<p>Where has reasoning in this thread gone to? Claiming that Harvard favors MA applicants based on the data we have here is baseless. There are many factors that make it more likely that students from MA end up being overrepresented without Harvard favoring them for their location of residence.</p>
<p>For one, there is a high degree of concentration of excellent preparatory and boarding schools in the New England area, and especially in MA. These schools attract the best students and prepare them so well warranting about a dozen students being admitted from each of the schools every year. This concentration of schools alone doubtless accounts for probably more than half of the students from MA.</p>
<p>Second, many students from MA apply because though Harvard is well known everywhere, it does have even greater reputation in some areas, one of them being, obviously, the state in which it is located.</p>
<p>MA is also a state with a disproportionately large number of intellectuals, and thus has many parents whose children follow their parents’ footsteps and are likely to be admitted to schools like Harvard.</p>
<p>I am sure these arguments would be supported by admission data from other Ivy League schools that are not located in MA.</p>