<p>@GA2012MOM: I did not know that. But the fact still stands; if you look at the profile for finalists (<a href=“http://questbridge.org/cmp/finalist_profiles/2008_finalists.pdf[/url]”>http://questbridge.org/cmp/finalist_profiles/2008_finalists.pdf</a>), it’s the same story.</p>
<p>@xavier110: A) Maybe, but the percentage isn’t by region, it’s overall. In other words, even if NE is wealthy, that does not explain the virtual absence of representation in QB. In addition, NE is not the wealthiest region; New Jersey and Maryland, the two wealthiest states by median income, are part of the mid-atlantic region. And yet, five times as many finalists are from the mid-atlantic.
B) By region, there does seem to be a positive correlation between density of minority groups and percentage of accepted students. Yet, as far as I know, the geographic distribution of minorities in proportion to the entire country is not at all congruous with the distribution seen on the graph. The raw population of minorities in the six states in the northeast is definitely not a mere 3% of the entire population. In addition, a full third of finalists are white, so the distribution can’t be just because the northeast is “overwhelmingly white,” as being white doesn’t necessarily exclude you from consideration.</p>
<p>@gaginang: That’s possible. I couldn’t find any data showing the numbers of applicants from each region; the distribution could just be because of the regional distribution of the pool.</p>
<p>@applicannot: Please elaborate.</p>