Why are Northern Kids Flocking to Southern Universities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Hot coeds”? Is it 1983?

I applied to University of Florida law school as a safety school based, in large part, on the attractiveness of the female students during a campus visit. I ended up going to Cornell law because it was a notably better school. But, all things being equal, a campus full of attractive members of the opposite sex is a tiebreaker for college-age people. Try to remember what you were like at that age.

(as my mom noted, the women at places like U of Florida need to stay in shape, because they're basically half naked most of the year)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Princeton and Dartmouth and Wellesley have better school spirit than anything in the south…

….look at % of giving rates, reunion engagement, and networking.

Southern school spirit is very superficial.

An 18 year-old rising college freshman doesn't care about any of those things.

Honestly, who does care about giving rates or how many people come to college reunions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Princeton and Dartmouth and Wellesley have better school spirit than anything in the south…

….look at % of giving rates, reunion engagement, and networking.

Southern school spirit is very superficial.

An 18 year-old rising college freshman doesn't care about any of those things.

Honestly, who does care about giving rates or how many people come to college reunions?

It demonstrates the strength of the alumni network.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Um, have you ever been to a football game at Michigan or Notre Dame or Wisconsin or Ohio State? It's a "real" college football experience just like in the SEC, except the students may have to bundle up (which is hardly a big deal).

The PP wasn't talking about those schools. They were talking about schools like SUNY schools. Sure, Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Ohio State provide great football experiences. Many students pick those schools for the football fan experience. They are also much harder to get into than the Southern schools being discussed, so I'm not sure how their football culture is relevant.

From my reading, the post in question implied that there was something unique about a flagship school in the SEC when it came to football. But as you noted, perhaps that wasn't the intent of the post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Princeton and Dartmouth and Wellesley have better school spirit than anything in the south…

….look at % of giving rates, reunion engagement, and networking.

Southern school spirit is very superficial.

I don't think "Southern" school spirit it is superficial - it can run deep. But school spirit revolving around athletics doesn't necessarily benefit the academic enterprise and can be detrimental. Schools like Princeton, Dartmouth, and Wellesley are strong in large part due to alumni engagement.

There are Southern schools with strong alumni engagement like giving rates etc. like Duke, W&L, Rice, and Vandy. I'd also argue that there are publics in the South that have as strong or stronger alumni engagement of this type compared to publics in other regions. This would include William & Mary, UVA, and UNC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think folks in the south would probably prefer that people like your daughter stay in the progressive NE. So everyone wins... +1 Nothing wrong with different choices. Bryn Mawr and Mt Holyoke students probably wouldn't like UGA, Emory, UNC, Davidson, Vanderbilt, etc.

I haven't visited UGA or Emory lately, but LGBT+ kids are absolutely welcome at UNC, Davidson & Vandy. The issue for many of course isn't the schools or student bodies, it's the intolerance in the state legislatures.

This

A friendly campus doesn’t negate the state laws

VA is taking away transgender protections that had been passed only a couple years ago. It is infuriating

Even if this is happening, very few college students are transgender. No one even knew what transgender was a decade or so ago. So the average college student doesn’t need to be protected by legislation for being transgender because they aren’t transgender.

I was using this as an example. Many of these states have incredibly regressive social policies. There are students who care about these things whether it personally affects them or not.

Look, I get that some kids don’t care and others are choosing to go to these places to try to change things. But posters claiming no one cares are ridiculous. I know plenty of families, including my own, that are ruling out states based on regressive state policies.

No one is claiming that “no one cares” - only that far MORE people don’t have political issues on their college list. They just don’t. So keep up the good fight, #resist and all that. The rest of us will happily send our kids to southern universities if that’s what they prefer.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Thanks, I'll make sure my kid goes to a college with "real" football teams... Because that's what matters!

DP. The two are not mutually exclusive, as some of you would have us believe. Plenty of excellent schools also have excellent football, basketball, etc.

[Anonymous]

I'd think that if we encourage future generations to fully write-off "the south" (or the "coasts" from the flipside) then this nation is in deep trouble.

