Why do some private schools interview/accept in state applicants at a higher rate?

[Phrasing]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Why do many private schools interview in-state students at two or three times the rate they do out of state students (according to both US News and MSAR)? Tufts interviews 20 percent of in state applicants versus 10 percent OOS, Jefferson interviews slightly smaller percentages but still twice as many IS vs OOS, Einstein does the same, SLU interviews nearly 3 times as many, Drexel 3 times as many, BU twice as many. Many other schools do this as well. Is this to keep matriculation rates high? Is it because adcoms are more familiar with their undergraduate institutions? Is it some combination?

 

[md-2020]

Mostly b/c given similar stats to OOS applicants, in-state students are much more likely to yield.

 

[Goro]

Why do many private schools interview in-state students at two or three times the rate they do out of state students (according to both US News and MSAR)? Tufts interviews 20 percent of in state applicants versus 10 percent OOS, Jefferson interviews slightly smaller percentages but still twice as many IS vs OOS, Einstein does the same, SLU interviews nearly 3 times as many, Drexel 3 times as many, BU twice as many. Many other schools do this as well. Is this to keep matriculation rates high? Is it because adcoms are more familiar with their undergraduate institutions? Is it some combination?

Because there are a lot of talented applicants in those states. Lots of smart Jewish kids on Long Island, for example. I should know, because I went to school with their parents!

 

[LizzyM]

Yield. Who will come here? Given a choice, most students will choose the school closer to home. Schools make it easier on themselves by interview people who are likely to accept the offer of admission if they are lucky to have more than one.

 

[Phrasing]

Yield. Who will come here? Given a choice, most students will choose the school closer to home. Schools make it easier on themselves by interview people who are likely to accept the offer of admission if they are lucky to have more than one.

So what about the student who is from another state but goes to undergrad in the same city/area? So lets say someone from Georgia goes to Temple for undergraduate , is Drexel thinking this person is high yield cause they are in Philly or that they would want to go back to GA? Or is this some weird middle ground?

 

[LizzyM]

So what about the student who is from another state but goes to undergrad in the same city/area? So lets say someone from Georgia goes to Temple for undergraduate , is Drexel thinking this person is high yield cause they are in Philly or that they would want to go back to GA? Or is this some weird middle ground?

Someone from Georgia who attended undergrad near or at Drexel might be considered more likely to matriculate to Drexel than someone who had never been out of Georgia, for example. If you have no experience with the area and have never even visited in the past, won't you be more likely to matriculate at a school in a more familiar area, if given a chance. We see this frequently between New England and the Midwest.

 

[ciestar]

I also know for a fact that Drexel likes to target students from PA and NJ. Most likely for reasons above.

 

[efle]

In addition to yield I'll add that many places draw heavily from their own undergrads, which in turn will be disproportionately populated by instate residents. For example SLU undergrad has many premeds from Missouri, and SLU med draws a lot from their undergrad.