It’s likely a plus, but there are a couple small risks. One is that an AO might evaluate the patent claim on the merits; for example, existence of “prior art” will cause a patent application to be denied. Another risk is that many in academia take a dim view of IP laws apart from copyright, and may turn up their noses for that reason. But if your daughter has invented something that she wants to patent, by all means proceed, but consider it separate from the college application. You will need a patent attorney and it can be an expensive and time consuming process.