Allie Bernstein, '27
In the past couple of years, the Southern region of the United States has rapidly gained recognition and popularity. People from all different areas of America have moved to states like Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida. In addition to families moving to the South, there is another group of new “southerners” to consider: college students. Why are these high school seniors deciding to leave their home and start their adult life in a completely new region with different people, culture, politics, history, and norms? Lately, it seems that there has been a divide in America, specifically pertaining to people who were brought up in different areas from one another. Examining why Southern universities are quickly becoming popular can be helpful in understanding this divide.
Julia Scarcella is a senior at Wake Forest University, a Southern school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 2019, Julia was a high school senior, and with an impressive 4.0 GPA, she applied for an early decision to Wake Forest University. That next year, she moved and spent the next four years of her life over 500 miles away from her home. When asked if she intentionally wanted to go to a university in the South, Julia responded with, “Yes, I did want to go to school in the southern region. I was planning to apply to schools mostly in Virginia and North Carolina. The warmer weather in North Carolina was also appealing to me, too.” She also noted later on that while the location of Wake Forest was a factor in her decision to attend, it wasn’t everything. She liked the fact that while Wake Forest is in Winston-Salem, when she was on the campus, she didn’t feel like she was in a city. On the other hand, the city of Winston-Salem was easily accessible without overwhelming her college experience. Furthermore, Julia felt Wake Forest had a good Greek life environment, something that college students in New Jersey likely don’t get to experience on the same level as students in the South.
Wake Forest isn’t the only Southern university to experience a rise in popularity. In 2023, the University of Tennessee had a 51% increase in out-of-state applications. That same year, the acceptance rate dropped 28% from the previous year. (Statistics from Garret Educational Consulting). In 2015, the University of Georgia had an acceptance rate of 53%, and in 2023 they had an acceptance rate of 43%. (Statistics from College Vines). The simple fact of the matter is that to get into these Southern universities (in particular, SEC schools), your credentials must be more impressive than the typical admitted student from five years ago. This may partially be due to more recent policies that multiple Southern universities have instated. The University of Tennessee started implementing an in-state guaranteed admission policy, meaning that any high school senior applying to University of Tennessee that has attended high school in Tennessee and obtained a UT Core GPA of 4.0 or higher, or is among the top 10% of their high school class, will automatically be granted admission into the University of Tennessee. Similarly, the University of Texas at Austin automatically accepts any applicants who were in the top 6% of their Texan high school. The reason for these policies is so the state legislatures can ensure that many top students in their state have an opportunity to stay in state for college.
In a conversation with two Ensworth college counselors, Mrs. Stewart and Dr. Phillips, the point of scholarships was brought up. Many students want to attend schools in the South because of the financial aspect. Southern universities have different types of scholarships that provide significant money for college tuition. The University of Florida has the Bright Futures Scholarship, which in 2023 had a budget of 591 million dollars. The University of Georgia has the Hope Scholarship, which can cover up to 80% of not just tuition, but also mandatory fees. “From 2019 to 2020, three Southern colleges (Trinity University in Texas, Samford University in Alabama, and Sewanee in Tennessee) gave the most merit aid” -Lisa Cericola, Southern Living. In addition to scholarships, the school culture of Southern universities make these schools desirable for high school students. Mrs. Stewart mentioned how schools like Ole Miss and Alabama have a huge family dynamic, due to history and tradition. Colleges that aren’t located in the South don’t typically hold the same amount of athletic wins, especially when it comes to a popular sport like football. In 2023, the Garrett Educational Consulting company wrote, “We are also seeing a rise in popularity in what one of our colleagues dubbed the ‘ESPN’ Schools – schools that saw tremendous athletic success last year. Tulane, TCU, and The University of Georgia are riding the wave of their football victories and experiencing a surge in applications.” Students want to attend a ‘winning’ school and participate in school spirit. A desirable college experience consists of financial stability, accessible yet not overwhelming cities, and school pride.