<p>This probably has already been asked, but how much does location factor into admissions at Stanford? Specifically, I live in New York, so would that help my chances or hurt my chances? Thanks!!</p>
<p>Okay so I had this same question before. I'm from soCal, so looking at the Stanford stats on collegeboard, I saw the students were mainly from California, so I thought I had an advantage. However, (i think i actually asked this question on CC, lol) someone told me that there is actually NO location preference. The reason most kids are from CA is because of those accepted, most usually are also accepted into the Ivies & other top schools from East Coast, and those are didn't live in CA already, usually choose to go to the East Coast schools.. and those who already live in CA choose to go to Stanford. I also heard that most kids are from CA because CA yields the highest number of Stanford applicants..</p>
<p>(sorry for the long explaination) haha =] it's late&i'm rambling</p>
<p>so, technically, STanford shouldn't have a location preference. whether that is really true or not, nobody really knows. but you shouldn't worry about it (:</p>
<p>sushifureak is right. CA students matriculate to Stanford at higher rates. that doesnt really reflect the overall group of admitted students.</p>
<p>I think the answer to this is a little subtle. Like all elite universities, Stanford wants a student body that is fully national, and international. Traditionally, however, Stanford has cared less about regional balance than, say, Harvard does. Stanford's attitude has been for a long time that California is the crossroads of the world, and the most diverse place on Earth, so there's nothing wrong with having a student body that's 50% from California. I think (and I know others have been told by those in a position to know) that admission standards are a little lower for non-Cali kids, especially those from really underrepresented regions like the Midwest, the South and maybe New England. Not so much New York -- Stanford gets plenty of applications from there.</p>
<p>Also don't forget that Cali is HUGE. While the states that house HYP (MA, CT, NJ) are relatively puny. And if you think about it, the population of the entirety of New England, plus New York, plus New Jersey, is roughly equal to the population of California alone. So, considering just how large a percentage of students at HYP come from this region of the US, it's no surprise that a similar phenomenon would happen for Stanford. It's the difference between having a student body from a bunch of little states crammed together, or one mega-state. Furthermore, the states surrounding/near Cali (Nevada, Oregon, etc) are relatively sparsely populated. It's almost as if Cali's this one giant metropolis, with the states around it being rural by comparison.
Lastly, and I think this is a big factor as well, Stanford is really the only school of its caliber on the west coast. The northeast has ALL the ivies, plus MIT plus others. So for students who want to attend a HYPSM on the west coast who don't want to travel cross country for college, Stanford's the perfect (and only) option. While, students on the east coast have such a range and variety of options that there is (usually) no reason for them to consider Stanford. </p>
<p>All of these things contribute to Stanford's large Cali based student body.</p>
<p>Ah, I hope that just means it won't hurt me to be from New Jersey, which seems to ALWAYS be overrepresented!</p>
<p>i mean you also have to think that the preliminary application reading is done by region
i.e. there is an admissions officer for each region where applications come from, and i think they split it up into 20 or so regions
and in that preliminary round the officers have the power to unilaterally reject you before the applications go to committee
so if you think of it from that aspect, being from a region where there is a large number of applicants is only going to hurt you, for the admissions officer is going to be comparing you to all of those people
but in my opinion, the only locations that have an effect on admission is another country (has a very negative effect) and underrepresented states (very positive effect)
but, ya know, take it for what it's worth</p>