Just out of curiosity and in the hopes of having an interesting discussion, does one’s geographical location within the United States affect one’s “desirability” as an applicant for a high-tier college? For example, would universities prefer an equally well-rounded applicant from New York City or a small rural town in Mississippi? I would assume the latter for the sake of diversity, but I would love your input!
I was surprised to learn that the admissions rate for my alumni area, which is unrepresented and I’d have guessed would get an admissions tip, approximates my school’s overall admissions rate.
Other areas and schools may vary, of course.
Also, all else is never equal.
Most of these elite schools do try to build a diverse incoming class. Potential factors include ethnicity, first generation students, public/private high school, etc.
State Residency in particular is a minor factor for some schools and not considered at others. You can find out which by viewing the Common Data Set for each school and seeing the weight they put on it.
For example, it is not considered at GWU (http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1537) but is considered at Georgetown (http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg02_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1182).
Good luck!
State diversity is a pretty minor factor though all the elite unis like to say that all 50 states are represented.
A bigger factor is that Harvard, Penn, Duke, UChicago, Northwestern, WashU, and maybe Cornell and Stanford (among others) seem to have or definitely have a home city/metro/state/region bias.
I’d say an applicant from N or S Dakota, for example, has a slightly better shot given the same stats as someone from a more populated state.
“would universities prefer an equally well-rounded applicant”
Not being well-rounded probably provides a stronger nudge.