Out-of-State Students: Winners and Losers
By JANE KARRNOV. 9, 2016

States that lost the most incoming freshmen to public universities elsewhere, and states that gained the most. Data is from the Department of Education for 2014.

Biggest Losses

1. CALIFORNIA lost 17,196 freshmen to other states.

Criticized for pursuing too many

out-of-state and international students to

bolster revenue, the University of

California increased this fall’s admissions

offers to residents by 15 percent. Still, its

most prestigious campuses have the

lowest admit rates of any public campus

(18 percent at U.C.L.A. and Berkeley).

Result: Students leave.

2. ILLINOIS lost 16,461 freshmen to other states.

A report last year by the Illinois

Association for College Admission

Counseling suggests one motive for the

exodus: money. “The ‘deals’ are

remarkable. Iowa, Iowa State, Indiana,

Michigan State … there is a long list of

scholarship options you can find on

individual college websites.” At the highly

ranked New Trier Township High School,

75 percent of graduates go out of state.

3. NEW JERSEY lost 11,813 freshmen to other states.

Brain drain is not new here.

Philadelphia, Delaware and Maryland

campuses are a short commute for

New Jersey residents who want to live

at home. Then there’s overcrowding at

Rutgers, the flagship campus, where a

new honors college aims to reverse

the flow.

4. TEXAS lost 11,179 freshmen to other states.

Public universities must automatically

admit the top 10 percent of each high

school’s graduating class (less at the

University of Texas, Austin). To fans, the

law promotes diversity by drawing from

less affluent schools. To critics, it edges

out students who just miss the cutoff for

Texas’ elite campuses. They leave. (See

Fisher v. University of Texas.)

5. NEW YORK lost 10,230 freshmen to other states.

Tuition is low, but the State University of

New York has never quite captured the

imagination of urban collegegoers,

although the state’s well-prepared

students have captured the attention of

public universities elsewhere. ​

Biggest Gains

1. PENNSYLVANIA took in 8,751 freshmen from other states.

Out-of-state students account for 38

percent of enrollment at Penn State

University, nestled in an area called

Happy Valley. Scandals aside, football

culture is a draw.

2. ALABAMA took in 8,652 freshmen from other states.

The University of Alabama spent $100.6

million on merit aid last year, much of it

distributed to high-achieving

out-of-state students. The result: higher

average test scores, one of the metrics

used in the all-important rankings.

Almost 60 percent of the student body

comes from out of state.

3. ARIZONA took in 8,618 freshmen from other states.

Rebranded in 2002 as the “New American

University,” Arizona State markets itself

as challenging tradition. And it’s growing,

despite facing the largest cuts in state

funding of any public university. Over the

last decade, 170 degree programs have

been added and the budget has nearly

doubled, thanks to fund-raising, business

deals and recruitment.

4. OHIO took in 7,065 freshmen from other states.

Spending on merit aid by Ohio State’s flagship campus in Columbus — $72

million in 2015-16 — is among the most

of any public university in the country,

and a lure for out-of-state students.

Last year, nonresidents made up

almost 25 percent of the freshman

class, more than double the number of

a decade earlier.

5. SOUTH CAROLINA took in 6,955 freshmen from other states.

A decade ago, the University of South

Carolina had a single recruiter, in

Atlanta, and paid little attention

elsewhere. Then, said Mary Wagner,

director of undergraduate admissions:

“We did the math. There are more

people in high schools outside of South

Carolina.” It now has 20 recruiters.

Last edited by Goose (1/07/2017 1:13 pm)