“As the last of the college acceptances roll in for high school seniors this month, it’s likely more of those offers than ever before will be coming from campuses far from home. Over the last two decades, the number of students traveling a significant distance to college has increased as places that once felt far away now feel as if they are one town over thanks to modern communications and discount airlines.” …
"… “There is a recruitment war,” said Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president for enrollment management and marketing at DePaul University in Chicago. “Colleges are spending a lot more money to go a lot farther away to get students.” …
“… But even as more colleges expand their search area for prospects, there are several signs that the number of students willing to get on a plane or drive several hours to go to college is not keeping pace, according to a study I recently authored on the future of college admissions.” …
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/03/25/how-much-longer-will-students-be-willing-to-go-away-to-college/
Most college students commute to colleges local to where they already live to begin with. These forums have a skewed sample of students with lots of students with high stats (for college admission and scholarships) and/or high parental money who tend to be more able to and interested in going away to college.
Most colleges, including the so-called national universities (Harvard, Duke, et al), accept a majority of their students from the region in which they are located.
Most American college students commute to their local CC or univ already, simply because most families cannot pay or justify paying $15k per year for room and board when living at home is sooooo much cheaper.
These forums give the wrong impression that everyone goes away to college.
The same families that can’t contribute much or anything towards college will often allow their college student to live at home for free, which is similar to a $10k+ per year contribution.
That said, with rising tuitions, there may soon be even more kids commuting. Schools won’t suddenly have more resources to provide more FA, so gaps will become even larger.
I belong to a non-college forum for parents and it’s shocking to see how many parents are now shell-shocked that their kids’ FA pkgs are all unaffordable loans. They never heard of NPCs so never used them. They just learned wha their EFCs were and assumed a bunch of grants would be given. Heartbroken parents and students. Many will end up commuting to their local CCs because nothing else will work. Sad to think that these excited seniors spent months on applications and essays, and parents spent good money on fees, only to have no choices but the local CC.
@Massmomm: Not the majority (among the Ivy/equivalents, I think only Cornell and Rice draw half or more from their home region) unless you define “region” to be so broad as “East of the Mississippi”, but almost all the elite privates do draw disproportionately from their home region.
Nobody needs a forum to go to the local CC or regional public/private near home…But they won’t know what they are missing until later in life.
It’s anecdotal, but our DS thought long and hard about going OOS and ultimately decided he would rather stay in Florida. There were multiple factors that went into the decision, but he just did not seem to have the ‘hankering’ to go OOS the way I did when I was his age. My niece/nephews seem to stick closer to home too.
^^^
sometimes when you live in a big state (Florida, Calif, etc) you can “go away” without leaving the state and still get all the instate benefits (Bright Futures, Cal Grants, etc.) AND feel like you’re experiencing a whole different culture, weather, people. Northern Calif and Florida are very different from Southern Cal and Florida.
^^very true. My son still went 5 hours from where we lived for the last 16 years . . . and stayed in state.
Based on the packages I see being offered by the schools to my son, cost is really not an object at all for many many Americans. Aid is just not there in any quantity that I fell makes much of a difference. There are more people willing to pay than seats to fill and it will continue to cause the price of college to rise up faster than inflation. I think social media does have an impact on a students willingness to go away. With facetime and skype, kids feel like they are in the next room. Cost is not really a problem so kids can now apply to many schools farther out. This study might just be talking about a brief blip.
^^^ Same with state schools in Texas.
@MassDaD68 I have to disagree with you on cost. Many families in America can NOT afford to send their kids to college. As a result, many students are forced to pull out student loans. However, after they finish college, many of these students can’t find well-paying jobs and are struggling to pay off their student debt. This has led to the student debt crisis in America.
As how this relates to the discussion on hand, I feel that cost is a major unaddressed reason why more students are attending college locally. With the rise of the common app, many students are applying to OOS colleges. With the surge in applications, financial aid has become more limited. Coupled with lower state funding and the effects of the 2008 recession still lingering on the economy, schools are forced to ration what-ever financial aid money they have left. As a result, schools are giving less financial aid to OOS students. This has lead to many students applying to local and in-state colleges which offer better financial aid packages.
Just want to mention that the more elite schools in my area require students to live on campus at least 1-2 years regardless of residency of parents. I believe that housing is a money-maker for colleges, which is the primary motivation for this requirement. (Granted, some colleges have very special housing arrangements that are considered part of the “experience”).
There was a comprehensive study in 2009 about the distances students travel for college.
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ838811.pdf
Some findings:
- Based on a sample size of 916,466 students, the median distance traveled to college was 94 miles
- 72.1 percent of students attended a school in their home state, 11.9 percent went to a school in a bordering state
- As one’s SAT score increases so does the average (median) distance they travel to college
- In the lowest SAT score band (400-490), median travel distance is 42 miles
- In the highest SAT score band (1500-1600), median travel distance is 234 miles
So even the most highly qualified students usually pick schools located within 250 miles of their home.
Related question: what schools have the longest “reach”, i.e. have the students that travelled furthest from home ?
There was a recent study on this involving 350,000 students. It only included students from the Lower 48 states (i.e. no AK, HI, PR, or international students). Answers:
1 Reed: average student travel distance of 1,357 miles to get to college
2 West Point: 1,209 miles
3 Stanford: 1,095 miles
https://ink.niche.com/top-25-colleges-students-farthest-home/
@MassDaD68 your statement is uninformed and I will accept your apology.
Can we talk about why you go to college? And why pick the college or path of colleges you did.
I think a legit study will show a person who desires and wants a good education, follows this flowchart; what can I afford, what will allow me to excel in my major, and the interviews I have with different colleges on campus and professors via phone or on campus.
Now if you want to FOLLOW your friends or be at a University that is “RANKED” (LOL), you probably shouldn’t go to college.
Myself I was turned down by my #1 school and accepted at the other 9 schools. The school will not make me, only I will make me. A community college is a great path if you don’t have sufficient AP credits or scholarship. I would like to see that study of students who attend community college against the others who start in a 4 year program.
College don’t create work ethic or being a leader if your in it for the reason.
@nitro11 What are you talking about?
@dragonmom3 First I was talking about @MassDaD68 comment and than about location of University has many variables.
So i guess life of a senior in High School. What’s your insight or thought? I’m okay with discussion.
@dragonmom3 what is your thoughts? Why not share your thoughts? After all I irritated you with my thoughts, enlighten me with yours. I speak from the heart.