[khaolak]

This is very encouraging if true. The difference between a 17 year old applying to "a top-10 institution" and a 17 year old applying to "Tumbleweed State" is almost exclusively what their parents income is (both directly for ability to pay, and indirectly through living in a desirable school district throughout their K-12 education).

I did my undergrad at a "tumbleweed state" school and grad school at a top-10. The difference in the average student at each school was privilege, not ability.

Turns out, best and brightest from Idaho to Ohio and Minnesota to Mississippi are just as smart and just as hardworking as the best and brightest from California and Massachusetts.