[dublinben]

That may be the case for undistinguished applicants with no particular outstanding qualities who need to set themselves apart from the rest of the crowd. Everyone I know who attended an Ivy came from an underrepresented background of one kind or another, and got in simply on their credentials.

[hot_gril]

If you're from the right background then sure. Asian or Mid Eastern (so like the entire largest continent) isn't going to help you, though.