idkwhattoput yeah but its not about the students, think about it from a fiscal perspective. when the schools offer spots they have to purchase resources to provide for their prospective cohort, so in the first round if they offer a spot to 250 kids and 25 kids decline then they have overcompensated and they need to make it up in the future rounds. so when taking distance into account, the schools don't want to risk losing students or more money so they will often choose people who live closer (if they are good candidates) as they are more likely to accept. of course students are willing to make sacrifices to go to these prestigious schools but the schools themselves often find it too risky and cant be bothered
