<p>Is it just me or are rmldad, patriotsfan1, and TopTier’s posts basically in agreement? 
Seems like you guys think you’re saying very different things, but are really saying similar things in my mind. That is, being from a rural area in and of itself doesn’t help unless it’s truly shaped your experience in some way or you have access to limited resources and have overcome that disadvantage. In other words, you are judged in the context of what is available to you (extracurricular, school curriculum, etc.), which certainly could (or could not) be very different from somebody in a more suburban/urban area. </p>
<p>And, yeah, being from Montana/Idaho/North Dakota can definitely help because Duke likes to say it has students from all 50 states. A qualified applicant from a state with almost zero representation is more likely to be admitted than another qualified applicant from a state with many students. (I think only Montana was missing somebody last year…). But that is obviously a different situation and not applicable to somebody from rural Michigan (or the vast majority of applicants).</p>