Are High School Students from More Populated States Given More Opportunity?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>Just a question I think would be interesting to discuss...</p>

<p>Reading through acceptance threads in some of the forums for the more difficult schools to get into, I see a lot of students from states like California, Texas, and Massachussetts that have had a lot of opportunities for research, working on nationally renowned high school publications, getting involved in a lot of interesting competitions, etc.</p>

<p>As a "country hick" from a city of 300,000 in Southern Colorado, I've never even imagined possibilities like these. I feel like I live in a bubble, completely oblivious to these types of opportunities. Or perhaps, these opportunities just haven't had a way of getting to us down here in the Rocky Mountains yet... I just feel "behind" in the grand scheme of things. Entering high school in ninth grade, I thought that all A's and nice standardized test scores would land me at Harvard or Yale.</p>

<p>Haha. Cute, right?</p>

<p>And now that I've spent hours having my mind completely opened, bitten into, chewed, digested, and plunked out on the other end, I still have parents come to me, congratulating me on my high ACT score and saying I'll get into, quote, "whatever school you want!!!" And to them, I have to say that that isn't the case.</p>

<p>Yet when I think about some of the amazing accomplishments of all you academians on this board, my question is: did you all have to endeavour on a major scavenger hunt to find these opportunities? Or did you begin hearing about these opportunities early on from peers, able to get involved at young ages?</p>

<p>I had heard about none of these activities (math competitions like the AMC, RSI, TASP, doing research, getting internships, etc.) until I discovered CollegeConfidential, but I feel like schools in California, Texas, Mass., New York, etc. have a much better grasp on these sorts of opportunities. Indeed, the only other person who had heard of AMC at my school when I asked around was an academic all-star whose family had come from Texas the year before and who had two brothers and a sister already pass through the admissions game (one at Harvard, one at Stanford, and the third on a National Merit Scholarship at Alabama).</p>

<p>Indeed, I feel so remotely devoid of information on the amazing things high schoolers can get involved with, and I sometimes wonder if everyone has to pick their way through the process like this, or if the information flows a little easier in places where I see a lot of top applicants come from... This is not meant to be a petty complaint (sorry if it comes off that way :/ )... Rather, it is just something I am curious to hear your thoughts on. Any ideas?</p>

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<p>I felt similar going to a small private middle school when I entered high school. Granted, my high school wasn’t all that competitive to get into, but I’ve felt the same way at some points.</p>

<p>More densely populated areas tend to offer more opportunities but at the same time be more competitive. (The talent pool is a larger bell curve, the upper 1% of academicness moves farther and farther right as the curve gets bigger.) It’s a phenomenon that has brought about urban migration for centuries.</p>

<p>With that said, having a more competitive environment certainly helps in terms of being pushed to find opportunities and that extra edge, but all of us CC’ers that have found opportunities like these are still highly and intrinsically motivated students. Even if we heard about opportunities like this from peers, there’s still the other 95% of the class that’s indifferent and doesn’t really care. The initiative and drive doesn’t magically emerge for all students in competitive schools, it’s just pushed more in those that already have it.</p>

<p>I’m not too sure about the perspective on this from ad-coms, since, this is no fault of the applicant applying from a relatively rural area but rather something of geographic demographics (AP HuG links, if you’ve taken it). </p>

<p>But, if you are still in high school and have a chance to start things, you can see this as a whole lot of opportunity for leadership. Start an AMC club/ team, know the people your local college and get a research internship (which is really hard if you live in the middle of LA and the nearest colleges are all prestigious, mind you), start a SciB team, etc.</p>

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<p>As a resident of a fairly rural area (my public school services about seven zip codes), I really feel what you’re saying.although my school participates in a couple national competitions, the students here don’t know what there really is out there. Siemens, Intel talent search, JHU CTY, etc are completely unheard of. In addition to not being aware of the opportunities, we are still at a disadvantage. Stuff like Intel and Siemens requires a mentor; barely anyone within an hour-driving radius qualifies to mentor in such a project.</p>

<p>When I see kids posting stats and awards, I cant help but to think whether these kids could do the same if their school was lacking opportunities. As far as I cam think of, we have had a few kids get into great schools, but for the most part, they were URMs. I feel that if my school was more involved, we would have a better success rate with the ivies etc.</p>

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<p>Well, the more people you have, the more tax dollars you get, the more tax dollars you get, the bigger your educational budget. It’s obviously not THAT simple, but I do believe some states have more opportunities than others. It seems to me that the southern US is lacking behind planes like the northeast and west when it comes to this. I feel like I picture a kid from California having a 34 ACT and going to Yale and a kid from West Virginia having a 17 ACT and going to work at the local coal factory. I think educational funds aren’t prioritized in politics as highly in other states. I do agree though, I see some states always producing high level kids with others producing them sparingly.</p>

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<p>@DraconicSheep: I’m applying to college this year, so there’s not much more I can do to bolster my resume. But I’ve found opportunities… It just took a lot of searching and digging.</p>

<p>@BionicMan: I definitely see that… I see some of these schools in Texas, and they are massive: 3,800 kids… With tons of resources… You can even tell they are nicer simply from their school campuses. Yes… Campuses… My high school is a building…</p>

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<p>Well yes because they receive more funding by more participation </p>

