<p>it would be great if you got those numbers hawkette, i'd really like to see them</p>
<p>I think that considering we are talking about enroll numbers rather than admit %, the fact the people stay close to home is being vastly underestimated.</p>
<p>Admit % is what would refer to a bias; and I think that OOS would be at an advantage there. But that is only a guess.</p>
<p>You can analyze the data to death (if you can find it all). However, the original implication of this thread was that Stanford favors in state applicants whereas Harvard does not (based on percentage of in state students). Not taking into account California's huge population and huge applicant pool is a mistake. It seems than most elite schools have home state bias.</p>
<p>Or, their home state applicants have a greater bias towards the local schools.</p>
<p>Harvard and Penn do have a "home city" bias. Preference is given to applicants from Boston and Philly, respectively. (too lazy to dig up a link but I know I've heard those schools discuss it openly.)</p>
<p>All universities, including Harvard, are regional...to an extent. I think the makeup of the applicant pool and, to a lesser extent, the yield rate for any given demographic will be tied to that regional leaning. If you look at the schools with the highest in-state populations, you'll see the three most populous states: Cal, Tex and NY.</p>
<p>many schools have a "home city" bias. </p>
<p>one reason starts with sons/daughters of faculty. The other is to maintain a good city/state/university relationship. </p>
<p>It may be easier for some students go get in based on a home town advantage, but it's tough to say exactly w/o info based on # applied and # admitted ... for all I know Penn may reject more philly natives than those from out of state or out of city. </p>
<p>Even if there is a preference, I'd sooner tell people they'd most likely be rejected for a crapy essay than for a preference to local/regional students.</p>