<p>I know this helps a lot with chances to top schools... but I dont understand why... or how much it helps...</p>
<p>And is it competitive applicants that get the boost, or is it everyone?</p>
<p>Being from an underrepresented state is a tip factor, so it may help a LITTLE as colleges often want representation from all states. You still need to be a competitive applicant for top colleges.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone can give a % to how much it helps, but it’s one of those factors that makes a student more unique than say a private NE boarding school candidate. At the same time, ‘top’ schools are more aware of the strong academics of boarding schools and feeder schools, so a student’s uniqueness is a gamble at times.</p>
<p>It’s not something you can change, so I wouldn’t dwell on it. Good luck!</p>
<p>I see. Thanks</p>
<p>Top colleges like to say that they have students from all 50 states. </p>
<p>Why? Because it sheds the image of being an enclave for rich easterners(or a different region in the case of Stanford/Duke/etc), and it encourages applications from every state. If Harvard didn’t lower its standards for people in Montana/North Dakota/South Dakota/Wyoming, basically no one would get in from those states, and eventually they’d stop getting apps from those states, which would weaken the Harvard brand in those areas and hurt the admit rate.</p>
<p>It also furthers diversity, because a farm kid from Indiana will have different experiences and possibly more character than a kid from a rich suburb of DC.</p>
<p>Does that hurt New Englanders?</p>
<p>New England is one of the most competitive regions, though Maine is definitely an exception.</p>
<p>Haha, well northern Maine at least . . .</p>
<p>So, being from an underrepresented state is only a tip factor? I am from Nebraska where literally no one ever has submitted anything for siemens or intel. I mean I am a val with a2340 so statiscally I am good enough, but my awards simply arent as outstanding as those of a northeasterner (all I have are some state level awards).</p>
<p>State level awards are still impressive… Basically, if you’re already a competitive applicant (which you definitely are, assuming good recs/essays), being from Nebraska will be the tipping point. Think of it this way: For the top schools, there are regional readers that look through the applications before anyone else sees them. Likely, the reader for your area doesn’t see quite as many 2340/vals as do the readers for the Northeast, so you look more impressive against the people you first “compete” against (the peers in your geographic area). Obviously, I’m simplifying a bit, but that’s the gist of it.</p>
<p>I am going to have to agree with what people have said before. it is a tip factor. The fact that I am from Alabama won’t exactly make me an Ivy league shoo-in.</p>
<p>Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Alabama is grossly underrepresented in competitive college admissions. Generally, your geographic location is only an issue in the very under-populated (Montana, Nebraska, Alaska) and the very-overpopulated (New England area). And it’s all looked at in the context of your opportunities. Unless you’re in a particularly poor or rural area of Alabama, I doubt it’ll really make a difference.</p>
<p>Here’s an example which may help some of you. The University of Rochester class of 2013 has 1092 students. Nine are from Maine, one is from Montana, and zero from Alabama. So if you were applying to U of R from any of these states you MIGHT have an easier time getting admitted than a student from New York which is home to 512 students in the class of 2013.</p>
<p>I’m from a semi-underrepresented state and it strongly helped with my sister’s admission to Columbia (CC not SEAS). There were five ED applicants and there policy was “we always take at least one from every state” at least that’s what the interviewer said. Right there their admissions stats are already 20% (vs. 8 for Columbia College). And can I say that 3 out of the 5 ended up getting in ED, so that was 60%.</p>
<p>sorry to interrupt your thread but does Louisiana or Mississipi Count?</p>
<p>Lifegr, whether or not your state is underrepresented always depends on how many applicants from any state are applying to any specific school. LSU and Ole Miss I’m sure get lots of applicants from Louisiana and Mississippi respectively. For my example, the University of Rochester class of 2013, yes Louisiana and Mississippi “count”.</p>