My kid wants warm weather - they are willing to go elsewhere as long as the education is strong. They are willing to live in a different environment and hear different views. I'm ok with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Princeton and Dartmouth and Wellesley have better school spirit than anything in the south…

….look at % of giving rates, reunion engagement, and networking.

Southern school spirit is very superficial.

That tailgate buzz only lasts so far.

Dartmouth atmosphere better than an SEC game. Hilarious!!! Clearly you have never been to a significant Big Ten game or any SEC event. It is not at all the same. Make the case that it doesn't matter students are there for school. But suggesting the event experience is better at Princeton, Dartmouth and Wellesley (try to keep a straight face), you just look silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Thanks, I'll make sure my kid goes to a college with "real" football teams... Because that's what matters!

It ties alumni to the school and to each other. It's also a lot fun, even if you're just sitting in a given section of a sports bar watching with other alums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few years, especially wrt female staff at schools in these states, when the person has other choices.

You can tell me they are diverse states and schools all you want - doesn't change state laws that put people's lives in danger.

Truly. No one cares about this issue.

+1

Bump for two “No one cares” about abortion.

[Anonymous]

So teens prioritize partying? Shocking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody gives a RAT'S ASS about Dobbs. Hell, the whole damn is moving to Texas and Florida and that includes kids going to college. Why do you think the schools in those states are soaring in the rankings and their acceptance rates plummeting? Social media wants you to believe kids care about abortion laws but the application numbers don't lie, what they care about is WARM WEATHER, GOOD FOOTBALL, and HOT COEDS, and that's the DAMN TRUTH!

Another “nobody cares”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think folks in the south would probably prefer that people like your daughter stay in the progressive NE. So everyone wins... +1 Nothing wrong with different choices. Bryn Mawr and Mt Holyoke students probably wouldn't like UGA, Emory, UNC, Davidson, Vanderbilt, etc.

I haven't visited UGA or Emory lately, but LGBT+ kids are absolutely welcome at UNC, Davidson & Vandy. The issue for many of course isn't the schools or student bodies, it's the intolerance in the state legislatures.

This

A friendly campus doesn’t negate the state laws

VA is taking away transgender protections that had been passed only a couple years ago. It is infuriating

Even if this is happening, very few college students are transgender. No one even knew what transgender was a decade or so ago. So the average college student doesn’t need to be protected by legislation for being transgender because they aren’t transgender.

I was using this as an example. Many of these states have incredibly regressive social policies. There are students who care about these things whether it personally affects them or not.

Look, I get that some kids don’t care and others are choosing to go to these places to try to change things. But posters claiming no one cares are ridiculous. I know plenty of families, including my own, that are ruling out states based on regressive state policies.

No one is claiming that “no one cares” - only that far MORE people don’t have political issues on their college list. They just don’t. So keep up the good fight, #resist and all that. The rest of us will happily send our kids to southern universities if that’s what they prefer.
DP

Multiple people have claimed that. Just bumped them for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a well-respected, albeit large, university in the Northeast. I cannot fault these kids who want to attend a flagship school in the south with (gasp) an SEC football team. Living in DC, I’ve had an opportunity to accompany co-workers and friends to “real” college football games and it’s a game changer (for lack of a better word). School spirit oozes from those schools and it completely permeates everything about the college experience. Then, after college, it gives graduates something to bond over. You don’t have that with the SUNY schools, for example.

Princeton and Dartmouth and Wellesley have better school spirit than anything in the south…

….look at % of giving rates, reunion engagement, and networking.

Southern school spirit is very superficial.

That tailgate buzz only lasts so far.

Dartmouth atmosphere better than an SEC game. Hilarious!!! Clearly you have never been to a significant Big Ten game or any SEC event. It is not at all the same. Make the case that it doesn't matter students are there for school. But suggesting the event experience is better at Princeton, Dartmouth and Wellesley (try to keep a straight face), you just look silly.

Strawman. The topic was sustained school spirit.