I'm writing up my applications for the upcoming admissions cycle, and I was wondering how much value is placed on applicant's country of origin by the admissions committee.
It seems that Indian applicants have a much harder time during their applications, because they are highly represented, especially those in the IT field. In this case, it seems that country of origin is a slightly detrimental to one's chances. But can it work in reverse? Can being from somewhere underrepresented be a plus on an application?
I'm a Saudi Arabian candidate, and I think I bring some unique things to the table because of that. My question is how far can I "milk" it, and does it even make a difference? While schools don't technically count this as a minority candidate (which are usually listed as Black, Latino, Pacific Islander), is this something I can leverage?
Obviously, the fact that I've worked in Saudi for the past 3.5 years is where the real value lies, but what about actually
being Saudi Arabian?