Just a quick question - I attend a high school in Montana, and from I heard, many colleges accept people in the grand plains area for a regional quota of some sorts. is this true?
Not a quota likely, but a general desire at some colleges to have full representation. Could be a tip factor, maybe a hook depending on the college and the rest of your profile.
Yes, the Western Undergraduate Exchange offers discounted tuition if you are from one of these states and attend college in another one of these states:
Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oregon
South Dakota
Utah
Washington
Wyoming
@BrownParent is right for many top LACs and top Us which want to show regional diversity.
Magic Note–In my experience, it can give you a bit of a boost, but doesn’t mean you are likely to be accepted at a top college or university with sub-par grades or scores. You still need to have credentials that are as strong as the other applicants.
It really depends on how many students from that state apply to the same school and which school you are looking at. Most schools (except in state flagships that have limited OOS students anyway) want to have a broad coverage of the whole country (i.e. from all states) but not necessary in large population. As long as they have a few from each state, that would be fine. For instance, at UMich there are only 2 undergraduates from Wyoming (less than a handful from Montana) including all upper and lowerclassmen. So basically, you are also competing with other students from your minority state.