Anonymous
09/20/2025 07:00
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Anonymous wrote:This is exactly what we are talking about in our family. If we get money yes, but why else do this. Fascinating story.
"At the average flagship’s main campus, nearly four out of every ten undergraduates now come from another state. New Jersey kids go to Penn State instead of Rutgers; Illinois residents head off to the University of Missouri instead of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For students, going to college out of state is a chance to get away from home—and from their high-school classmates—or to experience what they perceive as “big college” life, such as Saturday tailgates and a thriving social scene centered on fraternities and sororities. But it’s the schools themselves that benefit most from this system, as they are able to charge much higher tuition for out-of-state students. Total costs for in-state students at Alabama run $34,600 this academic year; for out-of-state students, the list price is nearing sixty thousand dollars. Though the quality of the school’s football program cannot be denied, many of these students are coming from states such as Illinois, Georgia, and California, which are also known for big universities with prominent football teams, school spirit, and a vibrant Greek life. (Not to mention that at any big public university, you are still likely to encounter tens of thousands of new people who have never even heard of your high school, even if it’s in the same state.) In other words, these students are paying twice as much as they would otherwise—for a similar product."
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-great-student-swap
There is no way you can possibly know this. There is no way anyone has access to any of these complete demographics. This is something fun to talk about but not based on any data.
Anonymous
09/20/2025 06:59
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Over the past two decades, though, the University of Alabama has transformed its student body, increasing its share of new out-of-state undergraduates from just twenty-three per cent in 2002 to sixty-five per cent in 2022, according to recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Anonymous
09/20/2025 00:15
Subject: Re:The Great Student Swap
Anonymous wrote:It can also be because of a strength in a particular area. For example, Indiana U is strong in music. Most of the colleges that are as good or better than IU in this area are private colleges, particularly conservatories. If your kid wants to major in music but you want them to have the full college experience, IU's only rival among public universities is UMichigan, which is a harder admit.
Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois (as states, not just the eponymous Universities) have a notable round-robin exchange of undergrads between them. Points have been made that this is economically inefficient for the students. But there are also a variety of reasons including specific program strengths, families' original homes, etc.
I'm familiar with New Jersey kids wanting to go to school outside their home region. The ones I knew all moved back home but they genuinely seemed to like trying something different for a few years.
Anonymous
09/20/2025 00:04
Subject: Re:The Great Student Swap
It can also be because of a strength in a particular area. For example, Indiana U is strong in music. Most of the colleges that are as good or better than IU in this area are private colleges, particularly conservatories. If your kid wants to major in music but you want them to have the full college experience, IU's only rival among public universities is UMichigan, which is a harder admit.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 23:40
Subject: The Great Student Swap
According to the article, we're not getting in because out of staters are:
In some cases, high-school seniors were actively pushed to apply to out-of-state universities. Although most public universities expanded to take in more students from elsewhere, while still being able to cater to a sizable in-state student population, not all did. According to a study from 2017, a third of the nation’s flagships—all highly ranked and thus popular with out-of-staters—turned away some of their own state’s residents to make room for higher-paying students from elsewhere. For every two non-resident students who enrolled, the study found, one in-state student was shut out. That vicious cycle spins in states such as California, Illinois, and Texas. Residents apply to their local flagship. They get crowded out, and so they go to big public universities in other states which have space for them. Then students in those states get pushed aside, so they apply to public universities in other states, too.
In some cases, high-school seniors were actively pushed to apply to out-of-state universities. Although most public universities expanded to take in more students from elsewhere, while still being able to cater to a sizable in-state student population, not all did. According to a study from 2017, a third of the nation’s flagships—all highly ranked and thus popular with out-of-staters—turned away some of their own state’s residents to make room for higher-paying students from elsewhere. For every two non-resident students who enrolled, the study found, one in-state student was shut out. That vicious cycle spins in states such as California, Illinois, and Texas. Residents apply to their local flagship. They get crowded out, and so they go to big public universities in other states which have space for them. Then students in those states get pushed aside, so they apply to public universities in other states, too.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 23:27
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The only Illinois kids who go to University of Missouri are those who didn’t get in to UIUC.
Same. The only VA kids in our region who go to UGA, Clemson or NCState are the ones who cannot get in to UVA or VT.
Yes but it's not because they don't have the stats, it's because the schools would rather get OOS money from similarly qualified students. Musical chairs where the students lose (or the parents' pocketbook).
Anonymous
09/19/2025 22:40
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:PP here. Same thing with University of Indiana - I’ve only heard of IL kids going there because they didn’t get into UIUC. I have heard of some kids choosing UW - Madison over U of I, but oftentimes that’s because they didn’t get accepted as a CS major at U of I but did get CS at UW.
