I am a high school junior from Boston who is strongly interested in Ole Miss. I however have the roadblock of my parents who think that I won’t fit in in Mississippi and are opposed to me even applying. They say people will not like me because I am from the North even though we are originally from Chicago. Are they right? Would I struggle to make friends in Mississippi being from Boston?
@Student4786 While stereotypes from movies and popular culture seem to reinforce these beliefs about the South, the truth is we you make friends regardless of their hometown or upbringing. I live in the deep South and my best friends are from Cincinnati, Ohio and Ann Arbor,Michigan. I have read that about 45% of the enrollment at Mississippi is from out of state. People are attracted there for different reasons but if you are open to new experiences you will find friends just about any college. Truth is, in the South, we routinely welcome people from everywhere but since these old stereotypes still exist people think otherwise. In my experience, your being from Boston would be more of a point of interest and a conversation starter than a negative thing. Last year a group from the Honors college at Mississippi went to Boston to visit with the professors at MIT. Your would have been an excellent tour guide!
If possible, and with your parents blessing, it might be a good idea to visit the campus this spring to see if it is a good fit for you. These stereotypes only fade away when forced to face the cold light of reality.
you will love it and won’t even think twice about going back to the Northeast. Many out of state students. My son is a junior from Columbus OH and his best friend is a manager for the football team and grew up in Boston. His other fraternity brothers are from San Francisco, Little Rock, West Palm Beach, St Louis and Chicago. You can’t beat the price compared to what Boston College which is 53,000/year. If you play lacrosse, there is a great club team that plays SEC schools and the club Hockey team is great as well.
You will love it. Southern people are some of the nicest people you will ever meet, but beyond that, people are people. If you approach them with openness and kindness you will get openness and kindness.
For the past few years, the incoming freshman classes at Ole Miss have been nearly 50/50 in state and out of state students. So, there will be plenty of other students not from Mississippi or the South.