<p>I was wondering if anyone has any idea of how much coming from an underrepresented state and a bad high school helps or hurts when applying to top colleges. I'm from New Mexico and I attend a large public school with a very large Hispanic population that has a dropout rate of about 30-40% and hardly sends students to the Ivy League, but I've managed to do well with grades and standardized test scores. My top choice is Harvard. Will it make a difference?</p>
<p>I really doubt there are any underrepresented states among the Harvard applicant pool. They have so many qualified applicants from all the states, they can pretty much make up any geographic population they want. To get a geographic preference, you’ll have to apply to more obscure schools that aren’t as well known in your part of the country like Colby or Middlebury.</p>
<p>As far as Harvard picking up students from “bad schools”, although we might like to believe in the Cinderella story, and some do make it, the fact is that most successful applicants come from the same schools year after year. If you have truly stellar stats despite coming form a “bad school”, you’ll stand out and pick up a few points, but the weaknesses of the school often far outweigh the achievements of even the best students.</p>
<p>Bottom line, you’ll pick up a few points for succeeding in a difficult environment, but you still have to be really, really good to get in. Doing just well won’t be enough, in most cases. But it might be good enough for schools that are not Ivy, but Ivy-caliber.</p>