Surly kids who can't get into UT

HookEm · September 20

On 9/19/2024 at 10:46 AM, BabaYaga said:

Driving/parking on the AR campus on game days......shoot me in the face

Ha. Yes, exactly. What a cluster F. We ended up parking at the high school for $20 and walking to the game. That will be my plan when we go back for the UT vs. Pig game in November.

Cap33 · September 20

On 9/19/2024 at 9:54 AM, BrazilHorn said:

My son is a senior at AHS and in the application process. Can't get into UT (could do the 1 year at UTSA deal but doesn't want to).

He just got accepted to Alabama and still has applications out to Auburn, FSU, Tenn, S. Car, LSU and Ok. State

Will see where he ends up. I agree with post above how Common app is simple but a real PITA as while it says "common", every school has their quirks.

Congrats on Bama. Did he consider Georgia? My oldest is there and loves it. Athens is a very cool town -- reminds us a lot of how Austin felt 30 years ago. So many Texas kids there too.

royiv · September 20

Reading all these stories of Surly kids going out of state really demonstrates the brain drain that Texas is going to suffer as a result of not investing in higher education.

SimonBolivar · September 20

9 minutes ago, Cap33 said:

Congrats on Bama. Did he consider Georgia? My oldest is there and loves it. Athens is a very cool town -- reminds us a lot of how Austin felt 30 years ago. So many Texas kids there too.

Georgia is also considered a much better school than Bama, for whatever that matters.

CooterBrown · September 20

Just hit submit last night on my kid's applications. It feels good to have that part complete. No Texas schools. 3 in Colorado, 1 in Oregon, 1 in Washington, 1 in Massachusetts, and 1 in Vermont. One way or another, she's escaping Gilead.

Hagbard Celine · September 20

24 minutes ago, Cap33 said:

Congrats on Bama. Did he consider Georgia? My oldest is there and loves it. Athens is a very cool town -- reminds us a lot of how Austin felt 30 years ago. So many Texas kids there too.

athens became the southeast slacker austin at the same time as austin became slacker austin, and has stayed that way, unlike austin

BabaYaga · September 20

1 hour ago, HookEm said:

Ha. Yes, exactly. What a cluster F. We ended up parking at the high school for $20 and walking to the game. That will be my plan when we go back for the UT vs. Pig game in November.

Fayetteville HS? We did too. We have friends with a pre-set-up tailgating tent. Next time there is a home game, message me and I'll tell you where we are. It's across the main road where the food trucks are, by the little creek that cuts through the tailgating section.

tx 3 putt · September 20

22 minutes ago, royiv said:

Reading all these stories of Surly kids going out of state really demonstrates the brain drain that Texas is going to suffer as a result of not investing in higher education.

how much has UT grown the freshman class the past 10 years ?

BabaYaga · September 20

21 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Georgia is also considered a much better school than Bama, for whatever that matters.

By a significant amount. US News & World report has GA #47 overall. AL is #170. Texas is #32, BTW.

royiv · September 20

4 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

how much has UT grown the freshman class the past 10 years ?

Incoming class was 9,200 in 2013 and last year it was a hair under 9,400.

BabaYaga · September 20

4 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

how much has UT grown the freshman class the past 10 years ?

They've hovered around 9K for a while +/-. The school is out of space. They're locked in. So they're tightening their admissions YOY to make it more prestigious/selective to get in. Business school is a MF'er to get into these days. It's ridiculous. Same with most of the engineering options

BrazilHorn · September 20

2 hours ago, Cap33 said:

Congrats on Bama. Did he consider Georgia? My oldest is there and loves it. Athens is a very cool town -- reminds us a lot of how Austin felt 30 years ago. So many Texas kids there too.

He might add it. He has painted all around it. With S. Car, Tenn, FSU. I have heard great things about GA.

Brew · September 20

4 hours ago, Cap33 said:

Congrats on Bama. Did he consider Georgia? My oldest is there and loves it. Athens is a very cool town -- reminds us a lot of how Austin felt 30 years ago. So many Texas kids there too.

