Hi everyone 
! I have been wondering for awhile what states are considered “under-represented”. I live in the Deep South (think Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana). Are those states under-represented? Thanks!
It depends upon the school. In general, one can consider that a lower population state, particularly if it is far from the BS, is under-represented.
Having said that, few schools, and certainly not the highly selective ones that are often mentioned here, are going to accept an applicant simply because s/he is from an under-represented state.
Is California considered a under-represented state?
Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri, West Virginia, Iowa, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Nebraska, Wyoming… Would be under represented.
Georgia, Florida, California… Wouldn’t.
@MYOS1634 Ok, thanks for the answer! 
I know at my school, California would for sure be considered an under represented state @CottenCandyTrill. At some larger schools (Andover, Exeter, etc.) it doesn’t matter as much but at smaller schools (in my experience) California is under represented. @MYOS1634
'under represented ’ is a hook. It’s when the school can’t reach out enough to get students to apply (or a handful).
California is typically not considered under represented.
Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri, West Virginia, Iowa, the Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona, New Mexico…
Just wondering, would Maryland be considered under represented?
@phearts Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama all have state public boarding schools. MS and AL are math and science. LA is Math, Science, and Arts (and humanities but didn’t make the title). SC also has one.
Maybe not the prestige of NE schools but great education, very affordable, and you might be surprised at how well students do on college placement. If you can get into a top prep school, great, but also good to know your options.
@fencer557 it wouldn’t, sadly.
@Sportsman88 Ok, thank you! I definitely will look it to it
California is NOT underrepresented at Andover or Exeter. At PAA, there were something like 60 students from California out of 1200 +/-. It was one of the top 5 states in terms of admittance.
At schools with a smaller student body(450 or less) CA can be considered under represented. It can also depend on the location of the school, and the type of school/what it has to offer.
@cababe97 : Are you the only Californian?
@CallieMom Does it mean CA is overrepresented or is it in neutral territory?
In my school of 398, I am one of 8 kids from CA. 4 are graduating this year, meaning that only 4/398 kids are from California. Keep in mind that California is also a big state so there can be Area that are more underrepresented than others. When applying to a school like mine where there are very few kids from California, it could definitely be looked at as a hook.
Then again, this only goes for some schools. At very large schools such as Andover, being from CA doesn’t really make a difference. It all depends on the school and often the size and location of the school plays a factor. For example, if a kid from San Fransisco were applying to Cate School, it isn’t seen as underrepresented because it is in CA and they get lots of applicants from there.
It definitely depends on the school, but CA (especially specific parts of it) are underrepresented at my school and could be for sure considered a hook.
I’m not sure it’s the size of the school that makes a difference. Under/over representation is in terms of percentage. For example, I suspect CA is not more under represented in Groton than say NMH. Some schools may be better known out of region than others I guess.
If you look at the criteria that many families use to select BS, proximity to home is one of them. In most cases – and this tends to apply to colleges as well – the further you go from home, the more interesting you are likely to become for the geographic diversity you offer. Students from Pennsylvania are likely to be most plentiful at schools in PA. More intriguing to a school in California, for example.
With that said, there are schools (and colleges) that have had a national profile for ages, so have both alums and reputations well beyond their local area, so they naturally tend to attract a geographically diverse student body.
Being from a state which is not well represented in the student body can definitely help your application stand out. To your original question, being from the “deep south”, in most cases, would probably achieve that. But you would need to bring something other than geographic diversity to the school to make the cut.
@CottenCandyTrill , I would say neutral. Even kids from NY MA and NH get into PEA and PAA in droves.