Published by The National News Desk
A lot of college-bound students continue to rule out schools based solely on the politics, policies or legal situations of a particular state.
Conservative-leaning students are most likely to rule out applying to colleges in New York or California.
Liberal-leaning students are most likely to rule out colleges in Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Art & Science Group, which conducted the surveys, found that 28% dismiss schools based on state politics. And two-thirds of those students do so right out of the gate.
“That's somewhat alarming, because obviously the colleges and universities don't have a choice,” said Craig Goebel, a principal at Art & Science Group.
Colleges and universities are the majority of Art & Science Group’s clients. The organization helps help institutions address big strategic questions, such as how to improve enrollment or provide better student experiences.
Schools in some states never have a fighting chance with some students, due entirely to factors outside their control.
“It makes it a challenge for them to directly assuage those fears, but also limits their ability to provide something else that might be even more compelling to overcome those objections,” Goebel said.
Art & Science Group found in a 2023 survey that politics were playing into college decisions for nearly a quarter of students.
A new survey, conducted earlier this year, was published Monday.
“We found last year's survey to be really interesting,” Goebel said. “And it garnered a lot of interest nationally and in higher education. And so, we had a lot of requests to repeat it this year.”
Adam Laats, a professor of education and history at Binghamton University in New York, told The National News Desk following last year’s survey that it wasn’t new for students to choose a school, or not pick a school, based on the perceived politics of that specific institution. For example, Christian-based Liberty University in Virginia was unlikely to draw a lot of liberal students.
What had changed was the impact that state laws had begun having on college choices, he said.
Laats didn’t think university presidents were keen to speak out against their governors. But he did say it was a concern for universities that yearn for out-of-state students and the big bucks they bring.
Goebel on Monday said there are sometimes competing interests between state lawmakers “there to serve the entire state, not just college going students,” and the universities that want to attract students from across the country.
“It is a bit worrying that we know we're in a difficult time in higher education right now, and many colleges and universities are finding it challenging to enroll enough students and or specifically generate enough net revenue to continue to provide a high-quality education,” Goebel said. “So, any additional challenges are not very welcome right now.”
And schools need to maintain their appeal among out-of-state students, he said.
The short-term gain is, indeed, the higher net revenue generated from out-of-state students, he said.
But in the long run, it’s also important for colleges to bring in top students who hopefully stay and become an asset to the state throughout their careers.
Art & Science Group found that liberal students are more likely to cite specific issues that lead them to exclude states, while conservative students are most likely to rule out states over a broad concern that they’re “too Democratic.”
Substantial majorities of liberal students who exclude schools in specific states named a long list of particular policy issues, with “abortion and reproductive rights” and “too Conservative LGBTQ+ laws” at the top, according to Art & Science Group.
Abortion has been banned in over a dozen states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to KFF.
Coming off a spring of campus protests over the Gaza war, Art & Science Group found mixed messages in how students view schools taking sides on political issues.
Over 60% said schools should “stay neutral on political issues and avoid taking a stance”, but nearly half also said schools should “take a stance on political issues important to students.”
Art & Science Group also gauged opinions on affirmative action and legacy-based admissions.
About four out of 10 students supported preferential treatment of athletes, legacy students, in-state students, and students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
That’s also where Art & Science Group got its most surprising survey result, Goebel said.
Conservative students were significantly more likely than liberals and moderates to support institutions using different admissions criteria for different races and ethnicities to increase diversity.
Goebel called that result “counterintuitive.”
“That's something we'll be interested to take up in the future,” he said. “We were not expecting that at all.”