A quarter of prospective college students say they'd shun a school in a state whose politics or policies they abhor, a recent survey finds, Jennifer A. Kingson reports.

• The finding is true whether a student says they're a liberal, moderate or conservative, per the report, published by higher-ed consultancy Art & Science Group.

In a separate survey by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation published Thursday, 72% of college students said that the reproductive health laws in their school's state affected their decision to stay enrolled.

• Among adults ages 18-59 without a college degree, 60% said such laws would affect their decision to attend a specific college or university.

Why it matters: Americans are increasingly choosing where to live and whom to associate with based on their politics, exacerbating our national polarization.

• And, judging from these polls, that process is beginning at a young age.
• As free speech battles play out on campuses nationwide, growing imbalances in the politics of the student body could further erode civility and stifle healthy debate.

Driving the news: In a poll of 1,865 college-bound high school seniors conducted this winter by Art & Science Group, 1 in 4 said they passed over a school they had initially considered based exclusively on state-level policies or politics.

• Conservative-leaning students were most likely to strike either California or New York off their college lists, while liberal-leaning students name-checked Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
• Among the quarter of students who said that a state's prevailing "politics, policies and legal situations" made a difference to them, 32% said they'd rule out going to school in their own state — a surprise, given that the majority of college students go to school close to home.

The top reasons left-leaning students gave for ruling out schools in a particular state were that they were too conservative overall, as well as too conservative on abortion and reproductive rights specifically.

• Other considerations included a lack of concern about racial equity, conservative LGBTQ+ laws, poor gun control and a lack of mental health support.

Right-leaning students were more likely to rule out states for being "too Democratic overall" than for particular issues.

• Those who did cite issues most commonly said they thought the states in question were too liberal on LGBTQ+ laws, too eager to quash conservative voices, and too liberal on abortion and reproductive rights.

What they're saying: "What struck me most was that it was a full quarter of students who told us this, and that a third of [that group] were ruling out schools in their own states," David Strauss, principal of the Art & Science Group, tells Axios.

• Also surprising was that "this was true across the ideological spectrum," Strauss says.
• While his firm hasn't done any longitudinal studies on the subject, Strauss' view as a longtime consultant in the field is that this sort of political stratification "is just picking up steam."
• "It concerns me that if this actually contributes to more sorting in our society, we will be more divided yet again — now physically."

Yes, but: The high schoolers' responses won't necessarily translate into voting with their feet — a Republican student accepted to Harvard might be willing to overlook that it's in liberal Massachusetts.

Between the lines: "This is going to add a significant dollop of structural disadvantage to some institutions," depending where they're located, Strauss said.

• "I imagine if we did this today, the numbers would be higher still because there's more of a fever pitch out there," he added.

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A major test of SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft and massive Super Heavy booster rocket ended in an explosion over the Gulf of Mexico just minutes after launch Thursday, Axios' Miriam Kramer reports.

Details: Starship lifted off at around 9:33 a.m. ET from Boca Chica, Texas, atop SpaceX's Super Heavy booster.

• All seemed to go well initially, but problems arose about three minutes after launch. The craft then exploded for reasons that remain unclear.

The big picture: SpaceX values moving fast and taking risks as it's developing new rockets.

• These kinds of high-profile test accidents are part of that philosophy.

The big picture: NASA is counting on Starship, having awarded SpaceX a major contract to use the craft as an Artemis program lunar lander.

• "Every great achievement throughout history has demanded some level of calculated risk because with great risk comes great reward," NASA administrator Bill Nelson wrote on Twitter after Thursday's test.
• "Looking forward to all that SpaceX learns, to the next flight test — and beyond."

What's next: Some experts believe Starship will completely change the space industry when and if the huge rocket starts flying regularly.

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Home prices continued their downward tumble in March, Axios' Emily Peck reports.

• Median sale prices were 3.3% lower than a year ago — the biggest annual drop since 2012, per Redfin.

• It's the second month in a row of negative year-over-year prices.

The big picture: Some homeowners don't want to sell and lose their low-rate loans, given today's sky-high mortgage rates.

• But houses are still hitting the market, especially in cities that suddenly got hot during the pandemic.
• For example: Home prices in Boise, Idaho — the iconic Zoom boomtown — fell 15.4% from last year, in part because sellers are increasingly desperate as remote work opportunities fade.

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With baseball moving faster thanks to MLB's new pitch clock, Minnesota Twins broadcaster Cory Provus is tweaking the way he calls games, Axios' Nick Halter reports.

Driving the news: In past seasons, pitchers would pace around the mound and batters would tinker with their gloves or take practice swings between throws.

• That gave announcers a chance to dissect big plays, analyze trends or tell stories — a window that no longer exists.

What they're saying: While Provus is still doing the same amount of pregame prep, he's not using nearly as much of the information he gathers "because of how fast things are moving," he tells Axios.

Flashback: Provus once worked alongside legendary sportscaster Bob Uecker, who taught him that he doesn't need to call every pitch.

• That lesson has translated well with the faster pace of this season's games.

"I learned from Bob to let the game breathe a bit and not make it monotonous with constant play-by-play because I think that's boring," Provus says.

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