Geographic Diversity in Admittance

Corbett
Mon, 12 Feb 2018 01:26:46 +0000

It’s tough to generalize, but at many private schools – those with national reputations, or those that want to develop national reputations – then yes, applicants do have an advantage if they are applying from outside the typical “feeder” area.

This would include top LACs. Lower-ranked LACs may be less interested in geographical diversity, because they know that realistically they are regional schools.

It’s true that top schools are concerned about yield. But they also know that it is much harder to recruit “long-distance” students than “locals” – long-distance students are less likely to apply, less likely to visit, and less likely to enroll if accepted. Schools that want national reputations generally have to accept lower yields from long-distance applicants as the price for a national student body.

If your son is seriously prepared to consider a long-distance school, then he could end up with a better offer than if he stays local. The chances would be particularly strong if he can provide a good story about his interest: for example, maybe the long-distance school has a specific program that is better than the local options, or maybe he has family connections to the area. If he visits, then he should make sure to check in with the Admissions Office, because a long-distance visit will provide big points for Demonstrated Interest.

However, he may not want a long-distance college experience. One study found that even the most highly qualified college applicants usually pick schools within 300 miles of home. In areas with lots of high-performing students, this can result in brutal competition for the local schools. Examples would include California students for UCs, or northeastern US students for Ivies and northeastern LACs.

On more than one occasion, I have responded to a student from Long Island or New Jersey who is worried about the competition for top northeastern LACs, and who wants their application to stand out. My suggestion: send it to Grinnell or Davidson or Whitman. I don’t think they ever do it, though.