<p>How about Indiana? Not like I could aford it with out $$$ but</p>
<p>here in sw suburban chicago; its actually quite competitive…</p>
<p>Minnesota!</p>
<p>I’m not too sure about lower standards set in terms of high school performance and expectations but in the state of Illinois, state colleges bleeds mediocre to rather bad, with the exception being UIUC and UIC. The private colleges (maybe Wesleyan, UofC, N’western) are great and usually attract top students; their admission process isn’t a cake walk.</p>
<p>Maybe part of the issue is discrepancy between different parts of some Midwestern states. Wealthy Chicago suburbs and rural towns near the Illinois-Iowa border provide two very different pictures of “the Midwest” or “Illinois” – and, I would imagine, two very different levels of applications to top American universities. </p>
<p>Students from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are probably (under)represented at such universities at similar levels as students from the Dakotas, but Michigan as a whole still fields several applicants, very largely from the Lower Peninsula (and, in particular, mostly from the mid-to-southern region of the Lower Peninsula). Heck, students from the Upper Peninsula are underrepresented to some degree even at U of Michigan, while southeastern Michigan is very highly represented. If I’m not mistaken, back when it had the admissions point system, UM gave extra points to applicants from the U.P. or northern counties of the L.P., just as it did to underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities. Information on state-by-state enrollment at most universities is easily attainable; I would be fascinated if anybody knew where such intra-state data was also available.</p>
<p>You can generalize or be unspecific, but where do you go and who do you know? (pm me)</p>
<p>bee3: yes, definitely, I believe you that UP kids are underrepresented, I wonder how many places outside of the Midwest would recognize the UP as a separte region than Mich. as a whole though…</p>
<p>caliboi: yes, I too have heard that the Chicago area has a lot of really good students</p>
<p>tokenadult: i agree that MN is a different than MI, and theyy are probably treated diff by adcoms. And by good enough for the ivies, I meant really good stats and stuff. I was generalizing, one of my very good friends with very high ACT score is set on U of M, but he’s not like most people I know and since he wants to be an engineer and loves U of M I completely understand his decision.</p>
<p>Tokenadult, I’m not sure I understand what you mean. </p>
<p>And goblue, are you asking me that question?</p>
<p>Oh no sorry I was asking DSC, sorry.</p>
<p>Congrats on going to Yale though and thanks for the stats.</p>
<p>DSC, by the way, w/ financial aid isn’t it affordable to go to these schools. Esp w/ Harvard’s announcement and the repercussions, most people will be able to afford ivy leagues, and it is probably a good investment in the long run. I am middle-class, and I don’t think the $ is a big issue.</p>
<p>Maybe because Milford is a bit more rural the sights get set a little lower(and also more sports biased), but I also know kids from all over and the UM draw seems very dominant to me.</p>
<p>Being treated “differently” by the adcoms doesn’t necessarily mean it’s “easier” to get in. I agree that standards are different for different parts of the United States, but only because someone in Nevada probably doesn’t have the same opportunities for success (by whatever measure you’d like to consider) in academic and extracurricular activities that someone attending a magnet or private school in New York or Massachusetts has. It’s easier to win Siemens when you you have knowledgeable and experienced mentors at your side for four years at a nearby state university than when your house is in the middle of the desert/plains.</p>
<p>Yes, the fin. aid is becoming exceptionally good, and below x dollars, OOS privates are much cheaper. However the perception of ‘expensive’ can supercede reality. I volunteered in Detroit(well right on the border with Redford) and kids were being told by their parents(pretty poor parents, definitely below the Harvard 60,000 mark) that OOS schools were too expensive and that UofM was only school they could look at.</p>
<p>Ok ., yeah Lobgent you are right about that ponint.</p>
<p>Wow, a Minnesota thread. I can say that Minnesota is pretty well represented at top schools - we do have some of the best public schools in the nation. There were approximately 28 people accepted to Stanford from Minnesota, which is pretty good considering the number of possible applicants. One of the most important things, and something that was confirmed by a Harvard interviewer, is that they really want to make sure that you are going to fit in with their school. The “East-Coast Mentality” is pervasive (obviously), and not everyone from the Midwest is prepared for it. That said, I think we do pretty well at all the top schools (esp. Edina - which does the best and competes just as well with Breck and the other privates).</p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence (I know, I know)- </p>
<p>Roommate (NMF, 800CR/800W/710M, made states in one activity, leader of others, the whole deal) got rejected from Harvard, Yale, Brown, UPenn and she’s from Indiana.</p>
<p>worth2try: oh my… Don’t depress me!!! (I’m from Indiana, and have nothing even close as impressive) but I am not planning on applying to any ivy or top schools for many reasons so…</p>
<p>^She got into Cornell and is at NYU with me :)</p>
<p>^Ooo there we go… :D… NYU is always good lol</p>
<p>I don’t feel there are lower standards for midwest, it is just that less people apply from states like Wyoming or Iowa, but usually those that do apply are all very qualified, so competition is still tough. That’s just my take on it.</p>
<p>I also don’t feel there are lower standards for the midwest. Colleges look at other factors besides test scores and of course, they look at students as people, not numbers.</p>