[Roberton3]

I'd bet, for example, that Stanford gives a little boost to kids from Palo Alto.

I'd bet exactly the reverse. I'd bet that kids from Palo Alto have to have better qualifications than those from, say, Tucumcari, N.M. or Liberal, Kansas, because so many of the former apply and so few of the latter. There is probably some little tilt, whether official policy or not, towards children of Stanford faculty members, but otherwise any Palo Alto quota is undoubtedly a ceiling rather than a floor.

I think we're making different comparisons.  I was saying I'd bet that it's a little bit easier to get into Stanford if you're from Palo Alto than it is if you're from some town that isn't Stanford's home but is otherwise similar (i.e., some other wealthy, educated suburb in California).  But I'm sure there's also a boost for being from a working-class town in a state that's underrepresented at Stanford.  And that boost might well be bigger than the boost one gets for being from Palo Alto.

[Roberton3]

I'd bet, for example, that Stanford gives a little boost to kids from Palo Alto.

I'd bet exactly the reverse. I'd bet that kids from Palo Alto have to have better qualifications than those from, say, Tucumcari, N.M. or Liberal, Kansas, because so many of the former apply and so few of the latter. There is probably some little tilt, whether official policy or not, towards children of Stanford faculty members, but otherwise any Palo Alto quota is undoubtedly a ceiling rather than a floor.

I think we're making different comparisons.  I was saying I'd bet that it's a little bit easier to get into Stanford if you're from Palo Alto than it is if you're from some town that isn't Stanford's home but is otherwise similar (i.e., some other wealthy, educated suburb in California).  But I'm sure there's also a boost for being from a working-class town in a state that's underrepresented at Stanford.  And that boost might well be bigger than the boost one gets for being from Palo Alto.