<p>Sent from my Desire HD using CC</p>

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<p>I feel the same way. I live in a state ranked near-to-last in state rankings in terms of education. My city is the capital, but has even less opportunities than those that can be found in other areas of my state. My school is no better. In terms of education, my school is mediocre and not worth the 7k+ price I pay to attend. I had to search everywhere for internships, and when I finally found one at a hospital, I was rejected for my age (I met the grade requirement because I’m an upcoming junior, but they didn’t want me because I skipped a grade and was deemed too young). Since I didn’t even learn about APs/SATs/USABO/research/etcetc until this year, I was basically out of luck. I can’t really get a research internship if I have no prior knowledge or experience either… </p>

<p>So yeah. I’m facing the same problem as you. In 9th grade, I wasn’t aware of ANY opportunities so I didn’t even participate in any ECs (besides golf), and I couldn’t volunteer anywhere because I was too young. Since I don’t have much experience, I’m at a disadvantage whenever I apply somewhere. (in terms of internships of course)</p>

<p>I still think you have a chance though. Just work really hard on making use of what you have. I know some people in my area who have gone to ivies/MIT/Stanford/etc because they meet the academic benchmark and make the most out of the resources they do have (then again, they live in a rich county with plenty of possibilities for paid science-related internships…)</p>

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<p>don’t worry, I had the same idea when I 1st went into HS. :slight_smile: when I was little, my parents told me that if I got an “A” on a special college test (i.e. the SAT), I could go to the most amazing college for free! ahaha I wish </p>

<p>as someone who lives in suburban NJ, I had to scavenge for the opportunities. I didn’t know they existed until I came on CC either, but once I found out I decided to look for some, and I’ve discovered some things I really enjoy now :slight_smile: there are some kids around here who sort of have opportunities “given” to them. Their parents had them entering piano competitions or playing sports since they were kids, it’s easier IMO to start a charity project in an area like this. but those are usually (but not always) the type of kids who are doing what they’re doing just to impress college, and who don’t really care about what they’re doing.</p>

<p>just my 2 cents</p>

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<p>As someone who lives in a small (25k) town in California, I feel that I get screwed both ways. There aren’t any big opportunities in the area. But since I’m in california things like National merit, senate pages, etc are so much more competitive.</p>

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<p>I agree with DraconicSheep – I live in an urban area and the competition is insane at the top of the class in the local high schools. But I also did a ton of research on my own to find some of the opportunities I found. Then other people hear about them, and their parents tell other parents, and so on. So more people do end up knowing about the opportunities, but there are also tons more people per square mile trying to stand out. I think it’s probably a wash – I think you might have an advantage in being from a small, rural area in some ways, but in other ways, the urban areas can offer more in-person opportunities. Keep in mind, though, that lots of these math, science, writing, etc awards and opportunities are things you can find and do online.</p>

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<p>@Sewire </p>

<p>Yes. Campuses haha. We have a building. Thats it. We’re getting a new school though. It took around $43 million to build. Hopefully we start getting some more resources along with that. </p>

<p>I think another reason for the lack of opportunities may be the level of education for people in the area. I think if your area is full of people with advanced degrees and have high level jobs, then you will be more propelled to pursue a higher level of education and the same for people in rural areas, such as mine, where a college education isn’t common and everybody works at the oil refinery and steel mill. That just makes sense to me.</p>

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<p>It’s not a populous state vs. rural state thing so much as an urban vs. rural thing.</p>

<p>All states have colleges where students can pursue research. All have law offices and businesspeople and vet clinics and whatever else you could want to intern at to your heart’s content. But these things are generally in urban areas. There are most definitely more opportunities in Denver than in rural CA, TX, or NJ (is there a such thing as rural NJ? lol).</p>

<p>As far as summer programs, etc. I did not learn of TASP, RSI, etc. until I found CC. Next to one at my school in CA knows about these things. </p>

<p>Living in a rural area doesn’t mean you can’t get into the same schools, admissions officers look for making the most of what you are given, not at what you began with.</p>

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<p>@alwaysleah</p>

<p>Maybe it is just a stereotype.</p>

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<p>Maybe what is a stereotype…?</p>

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<p>That people from the larger states are given more opportunity. I agree with your post. I just think the company you are surrounded by may give you an edge.</p>

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<p>I agree that the company that surrounds gives you more of an edge. But I don’t think populous vs. nonpopulous state is related to that. You could be at an expensive prep school in Cheyenne, WY and have plenty of opportunities or at a horrible school in rural CA.</p>

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<p>That is very true. I think from a state wide view, not an individual region or area of a state, the more populous and the more wealthy states do have more opportunities, but as you said, you can make your own opportunities as well.</p>

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<p>I live in a pretty big state, but we have next to no opportunities where I am… my school is pretty much broke. I live in a pretty suburban area.</p>

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<p>There are plenty of benefits in coming from a lowly populated state. Colleges want geographic diversity, so you can get a pretty sizable boost depending on your state. Also, local competitions are a lot easier to win, and it’s not as hard to rise to the top.</p>

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<p>@run</p>

<p>I can attest to your point about geographic diversity. Ive had admissions officers tell me that I have a better chance of gaining admission to top colleges due to where I’m from. We’ve also, as a school, won a handful of science competitions lately and we aren’t ivy leaguers by any stretch.</p>