WSJ -Sorry, Harvard. Everyone Wants to go to School in the South

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Whatever floats your boat.
But DD is not keen to go anywhere south due to the draconian abortion policies and I think that’s smart.

+1

Awful weather first for mine, followed by what you said

Add in the anti LGBTQ+ nonsense for my child

The farthest South we looked was a small school in Raleigh. My daughter didn’t even apply in the end (they had the latest deadline and she already had yesses). She wound up in MA after applying to 3 schools in VA, 2 in MI, 1 in PA, 1 in MA, and one in St Louis area (close to IL line - this was the only reason an exception was made)

My kid is at a big SEC school in a state that everyone in Dcumlandia seems to hate. While there is an immediate assumption that the community would be anti-LGBT, the reality is that it isn’t. We met a gay recruiter as soon as we arrived on campus (fun fact: they lived and worked in DC for a decade and prefer the SEC college town since people are friendlier and there’s a community vibe).

Don’t make assumptions without verifying the ground truth.

I love that you use one gay recruiter to extrapolate that southern schools don’t have a anti-LGBTQ problem. That’s critical thinking for ya!

Okay, Jan.

The reality is we encountered a lot of students who fall under the lgbtq umbrella along with other gay adults (young and old) at various venues in town (hotel, restaurant, shops, etc.).

But feel free to continue with your biased, baseless assumption that surely every college town in the south is filled with backwards rednecks who hate the gay community. No need to believe someone who has actually been on SEC campuses a lot over the last handful of years.

You know what else? Kids from all races actually interact. It’s true! Seen it with my own eyes.

you're replying to a couple different posters

I was the first one who brought up the anti-LGBTQ+ problems.

I never said anything about campuses themselves. I specifically said the state laws are the problem. Just like the draconian laws wrt to reproductive health.

I am in no way biased against the south or southerners. I went to school in NC. My husband is from TX. I have friends who live all over the country.

My issues are entirely with the state laws that govern the entire state. They do not change just because there is a campus that is accepting (which I'm sure a lot of them are)

So your solution is to avoid a state entirely? Ok. I guess you aren’t interested in fostering change.

I’m proud of my registered Dem kid who opted for school in the south. After 18 years living in the mcps liberal bubble, my kid is mixing it up with people with different beliefs. I doubt my kid had encountered many conservatives before going to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/detroit-tigers-mlb-playoffs-35e7b03c?st=ie351c&reflink=article_copyURL_share

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.

Good, less competition for my kids who want to go to school in New England. Not everyone wants to attend a party school down south

[Anonymous]

pp here, and I am 100% biased against any school in any state that bans books, abortion and is anti LGBTQ+ and trans people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever floats your boat.
But DD is not keen to go anywhere south due to the draconian abortion policies and I think that’s smart.

+1

Awful weather first for mine, followed by what you said

Add in the anti LGBTQ+ nonsense for my child

The farthest South we looked was a small school in Raleigh. My daughter didn’t even apply in the end (they had the latest deadline and she already had yesses). She wound up in MA after applying to 3 schools in VA, 2 in MI, 1 in PA, 1 in MA, and one in St Louis area (close to IL line - this was the only reason an exception was made)

My kid is at a big SEC school in a state that everyone in Dcumlandia seems to hate. While there is an immediate assumption that the community would be anti-LGBT, the reality is that it isn’t. We met a gay recruiter as soon as we arrived on campus (fun fact: they lived and worked in DC for a decade and prefer the SEC college town since people are friendlier and there’s a community vibe).

Don’t make assumptions without verifying the ground truth.

I love that you use one gay recruiter to extrapolate that southern schools don’t have a anti-LGBTQ problem. That’s critical thinking for ya!

Okay, Jan.

The reality is we encountered a lot of students who fall under the lgbtq umbrella along with other gay adults (young and old) at various venues in town (hotel, restaurant, shops, etc.).

But feel free to continue with your biased, baseless assumption that surely every college town in the south is filled with backwards rednecks who hate the gay community. No need to believe someone who has actually been on SEC campuses a lot over the last handful of years.

