More Northeast students are heading to LSU
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More Northeastern teens are heading to the South for large state schools, with LSU seeing a nearly 500% increase in attendance from students in the Northeast between 2014 and 2023, an Axios data analysis shows.
Why it matters: It seems like everyone wants to be a Tiger.
The big picture: 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.
Between the lines: Warm weather, affordability and politics play a role, too.
- 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 sports 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.
- LSU's nearly 500% increase in attendance from Northeastern students was a result of jumping from 100 students in 2014 to 568 in 2023, according to Axios' analysis of National Center for Education Statistics data.
Yes, but: LSU is still playing a bit of catch-up, according to The Times-Picayune, compared to its public Southern counterparts.
- Out-of-state students made up 38% of LSU freshmen in fall 2023, the paper reports. But at Alabama and Ole Miss, out-of-state freshmen were 64% and 69%, respectively.
- Go deeper: Explore LSU's enrollment data.
The intrigue: 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 to the 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.
What's next: Alumni of these schools are likely to stay in the South for work after graduating, which would be welcome news for states like Louisiana that have been battling brain drain.
- Just look to cities like Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Atlanta and Austin, which are growing faster than the country overall, for how that might look.
- 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.
Go deeper: America's college chaos