Geographic diversity and its impact on the student experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe teenagers don't consider other teenagers to be demonstrably different from themselves because those teenagers live in another state.

When I was in college regional differences were the first thing we noticed about the other people in the dorm.

When we were in college we had dial-up modems and long-distance calls cost extra. The world today is much smaller, which reduces regional differences and also means that the remaining regionalisms are already well-known from the internet.

[Anonymous]

One consideration about going to a college where most of the students are from that state/region is that the school's reputation and alumni network are also going to be, by far, stronger in that area. So, consider if that's where you want to live after college. You are more likely to get a job there and have friends there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe teenagers don't consider other teenagers to be demonstrably different from themselves because those teenagers live in another state.

When I was in college regional differences were the first thing we noticed about the other people in the dorm.

When we were in college we had dial-up modems and long-distance calls cost extra. The world today is much smaller, which reduces regional differences and also means that the remaining regionalisms are already well-known from the internet.

DP. Disagree. Regional differences remain significant.

Don’t believe me? Try hanging out in rural NM or Starkville MS.

[Anonymous]

The Ivies all pull disproportionately from their region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Something that doesn't seem to be considered much is the degree to which a school draws most of its students from across the country, as opposed to from within its state or region. When most students are from somewhere else, it has a huge impact on the student experience. Why do you think this isn't something more students focus on when choosing a college?

Some kids do - mine weren't interested in University of Vermont or University of Wisconsin because they were both too white. The tour guide mentioned that the vast majority of students are in-state and Vermont is majority white when I asked and also mentioned that the administration was working on diversity. I didn't ask at WI.

Every kid is different and their priorities are different. Some want warm locations others are more interested in city v suburb others looking for the best in whatever program they want to study

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Socio-economic, racial, and international diversity all mean so much more than geographic diversity. Do you really think, for example, that the life experience of the 1/3 of the student body at UVA that is from out of state is all that much different that the life experience that most of the UVA in state undergrads--especially those from NOVA--bring to the school? Answer: they don't.

Another example would be Notre Dame. Great school. I think very highly of it. It's also one of the most geographically diverse colleges in the country. More so than the Ivies. More so than Stanford. Its student body is more evenly geographically spread than probably any school in the country. Yet, with all respect to the school, it's not exactly known for the "[b]diversity" of its student body.

Uh, Stanford is 6% black. Notre Dame is only 4.15% black.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Ivies all pull disproportionately from their region.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something that doesn't seem to be considered much is the degree to which a school draws most of its students from across the country, as opposed to from within its state or region. When most students are from somewhere else, it has a huge impact on the student experience. Why do you think this isn't something more students focus on when choosing a college?

Some kids do - mine weren't interested in University of Vermont or University of Wisconsin because they were both too white. The tour guide mentioned that the vast majority of students are in-state and Vermont is majority white when I asked and also mentioned that the administration was working on diversity. I didn't ask at WI.

Every kid is different and their priorities are different. Some want warm locations others are more interested in city v suburb others looking for the best in whatever program they want to study

While it’s true that the University of Vermont is 82% white, 78% of undergraduate students come from other states. Vermont’s population is too low to support a university with in-state students.
The University of Wisconsin is 59% white with only 45% of undergraduates coming from Wisconsin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something that doesn't seem to be considered much is the degree to which a school draws most of its students from across the country, as opposed to from within its state or region. When most students are from somewhere else, it has a huge impact on the student experience. Why do you think this isn't something more students focus on when choosing a college?

Some kids do - mine weren't interested in University of Vermont or University of Wisconsin because they were both too white. The tour guide mentioned that the vast majority of students are in-state and Vermont is majority white when I asked and also mentioned that the administration was working on diversity. I didn't ask at WI.

Every kid is different and their priorities are different. Some want warm locations others are more interested in city v suburb others looking for the best in whatever program they want to study

DD raised the issue of racial diversity pretty late in her search, after she'd narrowed down her options to mainly rural colleges with strong environmental programs. Yeah, not the most racially diverse environments! She ended up focusing most on the best program, which was also slightly more racially diverse because it had more international students than others. I think she ended up getting a valuable experience of different kinds of diversity there. She'd already grown up in a ethnically diverse community/schools. What she got at school was different - more rural/suburban, more economic diversity (school gives a lot of need-based aid), more political diversity. It's only 4 years and she'll likely end up back in an environment like she grew up in so I'm glad she's gotten exposure to a wider range of people, even if others might look at the school's stats and think it's "too white." [Acknowledging that she is white and students of color will likely have very different perspectives on going to a mostly white school]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Socio-economic, racial, and international diversity all mean so much more than geographic diversity. Do you really think, for example, that the life experience of the 1/3 of the student body at UVA that is from out of state is all that much different that the life experience that most of the UVA in state undergrads--especially those from NOVA--bring to the school? Answer: they don't.

Another example would be Notre Dame. Great school. I think very highly of it. It's also one of the most geographically diverse colleges in the country. More so than the Ivies. More so than Stanford. Its student body is more evenly geographically spread than probably any school in the country. Yet, with all respect to the school, it's not exactly known for the "[b]diversity" of its student body.

Uh, Stanford is 6% black. Notre Dame is only 4.15% black.

DP: Are you arguing that this is a big difference? Yes, almost 50% but such a low number. . . . There aren't that many Black Catholics. How does Notre Dame do with Latinos? Asians (Phillippinos)? Rural Indiana might be a hard sell underrepresented minorites.

[Anonymous]

My university was about 10% international students which made the college town that much more cosmopolitan. I do look at the percentage of in-state students when talking to my son about colleges. I feel like too many in a small state means many will head home more often on weekends, or that the school will feel more regional and not be as well known or have that alumni network across the country