<p>My understanding is that the admissions folks don’t set a quota per school, so that you don’t have a “better chance than if…10 kids applied.” There might be some advantage to the admissions officers knowing the nature of the high school you’ve attended, particular its level of rigor. My son’s small and highly selective public h.s. in NYC had a ton of students (somewhere between 6 and 10 students) accepted to Chicago last year, and I think that the same pattern continued this year, with multiple acceptances. </p>
<p>This certainly doesn’t mean that it’s an inherent disadvantage to be the first from your high school to apply (as posts #40 and #41 illustrate), especially if your application packet makes it clear that you took the most rigorous course load that was available there.</p>