You know what else? Kids from all races actually interact. It’s true! Seen it with my own eyes.

you're replying to a couple different posters

I was the first one who brought up the anti-LGBTQ+ problems.

I never said anything about campuses themselves. I specifically said the state laws are the problem. Just like the draconian laws wrt to reproductive health.

I am in no way biased against the south or southerners. I went to school in NC. My husband is from TX. I have friends who live all over the country.

My issues are entirely with the state laws that govern the entire state. They do not change just because there is a campus that is accepting (which I'm sure a lot of them are)

So your solution is to avoid a state entirely? Ok. I guess you aren’t interested in fostering change.

I’m proud of my registered Dem kid who opted for school in the south. After 18 years living in the mcps liberal bubble, my kid is mixing it up with people with different beliefs. I doubt my kid had encountered many conservatives before going to college.

My kid is mixing it up with different races, different politics, different SES, different countries/citizenship, etc at their Ivy. Some of you are so brainwashed to think it doesn’t happen on Ivy campuses. In fact, many of these state schools in the south are predominantly from a single state and white and Christian. It may be different for your kid, but not exactly a radically diverse campus.

[Anonymous]

yes, my child who has serious repro system problems is NOT attending school in a state that might make emergency surgery too difficult to obtain.

Those states tend to also be the same with anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which she specifically told us she wanted to avoid in solidarity with her many friends in that community.

Hey, good for your child who wanted to be the change. More power to them.

We made a different choice for our own personal reasons.

Why do you need to try to change my mind? It isn't needed. Our children are both happy with where they landed

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Once upon a time, the Ivies were where the rich and well-connected sent their kids to meet other rich and well-connected kids. The student body has changed tremendously and is now full of first gen kids with no connections and who have completely different backgrounds than the old guard. The Ivies are becoming less appealing to the old guard now that their kids are as likely to rub elbows with other kids of elites at the private dorms or in some of the frats at big SEC schools or schools like SMU or Tulane.

My kid’s roommate is old $$$ billionaire family at his Ivy. They are still sending their kids to Ivies—-FFS ha. They are t all the sudden sending them to Alabama

Ok

But until you’ve set foot on a SEC campus, you aren’t likely to appreciate the wealth there. It’s shocking.

My kid is at a school in the south and the stories they share about their friends and other kids they hang with are unbelievable: the houses, cars, trips, etc. and throwing down credit cards for shopping sprees and parties. It’s not unusual for Daddy and his golf buddies to fly on his private plane for a football game.

We are just the schmuck worker bees aiming for ivies for our kids while those you call dummies are the ones who will own the companies the smart kids will scramble to work for.

There are all similar stories at Ivy schools…not to mention the foreign billionaires throwing tons of cash around.

I don’t get this strange anecdote nonsense.

I think the point is there are a lot of dcum strivers who think the only way their kid can get ahead is by going to an Ivy with old money wasps.

I guess…except if you go down the Fortune 400 and see where their kids went or go to college…it’s the usual suspects with the exception that USC punches above its weight (Ellison’s kids, one of Michael Dell’s kids although other went to Columbia).

Walton grandkids are eclectic…UC Boulder, Colorado College, Georgetown…again no southern schools.

None of these are old money wasps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once upon a time, the Ivies were where the rich and well-connected sent their kids to meet other rich and well-connected kids. The student body has changed tremendously and is now full of first gen kids with no connections and who have completely different backgrounds than the old guard. The Ivies are becoming less appealing to the old guard now that their kids are as likely to rub elbows with other kids of elites at the private dorms or in some of the frats at big SEC schools or schools like SMU or Tulane.

My kid’s roommate is old $$$ billionaire family at his Ivy. They are still sending their kids to Ivies—-FFS ha. They are t all the sudden sending them to Alabama

Ok

But until you’ve set foot on a SEC campus, you aren’t likely to appreciate the wealth there. It’s shocking.

My kid is at a school in the south and the stories they share about their friends and other kids they hang with are unbelievable: the houses, cars, trips, etc. and throwing down credit cards for shopping sprees and parties. It’s not unusual for Daddy and his golf buddies to fly on his private plane for a football game.

We are just the schmuck worker bees aiming for ivies for our kids while those you call dummies are the ones who will own the companies the smart kids will scramble to work for.