Oldest is a freshman at UGA this fall. She has had a great experience so far. Comparing with other schools that her friends are at TN, MS, Aub, LSU, etc, the school/clubs have put a lot more effort into getting kids connected. She walked in knowing 2 people on campus and feels right at home at this point. It has its issues like the homeless population taking over downtown, parking issues, etc but she couldn’t be happier with her decision at this point.

Brew · September 20

2 hours ago, BrazilHorn said:

He might add it. He has painted all around it. With S. Car, Tenn, FSU. I have heard great things about GA.

We liked Clemson a lot more than South Carolina when we looked at them. Clemson also had a really strong honors program if that makes any difference. She got a pretty good offer from them, but GA had always been number 1 on her list and we agreed to pay the bill if she got accepted.

dcbc · September 21

On 5/24/2024 at 9:40 AM, South Austin said:

True.

Quoted (months later) to add, since September almost is behind us: OU Sucks!

Edited September 21 by dcbc

luke duke · September 21

nm

BrazilHorn · September 21

18 hours ago, Brew said:

We liked Clemson a lot more than South Carolina when we looked at them. Clemson also had a really strong honors program if that makes any difference. She got a pretty good offer from them, but GA had always been number 1 on her list and we agreed to pay the bill if she got accepted.

I would be open to him going to clemson as well. He’s applied to like 8 schools so far so trying to have some options open.

Grimas · September 23

On 9/20/2024 at 2:37 PM, BabaYaga said:

Fayetteville HS? We did too. We have friends with a pre-set-up tailgating tent. Next time there is a home game, message me and I'll tell you where we are. It's across the main road where the food trucks are, by the little creek that cuts through the tailgating section.

My twins are freshmen there as well (supply chain). If your kid has on campus parking, they supposedly can get a tag from the parking department that allows them to get on/off campus to get back to their garage on game days. Our plan for the UT game is to have them pick us up from our rental condo on game day. (According to one of the parent FB groups)

Edited September 23 by Grimas

BabaYaga · September 23

10 hours ago, Grimas said:

My twins are freshmen there as well (supply chain). If your kid has on campus parking, they supposedly can get a tag from the parking department that allows them to get on/off campus to get back to their garage on game days. Our plan for the UT game is to have them pick us up from our rental condo on game day. (According to one of the parent FB groups)

He's in Founders and has a parking pass that we got for him for the year. We're planning on parking at the Fayetteville HS like we did for the UAB game. $20 and the walk's not bad to the stadium. I will say the second week I took him for orientation I dropped him off and got lost as I had to park further away. Fucking hell. Walking that campus, those stairs, man. I'm in decent shape, but it kicked my ass.

BabaYaga · September 23

On to the second kid. Got her mom's brains. We got calls from a few D1 schools for sports, but we're really connecting with the smaller school coaches (I get it, they have to try harder). WashU in St Louis and Carnegie Mellon are both actively reaching out and they are damn good schools. Anyone know anyone that went to either? Brown in RI also reached out. Stretch goal, but a dad can dream....

Saint Tacky · September 23

1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

WashU in St Louis and Carnegie Mellon are both actively reaching out and they are damn good schools. Anyone know anyone that went to either?

This isn't much, but I know two kids who attend WashU, one of whom interned for me a couple of summers ago. He's from L.A. and the other from Long Island, both without any family connection to the school. They both love it, and their parents are very pleased with the academic support the school provides. My daughter was accepted to WashU last year but chose to focus on schools with graduate programs in veterinary medicine, so she didn’t end up visiting the campus. I was disappointed but I do like the in-state public school tuition.

jimmyjazz · September 23

1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

On to the second kid. Got her mom's brains. We got calls from a few D1 schools for sports, but we're really connecting with the smaller school coaches (I get it, they have to try harder). WashU in St Louis and Carnegie Mellon are both actively reaching out and they are damn good schools. Anyone know anyone that went to either?

