For college students, a school’s state politics can matter as much as its academics
Published by The 19th News
… While some progressive students may consciously avoid conservative states, the research indicates the opposite is also true. David Strauss, a principal with Art & Science Group, a consulting and research firm that has studied these trends, noted that students on the right are excluding schools at similar rates as their liberal peers.
“It’s the moderates who are less likely to cite political considerations,” he explained. “The conservatives seem to be quite general.” They reason that certain states are “too Democratic” without naming the array of issues that liberal young people typically cite — from voter suppression to LGBTQ+ rights.
Students most frequently rule out attending college in Alabama, California, Florida, New York and Texas, according to a fall 2024 study Strauss co-authored. “The general gist of this is that there’s a significant minority of students who are sorting themselves into places where they think they’re going to feel more comfortable politically.”
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