There are all similar stories at Ivy schools…not to mention the foreign billionaires throwing tons of cash around.

I don’t get this strange anecdote nonsense.

I think the point is there are a lot of dcum strivers who think the only way their kid can get ahead is by going to an Ivy with old money wasps.

I guess…except if you go down the Fortune 400 and see where their kids went or go to college…it’s the usual suspects with the exception that USC punches above its weight (Ellison’s kids, one of Michael Dell’s kids although other went to Columbia).

Walton grandkids are eclectic…UC Boulder, Colorado College, Georgetown…again no southern schools.

None of these are old money wasps.

Several Walton grandkids went to regular old midwest state schools like University of Missouri Columbia.

[Anonymous]

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Once more, the article doesn’t support the title well.

It shows CA applications increasing just as much as the south yet they had lockdowns and protests.

They profile a kid at GA Tech that actually wanted to attend Tufts, was accepted and couldn’t afford it.

Strange situation to highlight.

Did you miss that enrollment in the South is indeed increasing?

Got it…but not to the detriment of schools that had lockdowns or protests (CA schools as an example) or even Harvard (where the article said applications to Harvard are also way up).

Also, the nominal numbers of northern kids attending are still small…just increasing off a tiny base.

Once more…why profile a kid that actually wanted to attend Tufts as a first choice? That seems like an odd decision.

Do you have a cite for this?

The article dipshit. Read it.

It shows fairly small numbers at Old Miss (one of the schools they profiled)…but it’s up from very small numbers.

The raw number of kids attending Ole Miss, Alabama, UTK, etc. from the mid-Atlantic and North is not nominal. You're cherry picking Ole Miss which is a smaller university.

Anecdotally, my kid was accepted to U Tennessee. When they went on the School of Engineering tour, half of the group of 12-15 students in their tour groupwere from northern Virginia. 1/4 were from DC-MD.

That is a sample size on one, but based on the tour, the DC area is highly represented at University of Tennessee.

Yes, but these are not the good students.

Not the PP, but I’ve seen too many good students openly enthused about Southern schools to believe your outdated stereotypes. Ask any teacher at a competitive high school.

I had a class of 2022 and have a class of 2025. The top students are not applying to southern schools. I do know kids who have gone to SC or TN but they are not good students. This thread is funny because it acts like the only options are NE and deep South.

I think everyone is missing the point.

Remember when it seemed like nobody from around here applied to southern schools? Because they didn’t—and the data backs that up. But now there is a dramatic uptick in kids from around here opting for schools in the south.

Sure, the ones you are likely most familiar with might not be the valedictorian. But ICYMI: the southern schools are aggressively recruiting smart kids and throwing money at them. It’s happening. And that’s the takeaway.

Assuming most of the posters don’t have a kid at a southern school and never bothered to visit, I’m happy to be your SEC doula. AMA

Yeah, we aren’t seeing smart kids go there. And I know a few older kids who just graduated from TN who are now unemployed in their parents’ house,

🤣🤣🤣🤣

I am absolutely enjoying the frantic histrionics. Cope and seethe!

This is the type of intellectual power that represents southern schools.

You mad, bro?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes, my child who has serious repro system problems is NOT attending school in a state that might make emergency surgery too difficult to obtain.

Those states tend to also be the same with anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which she specifically told us she wanted to avoid in solidarity with her many friends in that community.

Hey, good for your child who wanted to be the change. More power to them.

We made a different choice for our own personal reasons.

Why do you need to try to change my mind? It isn't needed. Our children are both happy with where they landed

Sounds like your kids will fit in perfectly in New England.

Bizarre you have a teenager with know serious reproductive issues, but okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, my child who has serious repro system problems is NOT attending school in a state that might make emergency surgery too difficult to obtain.

Those states tend to also be the same with anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which she specifically told us she wanted to avoid in solidarity with her many friends in that community.

Hey, good for your child who wanted to be the change. More power to them.

We made a different choice for our own personal reasons.

Why do you need to try to change my mind? It isn't needed. Our children are both happy with where they landed

Sounds like your kids will fit in perfectly in New England.

