<p>Does being from the state of Arizona, which is traditionally one of the weakest states academically, help me in term on college acceptance and scholaships? I know that colleges want students from a variety of states, and Arizona may be under-represented at many top colleges. My test scores are all in the 99th percentile (2290/1560 SAT) and im probably going to be a National Merit Finalist.</p>
<p>bball you're posting different things all over. Are you looking to get into a top school or do you want merit aid? They are 2 very different searches. Few top schools give merit awards, the ones I can think of that do are Caltech and Duke. If your parents make $150K and have a home or other assets, most top schools are going to cost you $45K. Yet you can get substantial merit aid at colleges that rank much lower than where you could otherwise go. It's easier to decide which way to go now rather than when it's painful to choose the merit school.</p>
<p>Arizona is not one of those states, sorry.</p>
<p>Some schools give advantage to In-state applicants like most UCs. Many private schools do not care at all although some want "geographical diversity".</p>
<p>I do not think Arizona uses it too much if it does.</p>
<p>Haha, I'm from AZ too Bball. I can sympathize.</p>
<p>First of all, to all you other non-Arizonan posters here, you have to realize that Arizona is one of the LOWEST FUNDED STATES FOR EDUCATION. Going to public high school here is a joke. Getting an A merely requires going to class, sitting and listening, and doing maybe an hour of homework per evening. I know this personally as I attended one for a year, and have friends who do. You could very easily say that a student who graduates from Ironwood Ridge Highschool, a public school in Tucson AZ, could easily get all As easily, fairly decent SAT scores, and since he/she has practically no HW, do a variety of extracurriculars and get accepted to an excellent school.</p>
<p>Granted, selective colleges are most likely aware of the difficulty level of a school, but bball's question is a very fair one, one that I wonder about alot too. I go to a very rigorous private school in Tucson, and have a 3.4 GPA. If I went to Ironwood, I could easily have a 4.0, but I choose to go to my school for the quality of education. Passion and dedication...I hope that is what colleges see in my application when I apply. I just didn't feel like attending some druggie infested public high school where the quality of education sucks. </p>
<p>Where are you in AZ bball?</p>
<p>I understand that. I know Zona fairly well. The truth of the matter is that Zona isnt a URS.</p>
<p>Which states are underrepresented?</p>
<p>The statistics a few east coast LACs provide suggest that Wyoming, Utah, North and South Dakota, Idaho, Mississippi and Alaska are underrepresented.</p>