Wash U is fantastic. My Dad did all 3 of his degrees there (BS/MS/PhD in Civil Engineering) and taught there for quite a while. Mom did her BS (Philosophy) there. My sister taught there (piano). It absolutely deserves the "midwest Ivy" accolades, on par with Northwestern, Rice, Vandy, etc. Wonderful community where the profs tend to be very connected to the students. Many of my HS classmates went there and consistently praise the school.

Firemans4Horn · September 23

Have two friends that went to Wash U (they are married). She’s a successful architect and he’s a partner at Bain (HBS MBA grad as well).

BabaYaga · September 23

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Wash U is fantastic. My Dad did all 3 of his degrees there (BS/MS/PhD in Civil Engineering) and taught there for quite a while. Mom did her BS (Philosophy) there. My sister taught there (piano). It absolutely deserves the "midwest Ivy" accolades, on par with Northwestern, Rice, Vandy, etc. Wonderful community where the profs tend to be very connected to the students. Many of my HS classmates went there and consistently praise the school.

Everything I see and hear about the school screams excellence. Sure, it's DIII, but they've won multiple recent championships in her sport and are undefeated this year. I just don't want her to settle on an academically challenged school just to play D1. There is a life after sports that matters much more than the jersey you wear for four years.

My neighbor before he moved got his MBA from there - dude was sharp.

6 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Have two friends that went to Wash U (they are married). She’s a successful architect and he’s a partner at Bain (HBS MBA grad as well).

Interestingly, architecture is something she's gravitating towards. You have to have the mindset for it, from the little I've been exposed to around the field.

BabaYaga · September 23

1 hour ago, Saint Tacky said:

This isn't much, but I know two kids who attend WashU, one of whom interned for me a couple of summers ago. He's from L.A. and the other from Long Island, both without any family connection to the school. They both love it, and their parents are very pleased with the academic support the school provides. My daughter was accepted to WashU last year but chose to focus on schools with graduate programs in veterinary medicine, so she didn’t end up visiting the campus. I was disappointed but I do like the in-state public school tuition.

Vet's are printing money these days - especially the urban, small animal shops. It's like a derm doc opening up a skin care shop where everyone pays cash and the elasticity of pricing can stretch pretty damn far. There are even PE guys that flirt with recent graduates with millions of dollars of lines of credit to get a price of their practice. Wish mine wanted to go that route...

South Austin · September 23

6 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Interestingly, architecture is something she's gravitating towards.

She should really look into being a city planner. Why limit herself to just one building, when she can design a whole city?

BabaYaga · September 23

6 minutes ago, South Austin said:

She should really look into being a city planner. Why limit herself to just one building, when she can design a whole city?

tx 3 putt · September 23

wash u and carnegie mellon are both very very good schools

Brew · September 23

We know several kids at Wash U, ours considered it but ended up wanting big school, football, etc. Only downside is it’s in St Louis which isn’t the greatest “big” city to be in by any stretch, but it has some really nice communities within the City. The Forest Park area where the school borders up to is one of those communities to be in. You also aren’t very far from the new soccer stadium and plenty of other things to do.

Bateshorn · September 23

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Wash U is fantastic. My Dad did all 3 of his degrees there (BS/MS/PhD in Civil Engineering) and taught there for quite a while. Mom did her BS (Philosophy) there. My sister taught there (piano). It absolutely deserves the "midwest Ivy" accolades, on par with Northwestern, Rice, Vandy, etc. Wonderful community where the profs tend to be very connected to the students. Many of my HS classmates went there and consistently praise the school.

Every Wash U grad I've ever met is whip smart and cool.

TwiceHorn · September 23

3 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

Everything I see and hear about the school screams excellence. Sure, it's DIII, but they've won multiple recent championships in her sport and are undefeated this year. I just don't want her to settle on an academically challenged school just to play D1. There is a life after sports that matters much more than the jersey you wear for four years.

My neighbor before he moved got his MBA from there - dude was sharp.

Interestingly, architecture is something she's gravitating towards. You have to have the mindset for it, from the little I've been exposed to around the field.

