I was a high achieving rural student, and ended up going to Harvard.
Why? Because at one college fair there was a guy from Harvard, not a recruiting team, but one random alum who cared and brought a bunch of pamphlets.
I asked him "do they ever even admit students from Idaho?" His answer, not only do they admit them but they want to admit more. Had it not been for that conversation, it's not clear if I ever would have applied.
I think it is hard for most people who grow up in an affluent area to understand how little information rural students get about college options.
I never took the PSAT because my school's guidance counselors didn't think enough students were going to go to college for it to be worth their time.
Hell, I applied to Harvard after the deadline because my guidance counselors told me college applications were due February 1st (which is true only of schools in the intermountain west) when applications we're actually due January 1st.
My only hope is that in the modern world rural students are better informed due to the ubiquity of the Internet. But in my experience, everything in this article rings 100% true.
Why? Because at one college fair there was a guy from Harvard, not a recruiting team, but one random alum who cared and brought a bunch of pamphlets.
I asked him "do they ever even admit students from Idaho?" His answer, not only do they admit them but they want to admit more. Had it not been for that conversation, it's not clear if I ever would have applied.
I think it is hard for most people who grow up in an affluent area to understand how little information rural students get about college options.
I never took the PSAT because my school's guidance counselors didn't think enough students were going to go to college for it to be worth their time.
Hell, I applied to Harvard after the deadline because my guidance counselors told me college applications were due February 1st (which is true only of schools in the intermountain west) when applications we're actually due January 1st.
My only hope is that in the modern world rural students are better informed due to the ubiquity of the Internet. But in my experience, everything in this article rings 100% true.