<p>Here are some eye-popping figures on how many freshmen New Jersey exported in 2010 to OOS flagships in 15 states, and how many freshmen Rutgers imported from those same states. (In a few cases I combined flagships and quasi-flagships, e.g., Indiana & Purdue, Clemson & South Carolina, UVa-VaTech-William & Mary, SUNY Binghamton-Buffalo-Stony Brook; in most cases, just the state’s top flagship is listed).</p>
<p>Michigan freshmen from New Jersey: 234
Rutgers freshmen from Michigan: 0</p>
<p>UMass-Amherst freshmen from NJ: 237
Rutgers freshmen from MA: 21</p>
<p>UConn freshmen from NJ: 140
Rutgers freshmen from CT: 25</p>
<p>U Vermont freshmen from NJ: 149
Rutgers freshmen from VT: 2</p>
<p>SUNY Binghamton/Buffalo/Stony Brook freshmen from NJ: 252
Rutgers freshmen from NY: 146</p>
<p>Penn State freshmen from NJ: 792
Rutgers freshmen from PA: 67</p>
<p>UDel freshmen from NJ: 576
Rutgers freshmen from DE: 5</p>
<p>U Maryland freshmen from NJ: 393
Rutgers freshmen from MD: 32</p>
<p>UVA/VaTech/William & Mary freshmen from NJ: 406
Rutgers freshmen from VA: 17</p>
<p>UNC Chapel Hill freshmen from NJ: 50
Rutgers freshmen from NC: 4</p>
<p>South Carolina/Clemson freshmen from NJ: 213
Rutgers freshmen from SC: 2</p>
<p>Ohio State freshmen from NJ: 60
Rutgers freshmen from OH: 6</p>
<p>Indiana/Purdue freshmen from NJ: 149
Rutgers freshmen from IN: 2</p>
<p>Illinois freshmen from NJ: 37
Rutgers freshmen from IL: 4</p>
<p>Wisconsin freshmen from NJ: 59
Rutgers freshmen from WI: 0</p>
<p>Total NJ exports to 15 states: 3,999
Total NJ imports from 15 states: 333 (of which nearly half were from a single state, New York)</p>
<p>That’s just a staggering trade deficit, or brain drain, if you will. The odd thing is that brain drains usually occur in economically depressed or declining regions, but New Jersey is one of our most prosperous states. Yet somehow it’s managed to make its public higher education so unattractive to its own residents that most who can leave do so. And this doesn’t begin to count the additional thousands who are leaving for private colleges and universities at all levels of selectivity and quality, or the thousands more who are departing for lower-tier OOS public institutions.</p>