Beware, it can be a brutal career path. There's a huge "art" aspect to it, in addition to the technical matter, and, ultimately, if people don't like your designs, you wind up working for someone whose designs they do like, and not necessarily as a well-compensated assistant.

Deej · September 23

4 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

Have two friends that went to Wash U (they are married). She’s a successful architect

Did she design the new addition to the Guggenheim?

BabaYaga · September 23

40 minutes ago, Deej said:

Guggenheim?

German for "saved by goats from the fires"

Grimas · September 24

12 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

He's in Founders and has a parking pass that we got for him for the year. We're planning on parking at the Fayetteville HS like we did for the UAB game. $20 and the walk's not bad to the stadium. I will say the second week I took him for orientation I dropped him off and got lost as I had to park further away. Fucking hell. Walking that campus, those stairs, man. I'm in decent shape, but it kicked my ass.

Mine are down the hill at Pomfret by the stadium - they joke that the have to climb Currahee to go to classes... "3 miles up, 3 mile down..." Their parking is at Harmon (on the hill) so needless to say, not many miles being put on the car but on game days, to get the car back into the garage, they need to get a pass otherwise they cant get back onto campus until after the game restrictions end (supposedly). We may just Uber for the UT game as our rental is just on the other side of the "freeway". I'll PM you closer to the game to see where you are tailgating...

Edited September 24 by Grimas

dcbc · September 24

6 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

if people don't like your designs,

Mike never had that problem.

BabaYaga · September 24

12 hours ago, Grimas said:

Mine are down the hill at Pomfret by the stadium - they joke that the have to climb Currahee to go to classes... "3 miles up, 3 mile down..." Their parking is at Harmon (on the hill) so needless to say, not many miles being put on the car but on game days, to get the car back into the garage, they need to get a pass otherwise they cant get back onto campus until after the game restrictions end (supposedly). We may just Uber for the UT game as our rental is just on the other side of the "freeway". I'll PM you closer to the game to see where you are tailgating...

That hill is a kick in the junk. Hit me up and I'll coordinate for the game

Pescado_Rojo · September 24

Got home last night from touring Arkansas with my son and I think they're the leader in the clubhouse. He's a very outdoorsy kid, so we drove up to Flippin Saturday and stayed at White River Trout Club and fished with an awesome younger guide Sunday. The drive from Flippin to Fayetteville is beautiful but aggravating with the slow-ass Arkies on two lane roads. It was cloudy but low 70s yesterday, which was awesome with all the walking. They do a great job with the tours with the personalized itinerary packets, free t shits, stickers, etc. I think 5 of our 6 tour guides were Texas kids. We toured the rec building, general campus tour, and the School of Engineering, then had the admissions presentation. With his GPA and test scores, it's got to be one of the best education values in the country. I love how they lean into the outdoor opportunities as part of the college experience there. They've even got a mini outfitter in the Rec center where you can check out gear like sleeping bags and tents, rock climbing gear etc for free. You can even rent nice full suspension mountain bikes for $10/day. We've still got CU and CSU next month, but unless they throw money at him I'd bet he ends up at UA.

Grimas · September 24

1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

That hill is a kick in the junk. Hit me up and I'll coordinate for the game

Pinging @immamac to see if there is a Surly tailgate planned for the UT-ARK game as it's within driving distance for many in Texas...

immamac · September 24

Why would that be an answer in this thread? Yes there is something planned.

BabaYaga · September 24

43 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Got home last night from touring Arkansas with my son and I think they're the leader in the clubhouse. He's a very outdoorsy kid, so we drove up to Flippin Saturday and stayed at White River Trout Club and fished with an awesome younger guide Sunday. The drive from Flippin to Fayetteville is beautiful but aggravating with the slow-ass Arkies on two lane roads. It was cloudy but low 70s yesterday, which was awesome with all the walking. They do a great job with the tours with the personalized itinerary packets, free t shits, stickers, etc. I think 5 of our 6 tour guides were Texas kids. We toured the rec building, general campus tour, and the School of Engineering, then had the admissions presentation. With his GPA and test scores, it's got to be one of the best education values in the country. I love how they lean into the outdoor opportunities as part of the college experience there. They've even got a mini outfitter in the Rec center where you can check out gear like sleeping bags and tents, rock climbing gear etc for free. You can even rent nice full suspension mountain bikes for $10/day. We've still got CU and CSU next month, but unless they throw money at him I'd bet he ends up at UA.

