<p>Can living in a rather unrepresented state be a hook?</p>
<p>Not a hook, but could be a minor tip.</p>
<p>Ok What states would qualify for a minor tip?</p>
<p>States such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana… basically any state that’s underrepresented.</p>
<p>Would your list also include* haha privacy V_V *</p>
<p>(deleting this soon)</p>
<p>Yes, those would count too. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama (possibly?), Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas…</p>
<p>Thanks fledgling :)</p>
<p>Again, take this with a bit of caution. Colleges would like to claim that they have students from all 50 states and point to the token representative from say WY. However they will not lower standards merely to get one from every state. There are no state quotas.</p>
<p>If you are from an under-represented state you can aid your cause by pointing how you had limited opportunities compared to students in other states and how you overcame that hurdle in. In other words, it is fine to say you are from WY and that will give you a very slight boost. However, if you can show what you have done in spite of the fact that your state is not known for academic excellence, you will be in a better position.</p>
<p>The top colleges do want to say they have kids from all 50 states, so you won’t be held to quite the same standards as, say, a kid from New England. However, you still need to be at the top of your class with impressive stats. Where you may be able to get away with being less impressive than kids from overrepresented areas is ECs–whereas a non-legacy from an area where colleges see lots of apps might stand little chance unless he/she has one or two really impressive, nationally or state recognized talents, a kid from a state with fewer resources may not have to prove himself much beyond test scores and GPA. (This coming from anecdotal evidence from my cousins in Nebraska.)</p>
<p>Well I can tell you that Delaware, while part of the mid atlantic, has its advantages. There were 5 ED applicants for Columbia and the interviewer said they always get 2 from the state in. Thats a 40% admit rate. Pretty good.</p>