<p>I know the numbers are high from those areas because they have an insane amount of qualified applicants. Meaning, that there isn’t some sort of quota against them or their numbers wouldn’t be so high. Having an acceptance rate almost three times the national average for Harvard in probably one of the most competitive counties is a moderately strong against a quota, or they would just select less from that area. </p>
<p>I see what you’re saying about how maybe 30% of Westchester applicants would get in from other states, but we will never know that exact proportion. In my schools it’s true at least, with kids rejected from Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Penn probably in part due to their lack of geographic diversity, but accepted at Harvard. Other schools admit to having geographic diversity being a consideration, so why wouldn’t Harvard? </p>
<p>This argument can’t end, since it’s really just a matter of if you believe what Harvard admissions and their representatives tell you, which each person has to decide on their own.</p>