Check out YT bike shop in Bentonville. You can rent ebikes for next to nothing and they serve craft beer at their office/shop. When it's warmer, I hear floating the King River is a blast.

HeHateMe · September 25

On 9/21/2024 at 11:29 AM, BrazilHorn said:

I would be open to him going to clemson as well. He’s applied to like 8 schools so far so trying to have some options open.

Clemson is basically ACC Aggy, they are cultish and love their rings. UGA, Tenn, SC, Bama, FSU are all better options IMO.

royiv · September 25

14 hours ago, HeHateMe said:

Clemson is basically ACC Aggy, they are cultish and love their rings. UGA, Tenn, SC, Bama, FSU are all better options IMO.

Clemson is academically light years ahead of Bama.

Brew · September 25

16 hours ago, HeHateMe said:

Clemson is basically ACC Aggy, they are cultish and love their rings. UGA, Tenn, SC, Bama, FSU are all better options IMO.

Seems like an odd comparison, they actually have championships in the 2010’s. Academics wise on that list UGA is by itself, Clemson would be behind FSU and then well ahead of the others. They also have a strong honors program.

CooterBrown · September 27

Well, my kid's college application list is already paying off. She has 2 acceptances so far and has been offered the top merit aid award at both...$18K/year and $15K/year respectively. 5 schools to go.

South Austin · September 29

On 9/27/2024 at 8:18 AM, CooterBrown said:

Well, my kid's college application list is already paying off. She has 2 acceptances so far and has been offered the top merit aid award at both...$18K/year and $15K/year respectively. 5 schools to go.

Nice! Is there one particular school at the top of her list?

jimmyjazz · September 29

Two very close friends of my parents left our university for gigs at Clemson (Engineering). It is a very good school. They loved their time there -- literally, decades.

CooterBrown · September 29

Nice! Is there one particular school at the top of her list?

Mines, CSU, CU. Basically, she wants to be a mountain hippie.

South Austin · September 29

1 minute ago, CooterBrown said:

Mines, CSU, CU. Basically, she wants to be a mountain hippie.

My best friend’s daughter is a sophomore at CU and is loving it. Only complaint is that the school and the town are really expensive.

In any event, you’ll have a great place to visit your daughter.

Don Johnson · September 30

For the past decade or so, most of these schools have been popular landing spots for Texas kids. Now Northern kids are flocking to the South.

Sorry, Harvard. Everyone Wants to Go to College in the South Now.

The likes of Georgia Tech, Clemson and Ole Miss are drawing students from the North who want to have fun and save on tuition. The shift is boosting the economies of cities across the region.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/sorry-harvard-everyone-wants-to-go-to-college-in-the-south-now-235d7934?st=QYoZo2&reflink=article_copyURL_share

Quote

A growing number of high-school seniors in the North are making an unexpected choice for college: They are heading to Clemson, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Alabama and other universities in the South.

Students say they are searching for the fun and school spirit emanating from the South on their social-media feeds. Their parents cite lower tuition and less debt, and warmer weather. College counselors also say many teens are eager to trade the political polarization ripping apart campuses in New England and New York for the sense of community epitomized by the South’s football Saturdays. Promising job prospects after graduation can sweeten the pot.

The number of Northerners going to Southern public schools went up 84% over the past two decades, and jumped 30% from 2018 to 2022, a Wall Street Journal analysis of the latest available Education Department data found.

At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, total freshmen from the Northeast jumped to nearly 600 in a class of about 6,800, up from around 50 in 2002. At the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, they increased from 11 to more than 200 in a class of about 4,500 in 2022. At the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, 11% of students came from the Northeast in 2022, compared with less than 1% two decades prior.

