What states are considered "underrepresented?"

gravitas2
Sun, 01 Mar 2015 17:28:44 +0000

Agree with @bluewater2015. Underrepresented states can be very misleading to many applicants. It is not what you think it actually means. Even for a state as large as California which can easily be split into 6 or 7 states in the northeast in terms of population (someone in California is actually trying to do this at the present moment)…one needs to understand students applying from the affluent towns in the bay area or LA or San Diego will be treated very differently than those applying from the inner ghettos of Compton or Oakland or the remote areas of Tehachapi or Mohave Desert or Ukiah…

…conversely, those who think that applying from Anchorage, Alaska or Albuquerque/Sante Fe, New Mexico or Fargo, North Dakota will give them an “edge” should be aware that they will not be “favored” nearly as much as those applying from Stanley, North Dakota or Roswell, New Mexico or Kodiak, Alaska…

…usually, the more affluent and professional types tend to congregate in the larger cities and towns…even in the underrepresented states…and often have children attend the more expensive private or affluent public high school that can provide more programs and opportunities for extracurricular activities…

…so, the decisions are made all in the context of one’s socioeconomic status, URM vs ORM vs white, rural poor school vs rural wealthy school, urban ghetto school vs urban wealthy school, what are the opportunities (or lack of) available to the student in the rural town…

…and last but not least…those doctors, lawyers, or the bank owner’s kids in that remote small town in that underrepresented state still have to meet a higher standard than those kids whose parents work in fields picking fruit, textile mills, or fish…

…nothing is black and white…there are several shades of gray or in Stanford’s case…shades of red…