What states are underrepresented. Would MD count?
That would depend on each school. Some schools have their admissions statistics posted on-line. Exeter’s is here:
http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/109_14710.aspx#Geographic_Diversity_of_US_Students
Think states like WY, HI, MS, etc.
No
One school I applied to this year has no one from my state. 
^Seriously??? That gem must be pretty hidden then 
@stargirl3
MD definitely does not count, ND, SD, Utah
PSA: Cate has kids from SD and NE but not MA or NH. My point is that it depends on the school (Cate does have someome from MD). http://www.cate.org/upl/File/pdf/publications/Cate_Profile.pdf
The Exeter profile that jmtabb included states MD has a count of 11, which is quite a bit.
Underrepresented states are usually around the Mountain/Midwest area. Think New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, North/South Dakota, Nebraska, etc.,
Quite a few in the Southern areas too (Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, etc.,), but it really depends on the school.
Colorado?
@dreamcatcher3: For Colorado there are 6 students in Exeter
North Dakota, South Dakota, Hawaii, Alaska, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Montana
At Thacher,
CA (150), CO (8), NY (8), WA (6), CT (6), IL (6), MA (6), OR (5), TX (5), NV (4), NJ (4), NC (2), FL (2)
AZ (2), DE (1), GA (1), ID (1), LA (1), MI (1) , SC (1)
The rest are from overseas, I guess.
Montana is underrepresented everywhere. There are more people on the NYC subway system at 3 in the morning than live in Montana. Even less live in Wyoming.
And I would ask, in the experience of CC vets, how big of a “hook” is a truly underrepresented state?
@wayoutwest18: I don’t think anyone here can give you an accurate answer as we are not AOs, but in my personal opinion, the schools that value and promote diversity will put more focus on the underrepresented states than those who don’t actively do it.
I don’t think it really matters unless a school absolutely cannot choose between two very similar applicants.
But it could also make you stand out. One kid could be known as “The Skater,” another “The Mathmetician,” and then “The Oklahoman.”
And is there any consensus about which schools value diversity over others?
Most (or all) of the BS discussed on these boards value diversity. But, while they do like saying things in their stats like “we have students from 45 countries and 38 states,” coming from an underrepresented state probably doesn’t help you as much as being an underrepresented minority, or even coming from some exotic, far- away country. It’s just not seen as quite the same type of diversity (to give unique perspectives and add to the richness of the student body). Still, they don’t like to take TOO many kids from one school or one town or even one state-- so it will help a little. They like to be able to say lots of states are represented and, perhaps more importantly, there will be a little less competition (one year, for example, well over 20 kids applied just to Deerfield from my son’s old school-- no way we’re they all going to get in).
U can do the math to understand the reason states are under-represented:
- the state has a small population, and/or
- it’s rural/poor, and/or
- it’s far away from the school.
Far away states w big cities full of rich people (e.g., CA, IL) are well-represented at East Coast boarding schools.