This flow of students to Southern colleges promises to impact the region’s economy for years. About two-thirds of college graduates go on to work in the same state where they graduate, according to a recent study from researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and others. The transplants are well-educated, motivated young workers at the least expensive points in their careers.

For most of American history, many high-school seniors have aspired to go to college in the Northeast, home to the Ivy League. Southern academic stalwarts, such as Duke, Tulane, Emory and Vanderbilt, have long drawn their share of students from up North, but the recent uptick of students going to the South is fueled by attendance at public universities.

Though far more students apply to Ivy League schools than in 2002, some of the hottest Southern public schools—including Clemson and Georgia Institute of Technology—have seen even a bigger spike in interest. At Alabama, applications were up more than 600% in the same period—about three times as much as bids to attend Harvard.

Saturday is football

Mitch Savalli drove 15 hours with his parents in a rented white Lincoln Navigator from his home in North Bellmore, N.Y., on Long Island, to Atlanta for his freshman year at Georgia Tech.

A few weeks later he was walking from the grocery store to his dorm with a bouquet of flowers for the woman he was taking to a fraternity event when the reality of his new surroundings dawned on him.

“Five people stopped me and told me how kind it was and what a sweet gesture I was making,” he said. “No way would that have happened in New York.”

At the University of South Carolina in Columbia, Alicia Caracciolo, a junior, said it takes her about two weeks to acclimate to the pace of the South every time she returns from her home in New York. At the grocery store she reminds herself to pause and slow down.

“If you go and you don’t end up learning something about the cashier, you did it wrong,” she said.

“Saturdays down South are a real thing,” she said. “The whole world kind of shuts down in Columbia when there’s a home football game.”

The increase in the number of students heading South grew for years and then accelerated suddenly after the pandemic, federal data show.

“You had students home in their basement in Connecticut looking at their phone seeing most of the Northeast closed down and not much happening,” said Rick Clark, executive director of strategic student access at Georgia Tech. “At the same time they are seeing sororities at Alabama and football games in Georgia and Florida. Life is happening.”

Savalli’s path to Georgia Tech was paved by two years listening to his older brother complain about college in Upstate New York.

During the pandemic, Mitch’s brother had regular lockdowns at his college after he had been exposed to Covid. There were social-distancing rules, mask requirements and online classes from his dorm room.

Meanwhile, both the Savalli boys were watching students on television cheering at university football games down South.

“There were more freedoms in the Southern schools and that really started to drive applications,” Vincent Pisano, an assistant principal in the Long Island school district Savalli attended. “Then the outreach really started to grow from the Southern schools. Schools like LSU and South Carolina started attracting huge groups of kids.”

Applications to some Southern universities from Savalli’s school district on Long Island have tripled compared with a few years before the pandemic, according to data provided by the school district.

University of South Carolina students celebrate on campus after its Gamecocks won the NCAA women’s basketball championship in April. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Savalli wanted to attend a college with a strong engineering program and a competitive lacrosse team. He considered two Boston-area schools—the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts University, his top choice, as well as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

He applied to Georgia Tech without knowing anyone who had gone there. When he realized his out-of-pocket cost at Tufts would be about $80,000 and Georgia Tech would be half of that, he decided to fly down for a visit. That sealed the deal.

Tuition bargains

For out-of-state students, Southern schools are often a bargain, according to figures from roughly 100 of the nation’s top public research universities. Last school year, such Southern schools charged students from other states a median $29,000 in tuition and fees, the least of top public colleges in any region.

Scholarships often make it cheaper.

Caracciolo first heard of the University of South Carolina from her cousin who attended medical school there. She knew she wanted to study marketing and her ambition was to go to Syracuse University, which has one of the most respected communications programs in the country.

The Long Island native was admitted to Syracuse with a $15,000 merit scholarship knocking her out-of-pocket expense down to $65,000, she said.

She applied to South Carolina as an afterthought. When Caracciolo earned admission to the honors program and won a scholarship, she realized it would cost her about half as much as Syracuse and she would be more likely to attend classes in person. The year after she started, around a dozen students from her private Catholic school followed her down, she said.

