I saw this article in Town & Country this weekend (it was recommended to me online.) Unfortunately T&C is gated so it’s hard to read the whole thing without paying, but the headline kind of sums up the main topic.
I’m curious - are people noticing a trend of more students applying to schools in the South?
My D’s OH HS is definitely sending more students to southern schools but they were following merit $, not necessarily because of the vibe.
In my neck of the woods (Northeast) the kids heading South for the merit money are balanced out by the Southern kids heading North (LGBTQ, women’s health, etc.) So sure- more going South, more going North, and the perpetually popular places in the Midwest (Wash U, Wisc, Michigan, Northwestern) still going strong.
On these forums, it is commonly about following merit scholarships to specific colleges.
Our Colorado school went from 3-4 applying to Auburn 2016-2021 to 21 in 2022 as an example. We looked because we did not like paying $$$ for a zoom class and apparently there were lots of like minds. As Covid restrictions were not so high D22 stayed in the West. But she loved Auburn!
Here the article discusses regional differences in terms of how Covid has been perceived:
This homogenization of large areas of the country is so wrong. Everywhere has a mix.
My DD23 from the North East has liberal to moderate political views and will be going to a southern school next year for the warmer weather and hopefully lower cost of living post college. She will ultimately be exposed to more conservative views and that’s ok… better for our future to have more open discussion on different viewpoints rather then everyone retreating to the geographic political corners.
Agreed, sometimes I wonder where people who think the “Northeast” is some homogenous liberal bastion visit. Lots and lots of conservative areas/people in every Northeast and New England state.
And, the state with the most people voting ‘conservative’ the last election? That would be California.
At the same time, there are plenty of liberal/liberal leaning people living in what many call “red states”. If one isn’t getting exposure to multiple viewpoints in the areas one lives in, that’s probably due to a mix of self & systemic segregation.
No.
In our area, the ones who are going to the big southern schools (South Carolina, SMU, Texas have been popular lately) are ones who did not get into the flagship(s), UVA, William&Mary or VTech, and do not want the in-state equivalent of a bigger southern school(JMU) because “everyone” gets in. I know it may seem ridiculous but that is the thought process at the local privates and public competitive magnet schools. Just 5-6 yrs ago a higher percentage of kids from these schools got in to the flagships, and went to one of them.
While I see the trend due to strong merit or low costs - Alabama, Ole Miss, Florida State, U of SC …let’s also remember that society has made the same move with cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, Austin, Atlanta, Nashville getting new residents in droves at the expense of some Western and Northeastern states.
I believe the low cost / big merit is why kids come but society has long followed the same path.
I’ve put these articles out on other threads but this shows the power of money.
From our area those looking for southern schools are chasing merit, wanting warmer weather, or wanting a specific school for various reasons (specific program, parent alum, relatives nearby, friend goes there, etc).
I’ve yet to hear/see anyone choose to head south (or north) due to politics. I’m starting to hear some who are considering avoiding states over the abortion decision. That’s always avoiding red when it comes up, but it doesn’t come up with all students.
Football
Agree that it’s less about politics and more about beautiful campuses, weather, merit & football (and maybe even the thought of living in the Greek mega-mansions).
I am a former northerner who has lived in the south for 20+ years, and I was completely floored by the beautiful campuses and facilities when I toured some of the large southern state universities with my oldest daughter - compared to some of the northern state universities, including the one I went to. Not that one is necessarily a better quality of education than the other but wow - what a difference. And so much sunshine!
We’ve met quite a few families over the years who eventually follow their student down south and resettle here.
The merit amounts have gone down at the places where both my daughters applied. Daughter 1 was offered much higher merit, with lower stats than daughter 2 (higher stats, 7 years later). Many out of state parents on the class of 2021 FB groups for UofSC, Clemson & Georgia, were disappointed with what they thought would be much higher merit awards. So, I think the “headin’ down south to chase merit” impetus is turning into a bit of an urban legend for some universities (not that it’s not out there, but the amounts are going down and the stat requirements are going up).
My daughter at Clemson definitely didn’t choose it for merit, she applied to 20 schools and Clemson was definitely one of her lowest awards. She is the first student from out HS there, a last minute application. Her HS was online for over a year, it was between there or our flagship where her twin was planning on going (with lower stats that he phoned in). I think she just wanted a change. She was not able to visit most colleges.
I wonder if “Paying for the Party” was written now if it would be focused on a Southern Flagship?
I think that it’s merit money and warmer weather, as the trend started well before Covid. As the first universities who recruited via big merit become stingier, I think that other southern schools will try to take their place, using the same techniques. Instead of Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia then maybe it will be Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Texas Tech, for instance.
I remember being in high school in NY in the 1980’s and a friend saying her brother (a couple of years older than us) was going to college at Clemson, and me saying “Where on earth is Clemson?! Why would anyone go all the way to South Carolina for college?!”
Fast forward many years later and I probably know at least a dozen or so high school and college classmates who still live in NY (and NJ, MA, CT) whose kids go to Clemson or UofSC.
I haven’t noticed that at my large high school in Southern California. It seems pretty steady at around 10 going to the South per year (mostly to Texas).