<p>It was Mich Law school more lately, and it specifically nixed quotas for AA. And from the posts I’ve read no one seems to know for sure if the statutory schools for Cornell have some NY bias or not. I have not read or heard anything definitive, just speculation. That there are more New Yorkers does not mean admissions gives them a boost.</p>
<p>As for the private schools at Cornell, since they are the same as any selective school in admissions, geographics could give a tip. I don’t think it is a hot hook, but it can make a difference. I know what Michele Hernandez says about the situation at Dartmouth, and her argument is that the %s area about the same from Idaho as from the Boston area. What she does not discuss is if those kids who make up that % from Idaho are as qualified as those from the Boston group. I have seen kids accepted from afar at schools that want a national population that would likely not be accepted if they were from a more competitive area. That you are judged according to who your peers are (meaning your school, your area, your state, your geographics) would indicate that it is tougher to be top in states where the academic competition is heavier. The national merit %s show this clearly as they put an actual numerical rating which no college will make public in admissions. So if just because 15% of Idaho applicants are accepted as are 15% of Bostonians, does not mean those 15% of the kids in Idaho are comparable to the Boston crowd. They may not have made the cut if they were from Boston with their resume.</p>