The Zinch Report

When I was in high school, many students and parents alike, shared their theories about maximizing strategies for getting into highly selective schools. One of these strategies that people seemed especially sure of was that we, as students from Connecticut, were at a categorical, geographic disadvantage. With so many students from our little state applying to top schools, surely we would suffer as a result. The only students that might be worse off were students from NYC private schools. These theories found comfort in imagining that at least someone was worse off.

And, like most grassroots theories about highly selective college admissions, they were totally wrong.

Does it help to be from Nebraska? Not exactly. No student gets in by virtue of his or her home state. In the Dartmouth class of 2010, for example, not all states are represented in the class, but all states were represented in the applicant pool. This means one of two things: either no students from two states were admitted at all, or no students decided to matriculate. Whichever it is doesn’t matter. What matters is that being from Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota or whatever state you think has it easy, will not get you in.

Being from a city or state with a large population of (highly selective) college bound students provides a set of distinct advantages. First, you are more likely to have an admissions officer visit your high school. Second, you are more likely to have an active alumni group that may host events or give alumni interviews. Third, a history of past students from your area attending certain schools creates a base of knowledge from which you draw.

When I worked in admissions, I traveled to both rural Oregon and Connecticut boarding schools. The students in the boarding schools had so much more information (some accurate, lots not) and were more savvy about the admissions process, in general. And yet, they also were sure they had it worse off.

If the state from which an applicant comes is relevant to the student’s experience, then yes, it may help that student get in. An example - I once interviewed a student from Iowa who lived in a town of 300 and spent most of his time outside of school working on an irrigation system for his family farm. In that case, being from the town in Iowa where he lived was a part of who he was, how he spent his time, and what his goals were. It wasn’t that his Iowa residency would help him get in, it was how his upbringing and experiences were tied to his community that made his residency compelling.