Bizarre you have a teenager with know serious reproductive issues, but okay.

known issues like ovarian cysts and probable endometriosis and horrible problems with her periods that 3 different forms of birth control haven't been able to touch.

I don't trust that doctors in those states would feel comfortable enough to remove a diseased ovary or uterus from such a young child.

You can say I'm crazy or whatever, but I trust red state politicians as far as I can throw them...and sadly they have inserted themselves into doctor's decision making process

[Anonymous]

Discussion mirrors the polarization in society today. South is on the rise as are state schools in the fly over states, while the Northeast continues to decline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The elite T20 schools will be fine even if a tsunami of northeast kids head south. The competition and desire for these schools will continue. It’s the middling, small, private colleges that give a lot of merit aid where the NE kids would have ended up that will suffer. I feel sorry for them but it is def driven by desire for fun instead of virtue signaling and social justice.

Crazy that some of these elite t20 schools are … in the South.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Might be happening with academics too. DS at an SEC school has a history prof who came from Yale. He’s gotten to know him and the prof said Yale was rigid, politically stifling and he didn’t love raising his kids in New Haven. He loves raising his kids in their college town (and he is not conservative).

.

Interesting! My kid is at Vanderbilt and has a favorite history prof who left Cornell with a similar story.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:From The Southeast. Private colleges up North have been a tough sell for many top students down here, even before the pandemic. It’s hard to beat tuition incentives such as Georgia’s Zell Miller and Hope scholarships and Florida’s Bright Futures for in-state students. People down here are incredibly loyal to and enthusiastic about their state flagships.

Also, let's not pretend that MOST of the kids choosing the southern schools have a good shot of getting in some of the top NE schools. Because they just don't.

+1. The good students are not interested in the subpar education and peer group of these large southern schools.

Your views are very antiquated. Among privates, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Rice have long been T20 schools. Have you tried applying to Duke or Vanderbilt recently? Believing that only rejects from northern schools go to southern schools is profoundly out of date.

And among public universities, UVA, UNC, Georgia Tech, Texas-Austin, and Florida are all far better than any public university in the Northeast. Overall, smart kids have better opportunities in the South, particularly at the public universities.

Outside of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and MIT what does the Northeast really have to offer bright 18 year olds today? And why would any intelligent and ambitious student choose a public school in New England or New York over vastly better schools in the South?

UPenn receives more applications than UTK, Clemson, University of Alabama…I could go on.

These blanket statements don’t hold much water when those pesky facts get in the way.

The correct comparison here is Penn State. Or U Mass. ir Rutgers. or SUNY Buffalo. Or U Conn. or UVM. Or U of … does New Hampshire even have a university?

Anyway the comparison isn’t Penn vs Auburn. It could be Penn vs Vandy though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once upon a time, the Ivies were where the rich and well-connected sent their kids to meet other rich and well-connected kids. The student body has changed tremendously and is now full of first gen kids with no connections and who have completely different backgrounds than the old guard. The Ivies are becoming less appealing to the old guard now that their kids are as likely to rub elbows with other kids of elites at the private dorms or in some of the frats at big SEC schools or schools like SMU or Tulane.

My kid’s roommate is old $$$ billionaire family at his Ivy. They are still sending their kids to Ivies—-FFS ha. They are t all the sudden sending them to Alabama

Ok

But until you’ve set foot on a SEC campus, you aren’t likely to appreciate the wealth there. It’s shocking.

My kid is at a school in the south and the stories they share about their friends and other kids they hang with are unbelievable: the houses, cars, trips, etc. and throwing down credit cards for shopping sprees and parties. It’s not unusual for Daddy and his golf buddies to fly on his private plane for a football game.

We are just the schmuck worker bees aiming for ivies for our kids while those you call dummies are the ones who will own the companies the smart kids will scramble to work for.

There are all similar stories at Ivy schools…not to mention the foreign billionaires throwing tons of cash around.

I don’t get this strange anecdote nonsense.

I think the point is there are a lot of dcum strivers who think the only way their kid can get ahead is by going to an Ivy with old money wasps.

But a lot of those old money wasps will not associate with the striver suburban public school kids, even if they are classmates at Harvard.