Or simply because Madison is one of the best college towns in the country and C-I is one of the worst.
They can get into bars at age 19 in Urbana Champaign if that matters to the 21st century students
Anonymous
09/19/2025 22:32
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Anonymous wrote:Are you asking why anyone wants to go to a big state school in a different state? It’s not that hard to figure out. Both of my kids want to go out of state. One wants north, one wants south. When we run the numbers, it won’t cost us any different than sending them to a VA state school so it’s no difference to us.
Our one that is a senior now and looking to go south is serious about more sun and better weather. It’s fine with us.
What big state schools charge OOS tuition that's the approximately same as in-state Virginia school tuition? Or are you factoring in merit aid?
Anonymous
09/19/2025 21:39
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Anonymous wrote:PP here. Same thing with University of Indiana - I’ve only heard of IL kids going there because they didn’t get into UIUC. I have heard of some kids choosing UW - Madison over U of I, but oftentimes that’s because they didn’t get accepted as a CS major at U of I but did get CS at UW.
Or simply because Madison is one of the best college towns in the country and C-I is one of the worst.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 21:38
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Rutgers is relatively expensive for NJ residents as far as state schools go. And just about the entire state is within 1 hour drive... < 30 mins away is common. So lots of NJ kids feel like it's too close to home and $$$. Hence you find them everywhere else.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 21:32
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Anonymous wrote:The only Illinois kids who go to University of Missouri are those who didn’t get in to UIUC.
Same. The only VA kids in our region who go to UGA, Clemson or NCState are the ones who cannot get in to UVA or VT.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 21:29
Subject: The Great Student Swap
PP here. Same thing with University of Indiana - I’ve only heard of IL kids going there because they didn’t get into UIUC. I have heard of some kids choosing UW - Madison over U of I, but oftentimes that’s because they didn’t get accepted as a CS major at U of I but did get CS at UW.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 21:25
Subject: The Great Student Swap
The only Illinois kids who go to University of Missouri are those who didn’t get in to UIUC.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 21:21
Subject: The Great Student Swap
Are you asking why anyone wants to go to a big state school in a different state? It’s not that hard to figure out. Both of my kids want to go out of state. One wants north, one wants south. When we run the numbers, it won’t cost us any different than sending them to a VA state school so it’s no difference to us.
Our one that is a senior now and looking to go south is serious about more sun and better weather. It’s fine with us.
Our one that is a senior now and looking to go south is serious about more sun and better weather. It’s fine with us.
Anonymous
09/19/2025 21:16
Subject: The Great Student Swap
This is exactly what we are talking about in our family. If we get money yes, but why else do this. Fascinating story.
"At the average flagship’s main campus, nearly four out of every ten undergraduates now come from another state. New Jersey kids go to Penn State instead of Rutgers; Illinois residents head off to the University of Missouri instead of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For students, going to college out of state is a chance to get away from home—and from their high-school classmates—or to experience what they perceive as “big college” life, such as Saturday tailgates and a thriving social scene centered on fraternities and sororities. But it’s the schools themselves that benefit most from this system, as they are able to charge much higher tuition for out-of-state students. Total costs for in-state students at Alabama run $34,600 this academic year; for out-of-state students, the list price is nearing sixty thousand dollars. Though the quality of the school’s football program cannot be denied, many of these students are coming from states such as Illinois, Georgia, and California, which are also known for big universities with prominent football teams, school spirit, and a vibrant Greek life. (Not to mention that at any big public university, you are still likely to encounter tens of thousands of new people who have never even heard of your high school, even if it’s in the same state.) In other words, these students are paying twice as much as they would otherwise—for a similar product."
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-great-student-swap
"At the average flagship’s main campus, nearly four out of every ten undergraduates now come from another state. New Jersey kids go to Penn State instead of Rutgers; Illinois residents head off to the University of Missouri instead of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For students, going to college out of state is a chance to get away from home—and from their high-school classmates—or to experience what they perceive as “big college” life, such as Saturday tailgates and a thriving social scene centered on fraternities and sororities. But it’s the schools themselves that benefit most from this system, as they are able to charge much higher tuition for out-of-state students. Total costs for in-state students at Alabama run $34,600 this academic year; for out-of-state students, the list price is nearing sixty thousand dollars. Though the quality of the school’s football program cannot be denied, many of these students are coming from states such as Illinois, Georgia, and California, which are also known for big universities with prominent football teams, school spirit, and a vibrant Greek life. (Not to mention that at any big public university, you are still likely to encounter tens of thousands of new people who have never even heard of your high school, even if it’s in the same state.) In other words, these students are paying twice as much as they would otherwise—for a similar product."
https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/the-great-student-swap