Northeast students are heading south for college
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Warm weather, affordability and politics have prompted a teenage migration from the Northeast to the South.
Why it matters: Large Southern state schools, many in already expanding metro areas, are attracting a geographically diverse student body as Americans are increasingly disillusioned with the value of higher education.
- "They're seen not only as more fun, but also more accessible," Jeff Selingo, author of college admissions books, told Axios.
The big picture: Many public Southern schools have lower tuition rates than their private counterparts, and they prioritize merit scholarships, Selingo said.
- The more exciting draws? School spirit and football culture.
By the numbers: In two decades, 84% more students from the North attended public schools in the South, per a Wall Street Journal analysis last year. It jumped 30% from 2018 to 2022.
- Louisiana State University saw a nearly 500% increase in attendance from students in the Northeast from 100 students in 2014 to 568 in 2023, according to an Axios analysis of National Center for Education Statistics data.
- The University of Tennessee in Knoxville and the University of Mississippi had significant increases as well.
Between the lines: Politics are also a rising factor in some students' decisions.
- Colleges in Republican-led states returned to in-person classes sooner than colleges in Democratic-led states after the onset of COVID. High school students who sat through virtual classes during the pandemic may have been inclined to flock south for a more authentic college experience.
- "Students who were looking at colleges saw more freedom and fun in the South than they saw up North," Selingo said.
Zoom in: More recently, elite colleges in the Northeast and California were the main sites of pro-Palestinian protests that sparked clashes between demonstrators and school administrations.
- "Students have said to me, 'I don't want to go to a college where everybody's angry at each other and everybody's fighting over everything,'" said Maria Laskaris, a counselor at Top Tier Admissions, a higher education consulting firm.
- "It's not that they don't want to be challenged. They're looking for a good education, an active and generally happy student body."
- Politically moderate or conservative students could feel that they'd better fit in at schools in Republican-leaning states, Selingo said, as slightly more young people identify with conservatives.
What's next: Alumni of these schools are likely to stay in the South for work after graduating, as the populations in cities such as Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta and Austin have been growing faster than the country overall.
- About half of graduates work in the same metro area as their college, and two-thirds work in the same state, per 2024 research from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
- "Suddenly you're living there and raising the next generation of kids," Selingo said.
Behind the scenes: The Common Application, which allows students to apply to multiple schools at once, used to primarily serve private and highly selective schools, per Education Week. It's now become a major resource for students applying to public colleges and universities.
- In 2023-24, applications to public schools on the platform surpassed private for the first time, per a report.
The bottom line: "It is becoming almost impossible to get into the most competitive schools," Laskaris said.
- "And at some point, I think students are going to say 'Why am I chasing something? Look at this wonderful school that has a much more generous admit rate that gives me everything I want."
Go deeper: America's college chaos
