<p>The OP's concerns and questions are valid ones given the some of the books I have seen from adcoms. It does seem that a kids who is politically left is considered in a better than one equally right of the zero point of a given meter. Colleges in the northeast are traditionally much more "radical" as are the professors. However, my personal experience in admissions indicates that adcoms are generally beyond that. I say this because I know of several fine Catholic schools that have views definitely right of center, and the student body reflects this. There acceptance rates are identical to those of more "left" schools, even given what I would consider a propensity to avoid certain colleges that are "way left". It just does not seem to matter. Also I have done years of work with families who are in a very conservative enclave, the kids tend to be homeschooled, the resumes are dead giveaways to the political leanings, and I just don't sniff even a whiff of such discrimination even given my belief of how adcoms are comprised. In fact many of the areas where the kids do tend to be more liberal are so over represented in apps to selective colleges, that I would say a top academic student from a more conservative area like the south or backwater communities would be more attractive in the name of diversity. </p>
<p>I would say there is more natural selection and avoidance of schools with strong political leanings on part of the students and families than by the adcoms. I know that my kids who never gave me any indication of any political leanings did notice these things at those schools where the political climate meter started registering too far one way or the other. My D, for example, was not comfortable at Oberlin. My S felt that Davidson was a bit too conservative. Not that either totally discounted those schools. They went through the trouble of applying to them. But in the final analysis when only one school could be picked, these issues did surface. But had there not been the slate of choices they did have, I have no doubt that either of those school could have been the top choice. It was not a guiding factor or a cull in selecting where to apply among the 2000-3000 colleges in the US. I would say many kids fall into that category.</p>