helping your chances of getting into you dream college

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I was wondering if your high school and location ACTUALLY plays a role in the admissions process. Will you have a better chance of getting into a good college if someone who graduated from your high school went there. I've heard of colleges liking or disliking your high school. Is this true? I did not understand this.</p>

2

<p>States preference? Very much so
Individual high school? Not so much (unless you are one of those feeder schools with a somewhat (un)deserved high rate of acceptance)</p>

3

<p>only geographic location(state) matters. </p>

<p>colleges can backlist your school meaning you wont get in no matter what. this usually happens due to a student breaking an ED agreement</p>

4

<p>I wouldn’t say “very much so” with state preference. Over and above all, your academic record (GPA, SAT scores, extra-curricular activities, letters of recommendation, and essays) are the most important factor in admissions. At the vast majority of schools across the country, if you are qualified on those factors, you will most likely get into the college.</p>

<p>At selective schools that admit far less students than are qualified, then your geographic location and your specific high school MAY play a very small role in your admissions, if you are a “borderline” case, and then this is probably more in the positive direction than the negative. I doubt a school will turn you down simply because you are from New York or from Andover when they have a lot of those students, but a school may allow you in because you are from Wyoming or Montana and they want their student body to represent as many states as possible.</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>I would. A kids from Alaska, SD, ND and a few others has multiples times the chance as a kid from the mid Atlantic, NE in general and CA with identical stats.</p>

6

<p>Do you have any proof or source for this statement, other than anecdotal evidence?</p>

7

<p>yes. its called results thread. theres probably a thread full of kids from those types of states.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/758293-overrepresented-state.html?highlight=Alaska[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/758293-overrepresented-state.html?highlight=Alaska&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>here. regional quota. if two students apply to a competitive school with very low stats compared to most, the higher one would get in. If you look at, lets say ND or BC, most of their underrepresented states have only 1-5 students.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Just that I worked in admissions at an ivy.</p>

9

<p>LOL owned.^^</p>

<p>which one? if i may ask</p>

10

<p>Would not have been a bad year to be a qualified applicant from MT:</p>

<p>[Number</a> of Students in the Class of 2013 by Geographic Region](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/map.htm]Number”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/admission_statistics/map.htm)</p>

11

<p>^^wow. </p>

<p>10char</p>

12

<p>WOW…I like you hmom! Btw…if you dont mind me asking…how do those top schools view Nebraska? My dream school is princeton and will gladly take any boost that I am given!</p>

13

<p>wow, if only i lived in Montana (MT?)</p>

<p>and i think hmom5 worked as an admission officer at Wharton? i’m not sure.</p>

14

<p>rtgrove did you click on the link? </p>

<p>nebraska is not an overrperesented area so it will help</p>

15

<p>juillet,
Geographic distribution is all about marketing. Many schools want diversity, and one measure of that is where their students come from. Schools looking to have a national presense want a student body from as many states as possible, and of course overseas. </p>

<p>Not all schools choose this, predominantly because the marketing costs are so high. And it costs a lot more to reach new areas than a local one. So it’s a big commitment. </p>

<p>WUSL clearly wants to build their name recognition to a national level and one way to do this is via their direct mail/internet campaigns, and having a geographically diverse student body is one way that confirms this. It does not discredit the school; it’s just an accepted fact.</p>

16

<p>Oh, if only I lived 20 miles to the south! Kentucky sent 1 student. Even 30 miles to the west in Indiana would help.I had no idea Ohio was so well-represented.</p>

<p>Are other maps like Princeton’s easily found?</p>

17

<p>YES! I live in ND!!! BOOYA BABY!!! WHOOOO!!! Unless there’s some other kid as competitive as I am, Princeton here I came! sorry lol</p>

18

<p>Nebraska is good. There’s a pocket of Warren Buffet employees children, but it’s right up there.</p>

19

<p>Hmm thats really interesting. However, is the boost from geography really that big. I mean when I am looking at those “results threads” I kinda can tell that URMs get a nice boost, but I never have really noticed kids getting a boost who were hookless except for geography. I mean is being from Nebraska something that would help push an average applicant for the HYPS (2340 on SAT, Val, decent ECs but not major “national awards”) into the accepted pile. Hope you dont mind the question, but normally the admissions officers I have spoken to dont want to answer questions like these. However, since none of us know wat school u represented, its nice to know that you can be more honest and direct.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your time,
Robbie</p>

20

<p>You still need the stats, but if you have them you’ll blow by the kids from NY, NJ, CA, MA, CT…with the same stats.</p>

<p>Yes, being from Nebraska could easily push the student you describe in. While they have no problem finding kids from well represented states with world class ECs, that’s what’s likely to be missing among those from underrepresented places.</p>

<p>But they want that student to be val or sal and to have strong scores.</p>