Go back and read my post. I WAS a girl from a small town and I was able to find out information on colleges almost 40 years ago. Small towns have college students/grads, they even did back then. Not too hard to find someone you knew from high school who is attending college.
H grew up in an even smaller town than I did and went to a small HS (my HS was a consolidated district so it was good size). He had multiple classmates who attended state flagship (UIUC), Notre Dame, etc. And this was mid 1970’s.
We still have family in the small towns including young people. They are all over the internet.
My point is that “small town” does not equal everyone being uninformed or clueless. That is a stereotype.