@MandarinSin - You are remarkably well-informed for an “uninformed highschooler”!
Wyoming is considered the classic “hook state” due to its small population and a relatively small percentage of qualified students. Google “class 2018 all 50 states” to see how many colleges considered this important enough to mention. If you figure that HYPSM have to accept at least two students from a state to be relatively confident of landing one, and other colleges need to attract three or more, if you are near the top of the heap in Wyoming, you’re going to have better odds than similar students in other states.