Published by NBC News
This spring, high school seniors across the country will weigh school rankings, academic specialties and campus life as they decide where to commit to the next chapter of their life. For some, there will be another factor to consider: state politics.
The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 — and clearing the way for some states to impose bans on abortion — changed the calculus for some students. Grace, a high school senior in South Carolina, grew more concerned by the idea of living in a state with limited access to abortion. She described feeling nervous that abortion bans would lead to more restrictions on women’s rights in general.
“I’m not comfortable with being in a state that doesn’t value who I am or value my rights as a person,” she said — a requirement that caught her mother, Andrea, off guard. (They’ve asked us not to print their names out of fear this story could impact Grace’s college admissions chances.) Andrea says she leans against abortion personally.
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“I think we’re seeing with this younger generation [that] they are incredibly engaged,” said Sara Harberson, a private college admissions counselor. “They are talking about it in their classrooms, they’re talking about it with their friends, and they’re expressing their concerns or choices with their parents as well.”
Harberson has worked with hundreds of families over the years to navigate the application and admissions process, which includes helping them craft lists of potential schools. She says students are driving the conversation about regional politics when considering colleges and the states where they are located.
“I don’t think we have more liberal students or more conservative students,” Harberson said. “I think we have a more vocal college-bound population, and when they say that politics matters, state politics, I think they really mean it.”
…Abortion access isn’t the only legislative concern on the minds of students. Gun laws and LGBTQ+ rights are also top concerns. And in an Art & Science Group poll taken last spring, a quarter of high school students across the political spectrum ruled out institutions solely due to the political policies in a state.
When Aly Phillips sat down to design their list of dream schools, they were initially concerned with course options, dorm life and meal plans. Quickly, they started to factor in state politics when imagining themselves on campus.
“Immediately I had to say no to Belmont [in Tennessee] and a school in Miami,” Phillips decided, “because I’m not safe there.”
Phillips identifies as nonbinary and part of the LGBTQ+ community and is concerned that the laws could change quickly in a conservative state. “I don’t know how far people will push things, and if I’m there when they push things too far, I don’t want to not be able to get out,” Phillips said.
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