<p>My first choice college (Vanderbilt) only has 2 undergrad students from my state. Disregarding all other factors, will this help or hurt my application? Or doesn't it make a difference? Just curious...</p>
<p>Look at their Common Data Set, section C7, to see if geographical residence is considered and how much.</p>
<p>The answer for Vanderbilt is yes, it’s considered.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, for top-ranked but not top top schools especially, geographic diversity is considered a plus. So identifying a school that you’re interested in with few students from your region or state can possible make it a little easier for you to get in compared to the average admits stats. A lot of the top LACs are still full of students from the Northeast, so being from a distant region can help.</p>
<p>For Ivies, this rarely works, they are too well known and receive applications from everywhere. And publics generally have a mission of educating their own students. But on occasion, you’ll find a public reaching for a national profile, so you can sneak in.</p>