attended a more average high school. Do not worry about it. University admissions will adjust for this.
For admissions to highly ranked or famous schools you will be competing with thousands of applicants from all over the US, and all over the world. Any competition from your particular high school will not matter much. For consideration for merit financial aid again you will again be competing with lots of students who are coming from all over the place. There are lots of colleges and universities and you should be able to find something appropriate for you.
I do not think that you should care about how many applicants from your high school apply to any particular college or university. Instead, look for colleges and universities that will be a good fit for you and that are likely to be affordable for you given whatever budget you and your family can afford.
I didnāt say it was. My current high school has a low acceptance rate.