Especially if you happen to read the pro publica reports about what happens in practice wrt the few “exceptions” some of these states have.
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For example:
I got “lip” (pressure) from various people when D24 had decided where to apply and, later, where to attend. 3 of the schools she applied to were in TX & KY. 2 were in NM, 2 in AZ. For the NM, TX, & KY schools, some said basically, “Ew, why would you want to go to college there?” Some people we encountered had a hard time with the fact that politics had nothing to do with her decision.
1 of her classmates is attending University of Alabama-Huntsville. Another kid is attending Georgia Tech. Both are African-American males. Some may say, “But why would a Black man want to go to college in a southern state?”
Their reasons for choosing those schools had nothing to do with politics.
For 1 kid, he has extended family in that state, so having a support network available a couple of hours’ drive away was helpful + the excellent program for his major was a big draw. For the other kid, the excellent engineering program was a huge selling point. Both are happy with their decision.
My D26 applied to 4 colleges: 1 in state here in AZ, 2 in TX, 1 in OK. Some are horrified by this. “How can you allow your daughter to apply there?”
Her reasons have nothing to do with politics.
MANY colleges & parts of the county were crossed off the list for reasons like:
- too far away. Kid didn’t want to be on the other side of the country from us.
- too cold. This eliminated about half of the US.
- too expensive. This eliminated many MANY schools, including everything in CA.
- too close to a toxic extended family member. Very specific reason, but a very valid one.
- didn’t have the very specific type of major she wanted
- too much focus on football & Greek life
- too “big city,” too “rural,” or too “small town”
- college required church/chapel attendance
The colleges that DID make it on ‘the list’ did so for very specific reasons:
- felt not too far away
- NSA Academic Center of Excellence designation for the school’s cyber security program
- AFFORDABLE!
- not too cold
- of the schools visited that remained on the list, liked the campus vibe a lot
- in a city but “not like in the middle of NYC or Chicago type of city”
- great History electives that she likes
- major didn’t require 1-1.5 yr of Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations
- major didn’t require 1 yr of Chemistry
- college will give her a lot of course credit for her AP test scores
- people on campus seemed “nice,” “approachable,” “easy to talk to” or “people seem happy there”
Her list will upset some people. Her list bothers some. We are ok with that. They are not going to be going to college with her. They’re going with a different flavor of ice cream. Their flavor is great and so is the flavor(s) that my D26 prefers.
If my D26 opts to attend college in TX or OK, we are totally fine with that. It’s only 3.5-4 yr of her life. We’ll go visit. She’ll come home to visit us. If she lands her dream job, she could end up living after college at a whole host of different places based on where the particular job is. Could be in a blue state, could be in a red state. Pretty sure she won’t pick CA, Pacific NW, or northeastern states though (cost + for 2 of the 3, cost+weather).
Life is an adventure. Kudos to the students who are opting to move south for college. They’re young and want to try something new. They should go for it. If they don’t like it, they’ll move elsewhere after graduation. It’ll all work out in the long run.
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From my experience, yes, though it’s admittedly less common than it was when I moved to the South (specifically, NC’s Triangle) 20 years ago. Back then, it would have taken more than one hand to count the times people approached me at random at Target or somewhere, to ask if I was a churchgoer and to invite me to attend theirs. And it was a fairly standard question to receive when meeting new people.
To be very clear, where we live isn’t hostile to non-Christians, but we have met a fair number of people who have a hard time understanding the concept of atheism. My kids have ever been told by classmates that they’re bound for hell, and holiday-time craft projects in their public school included explicitly Christian imagery (angels, mostly). But my kids also learned about Diwali and Ramadan, and they have the Jewish holidays off from school.
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Ironically- and apologies for the side note– angels are indeed an Old Testament and Midrashic (i.e. Jewish) concept. They have many names/nomenclatures depending on their functions- seraphim, melachim, etc. However, because of various prohibitions on artworks showing God, the human form, holy beings with a physical manifestation, etc. writings about angels in Jewish literary works is prolific- artistic depictions not so much. The famous paintings showing angels appearing in various events in the Old Testament (to Hagar, to Abraham, Jacob’s ladder, etc.) are mainly (but not exclusively) works of Christian artists.
Continue!
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When D24 chose to attend Rice (the only student from our upper income, affluent suburban CT town ever to be admitted and gasp actually attend the school), a lot of her teachers couldnt believe it. She didnt even apply to an Ivy League school?? Why???
They never heard of the school (hilarious) and wondered why she would attend a school in Texas and thought everyone only drove pickups and carried guns.
In response, she did her HS Capstone research project on northern ignorance and southern stereotypes.
Also, the same kid who recently who won 3rd place at the National College Media awards for her freshman article on immigrant students’ fears.
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Which residential college was she in?? Bonus congrats if it was Hanszen!
Yes, it made me chuckle when I moved to Maine and I kept hearing about how prejudiced southerners are. Kind of ironic, considering what they were saying…
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And now this.
It cites many reasons for kids moving south, one of which is they’re seeking a less tense political environment.
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Interesting article!
Wanting an in-person experience is a reason mentioned in 1 of the latter paragraphs of the article. That’s the reason my D24 chose a college in TX. Our in-state public universities now rely a lot on online instruction. D24 doesn’t learn as well with online teaching formats.
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I’m curious about this. I have heard a lot more recently about southern schools offering a lot of classes online only (UF for example, and Alabama too). I didn’t even realize this was a thing anywhere until recently. Definitely something to keep in mind when looking at schools in general.
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As an athlete, our son always tried to get an asynchronous online class each semester. He’d go through the class on long bus rides, or at the team hotel during trips for matches.
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I don’t think my daughter who recently graduated from Clemson had any online classes, her sister at another university loved asynchronous classes because she had a very full schedule (18 credits each semester, club track, sorority, part time job) and it made things a little easier.
I would think it depends on the kid and the situation. It probably works better for some than others. I definitely think it is worth looking into at the schools your child is considering though, and I am glad I am on CC otherwise I’d have never thought of this (being from the dark ages when there were no online classes because the internet wasn’t even a thing yet).
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What is “asynchronous”? The kid watching a video recording of the class in their own time?
Many schools, in every geographic region, offer online classes. Often one section is offered online while other sections are in person. The student can choose what works best for them. This isn’t exclusive to southern schools.
Yes, I know that. I had just heard more recently about it happening at southern schools more than it used to. As I said, I think it’s something to consider when looking at any school.
It’s happening at a lot of schools more than it used to. But yes, before deciding on a school, looking at course catalogs can give an indication of online vs. in person course offerings.
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Correct, it allows very busy students to watch the class at non traditional times.
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Even before COVID there were online classes. This daughter started college in 2019, and ended up with 3 semesters of online classes, so got used to them. She chose to take a asynchronous class most semesters.
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