@natty1988 I live in the mid-Atlantic. One of D17’s classmates goes to Montana State. He’s a fun ”outside the box” kid and comes from a pretty outdoorsy family. He’s having a blast out there. I just found out last week that one of S19’s classmates is also headed there. I wouldn’t be surprised if more kids from our area start putting it on their list. That seems to happen with certain schools that are previously not a “thing” - one kid goes off somewhere, loves it, starts posting on social media, etc and next thing you know more and more kids are applying there from their h.s.
I’ve found at my kids’ h.s., universities that aren’t highly ranked have become attractive for those students who arent tippy top students but who want to venture further afield. While I don’t foresee a huge amount of students from our area applying to Montana State in the future, I do think it will start getting a handful of apps from kids who know the boys from our h.s. and are looking for that type of college experience.