<p>When our son was doing his research, he used the criterion of 75 %ile as equating to a match admission + reasonable shot at merit aid. The colleges he applied to fitting this profile were Case, RPI and Oberlin. He was accepted to all three and batted .666 in merit aid, with Oberlin College being the parsimonious one. For colleges who accept 50%+ of applicants, I would think that having an SAT score at the 50% %ile would constitute a solid match for acceptance provided other admission factors were comparable with most other applicants. I agree with other posters who believe that geographic factors play a very minor roll in the admissions process.</p>
<p>The corollary benefit to our son's particular strategy is the potential for greater academic success and benefits after enrollment. Friday he found out that he received an research assistant appointment with a favorite professor which will pay him $10/hr or about $50/week. While the money is no big shakes, he was thrilled for the opportunity to work with this professor. Six other top students in his department received simlar appointments and all who applied were offered the opportunity by invitation only.</p>