Why college kids are abandoning Ivy Leagues to go to Southern schools trends now
Students are abandoning Northeastern schools in favor of safe havens in the South, as tensions rise and anti-Israel hysteria grips elite Ivy League colleges.
More prospective students are veering towards universities like Elon in North Carolina, Clemson in South Carolina and the University of Miami in Florida - away from the prestigious Northeastern Ivy Leagues.
The South's appeal? Better value, more freedom and a laid-back atmosphere with greater feelings of safety and decreasing fears of racism.
For Jewish students like Scott Katz, the escalation of antisemitism and anti-Israel demonstrations at campuses such as Columbia have reinforced his decision to enroll at Elon University in North Carolina.
Katz says the surge of antisemitism pervading campuses nationwide, particularly elite colleges like Stanford and Berkeley, remains conspicuously absent at Elon. He told The Free Press he finds solace in its peaceful campus environment.
College students are abandoning their Northeastern schools and finding a safe haven in the South - amid anti-Israel hysteria and rising tensions that are gripping prestigious universities (pictured: Elon University in North Carolina)
For Jewish students like Scott Katz (pictured), the escalation of antisemitism and anti-Israel demonstrations at campuses such as Columbia have reinforced his decision to enroll at Elon
Bethal Miles, a 23-year-old resident of Chicago, chose to pursue his bachelor's degree in communications at the University of Southern Mississippi
'I haven't been affected by it at all,' Katz told The Free Press as he nears the end of his sophomore year. 'I definitely feel very safe on campus regarding my religion.'
He made the choice despite being a native of Lafayette Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia with a liberal leaning and hefty property price tags.
Elon's position as one of only two universities in the country to get an A grade from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for its policies protecting Jewish students against hate was key to his decision.
The university has seen zero 'severe antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents' and zero 'hostile anti-Zionist student groups,' according to the ADL.
'It was a big deal,' Katz says of the level of comfort he feels on campus.
'Even if I could've gotten into Harvard, I wouldn't have gone,' he said. 'I wanted a school that felt right for me, not someplace that we're told we're supposed to want to go.'
'Never before have we seen so much interest in colleges like Clemson, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina State,' the assistant vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech, Rick Clark, told The Free Press. 'That's just unprecedented.'
The pandemic-induced lockdown measures also impacted some parents and students' decision to seriously consider Southern schools.
'Kids up North were pretty unhappy during those COVID lockdown years,' Larry Glazer, father of a prospective college student, told the outlet.
'And colleges down South were offering something different. My son and his friends would look at TikTok and see all these college kids going to football games, throwing parties, living their lives. It has an impact,' he added.
Doubt regarding the value of an Ivy League education is also a factor students are considering.
Yale alumna Julie Ketover is one student who has raised such concerns.
'I don't know that the value of an Ivy League education is the same as it used to be. People ask me all the time, 'Would you do Yale again?' she said.
'I would. I loved it. But it used to mean something to go to a really, really good school. I think it means less today. I'm working with clients in organizations that are hiring, and it really doesn't f—— matter to them where you went to college. You got your degree, and that's enough.'
Bethal Miles, a 23-year-old resident of Chicago, chose to pursue his bachelor's degree in communications at the University of Southern Mississippi, despite its contentious past in the civil rights struggle.
With a minority enrollment of 38 percent among approximately 10,000 undergraduate students, Southern Miss still grapples with some issues around diversity and racism today. But the picture is overwhelmingly positive for Miles.
'Since day one, my classmates have made me feel welcome,' he told The Free Press. 'Other than the accents and their cowboy boots—that was wild to me, man. They wear cowboy boots everywhere—it was like I'd found my second home.'
A trend showing students electing to avoid college in the hundreds of thousands has become increasingly prevalent since