South Carolina is home to several magnets for Northern students. The University of South Carolina, the state flagship, and Clemson University, in Clemson, each enrolled hundreds of freshmen from the Northeast in 2022. At USC, that was a 659% jump in 20 years; at Clemson, the spike was 456% over the same period.

The pipeline from New York is particularly robust. In 2022, South Carolina public universities were the No. 2 out-of-state destination for public-college-bound freshmen from New York, after Pennsylvania.

#Rushtok

In addition to Saturday’s football bonanzas, there is typically a vibrant Greek fraternity and sorority life on Southern college campuses—all documented by undergrads on Instagram and TikTok. Search #rushtok for a glimpse. Every Saturday, thousands of students attend tailgate parties and football games across the South. “Bama Rush,” a Max hit television show, chronicles sorority rush at the University of Alabama.

At many Northern schools, by contrast, television news showed campuses beset by protests last year. This juxtaposition is one reason the flow of Northerners heading South could continue in the coming years, say college counselors.

Students who have moved to the South for college pay less attention to politics than students who have moved to the Northeast, said Colby College sociology professor Neil Gross, citing a survey he took this summer.

“Some students are saying, ‘I don’t want to be in a super political environment,’ and they are opting into an atmosphere where they can focus on things other than politics,” he said.

Southern schools have, by and large, better track records on free speech, according to rankings by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonprofit civil liberties group which has defended faculty and students in cases regarding speech issues. This year, most of the top 25 schools are located in the South. The six schools with the worst ratings were in the Northeast.

Following student protests over the war in Gaza, some Jewish and Southeast Asian students declined to apply to some highly selective schools in the Northeast because the environment is so tense, said Rachel Rubin, co-founder of Spark Admissions, a private college-counseling company.

“They are being much more careful about which Ivies they are applying to and are expanding their search to the rest of the country,” she said.

Postcards from the beach

At Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., more than 1,000 freshmen came from the Northeast in 2022—41% of the class and a bigger share than at any other public Southeastern school. That’s up from 26% four years prior.

The school has focused recruiting efforts along the I-95 corridor as far north as Boston, said Amanda Craddock, vice president of enrollment. When winter weather blankets the Northeast with snow, the school sends marketing emails to prospective students featuring pictures of the sunny campus and its many palm trees.

Sometimes, a student from New York or New England gets interested in Coastal Carolina on a family vacation to Myrtle Beach, near the school, Craddock said. On a cloudy or rainy day, families swing over to the campus just to check it out. When they take a tour or talk to students, they learn about the huge concentration of Northern students in the school’s business program. They find out the cost is cheaper than their public flagship where they live.

Then, if a parent works remotely, the family realizes they could buy a home in the area and live more cheaply in South Carolina than in Massachusetts, Rhode Island or New Jersey. So many families relocate after their child enrolls that the phenomenon has its own name: Craddock and others call them trailing families.

The Southern enrollment surge is taking place in some booming regional economies. The top five most promising locations to find work for newly minted college graduates are all in the South, according to a recent study by payroll provider ADP.

Growing universities create a snowball effect for local and regional economies—especially research universities, said Jason Owen-Smith, executive director of Institute for Research on Innovation and Science at the University of Michigan.

More undergraduates means more customers to patronize local businesses. They can also help underwrite graduate programs that support researchers who bring in grants. That grant money is often spent with local vendors to build out labs, which, in turn, may generate new knowledge, patents and startup businesses that hire people. Those businesses may then attract more high-paying employers to the region.

In the short term, however, more students can also create bottlenecks when it comes to adding the infrastructure to accommodate the people.

“The challenge on everybody’s mind,” said University of Mississippi Provost Noel Wilkin. “How do you accommodate the growth?”

Write to Douglas Belkin at Doug.Belkin@wsj.com

Edited September 30 by Don Johnson

BabaYaga · September 30

41 minutes ago, Don Johnson said:

Georgia Tech, Clemson and Ole Miss

One of these schools is not like the other...

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