Interesting read on enrollment of students from northern states in southern colleges absolutely skyrocketing over the last couple of decades. The main drivers: cost, football atmosphere, politics and COVID.
USC and Clemson are specifically mentioned.
Original article behind paywall on WSJ:
Good overall summary from another source:
www.dailymail.co.uk
"According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of Northerners attending Southern public schools has ballooned to 84 percent over the past two decades. Between 2018 and 2022, the figure surged 30 percent. Students are drawn South, in part, because the public universities offer cheaper alternatives to Northern schools. But the exodus is also being driven by teenagers who wish to avoid the intense political polarization plaguing Ivy League campuses in New England and New York. Throughout American history, ambitious high-school seniors have tended to set their sights on Ivy League schools. Throughout American history, ambitious high-school seniors have tended to set their sights on Ivy League schools. Over the same time period, applications to Alabama have skyrocketed more than 600 percent. Applications to Harvard - which has been rocked by anti-Semitism claims in the wake of the October 7 attacks and Israel's bombing of Gaza - have only increased by 200 percent over the same period."
"Southern schools charged students from other states a median $29,000 in tuition and fees, the least of top public colleges in any region,' the Journal noted. Mitch Savalli originally hoped to attend Tufts, where out-of-pocket costs amount to roughly $80,000. At Georgia Tech, the financial burden is half of that."
"Covid accelerated the trend, with closures and mask mandates dragging on for far longer at Ivy League colleges than their southern counterparts. Mitch Savalli, a freshman at Georgia Tech from Long Island, told the Wall Street Journal that he was drawn to the school after witnessing his older brother's difficult experience at a college in Upstate New York. Mitch's older brother attended the school during the pandemic. He was subjected to routine lockdowns at the college after he had been exposed to Covid. There were also mask requirements, social-distancing rules, and online classes that he attended in his dorm room. During this time, the Savalli brothers watched college football games that showed students across the South cheering on their teams in person. You had students home in their basement in Connecticut looking at their phone seeing most of the Northeast closed down and not much happening,' Rick Clark, executive director of strategic student access at Georgia Tech, told WSJ. 'At the same time they are seeing sororities at Alabama and football games in Georgia and Florida. Life is happening,' he continued.
"Fascinatingly, many parents who come to visit their children at southern colleges end up moving there themselves, a practice known as trailing. They're attracted by the good weather, friendly vibes and cheaper property - as well as proximity to their loved ones."
USC and Clemson are specifically mentioned.
Original article behind paywall on WSJ:
Good overall summary from another source:
Colleges in south see surge in freshmen from northeast
A large number of high-school seniors in the North are deciding to ditch Ivy League schools for colleges in the south, where they can expect to be free from a highly politicized environment.
"According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of Northerners attending Southern public schools has ballooned to 84 percent over the past two decades. Between 2018 and 2022, the figure surged 30 percent. Students are drawn South, in part, because the public universities offer cheaper alternatives to Northern schools. But the exodus is also being driven by teenagers who wish to avoid the intense political polarization plaguing Ivy League campuses in New England and New York. Throughout American history, ambitious high-school seniors have tended to set their sights on Ivy League schools. Throughout American history, ambitious high-school seniors have tended to set their sights on Ivy League schools. Over the same time period, applications to Alabama have skyrocketed more than 600 percent. Applications to Harvard - which has been rocked by anti-Semitism claims in the wake of the October 7 attacks and Israel's bombing of Gaza - have only increased by 200 percent over the same period."
"Southern schools charged students from other states a median $29,000 in tuition and fees, the least of top public colleges in any region,' the Journal noted. Mitch Savalli originally hoped to attend Tufts, where out-of-pocket costs amount to roughly $80,000. At Georgia Tech, the financial burden is half of that."
"Covid accelerated the trend, with closures and mask mandates dragging on for far longer at Ivy League colleges than their southern counterparts. Mitch Savalli, a freshman at Georgia Tech from Long Island, told the Wall Street Journal that he was drawn to the school after witnessing his older brother's difficult experience at a college in Upstate New York. Mitch's older brother attended the school during the pandemic. He was subjected to routine lockdowns at the college after he had been exposed to Covid. There were also mask requirements, social-distancing rules, and online classes that he attended in his dorm room. During this time, the Savalli brothers watched college football games that showed students across the South cheering on their teams in person. You had students home in their basement in Connecticut looking at their phone seeing most of the Northeast closed down and not much happening,' Rick Clark, executive director of strategic student access at Georgia Tech, told WSJ. 'At the same time they are seeing sororities at Alabama and football games in Georgia and Florida. Life is happening,' he continued.
"Fascinatingly, many parents who come to visit their children at southern colleges end up moving there themselves, a practice known as trailing. They're attracted by the good weather, friendly vibes and cheaper property - as well as proximity to their loved ones."
