Where does your freshmen class come from?

[creekland]

This link was shared on College Confidential and I've had fun playing with it:

 

http://chronicle.com/article/Interactive-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=193900

 

The data from the link is from 2010 (my oldest's year).  It says they update it every two years.  Can anyone find an updated search option?

 

Nonetheless, it's been interesting seeing where my guys' peers have come from (assuming similar data for other years) and checking out other "popular" schools both with kids at my high school and elsewhere.  I thought others might like it too... hence... adding it to the College board here.

 

I know at our ps the vast majority of kids want to go to school within 3 hours of home.  That appears to be quite a norm for many schools - yet all schools I've seen have also had others from far, far away.  None of my kids went to school within 3 hours of home.  We actually encouraged them to go farther wanting them to experience life in a different area.

 

Assuming similar data for their years, they were 1 in 8, 1 in 68, and 1 in 13 from their state at their schools and they are 12/6/18 hours from home respectively. 

[mom2att]

95.5% of freshmen at dd's school are in-state, according to that data.  Considering our in-state tuition is quite inexpensive, I'm not surprised. But my alma mater had a much larger regional draw, with 68% in-state.  Interesting . . .

 

 

[creekland]

Oldest's had 24.7% from in state, but that's a little bit deceptive since his college sits at the border of 3 states.  Adding all three one would get roughly 39%.

 

It's 44.9% in-state for middle son.

 

It's 18.1% in-state for youngest.

 

All three are private schools and I'm content with the diversity.

 

 

[Hoggirl]

I have seen this before and looked for more recent data, but I have never been able to find it. I asked about it on CC and someone suggested that it might no longer be a "freebie" from the Chronicle of Higher Ed. I guess some of their stuff is "out there" and some is only available for subscribers.

[creekland]

 I guess some of their stuff is "out there" and some is only available for subscribers.

 

Thanks.  While interesting to look at, it doesn't cross the line into things I'd be willing to pay for.  I'll just assume the numbers stay similar.  ;)

[maize]

Too bad they don't include international enrollment numbers.

[Gwen in VA]

Advantage of having students from all over -- students get to know people from all over the country / world.

 

Advantage of having students from nearby -- it's easier to stay in touch!

 

My older ones went to private colleges where the student body was drawn from all over. Of the friends they made, none lives closer than four hours. Their college friends do not overlap their local friends at all. Since graduation, their college friendds have settled all over the country. (2/3 of my kids also have set up shop elsewhere.) While they may have a place to stay when they visit Georgia, their college connections make no difference to their day-to-day post-graduate lives.

 

Much is made of the benefits of a diverse student body, so I am going to be counter-cultural and put in a plug for attending a nearby college.

 

My youngest attends a state school with 67% in-state students. She knows many of the students through non-college connections, and even the students who are from across the state tend to stay for summer classes or stay in the area once they have graduated (as evidenced by the huge number of alums we meet. The swing dance scene here is heavily populated by alums. Our pastor is an alum. We bump into them everywhere!) . Dd is still making friends with students from Australia and Germany and Egypt and China and Chicago, but her at-home network is increasing tenfold due to her college connections. She is blessed to be attending a nearby college.

[maize]

I don't think I would see local connections as a priority simply because I don't expect my children to stay local, either to me or to their college. I come from a mobile family, my kids are growing up in a mobile family. I have no reason to assume they will settle down in any particular place.

[creekland]

I don't think I would see local connections as a priority simply because I don't expect my children to stay local, either to me or to their college. I come from a mobile family, my kids are growing up in a mobile family.

 

This is us too.   We picked a place to raise our boys so they would have a hometown, but I never expected any of them to necessarily stay local.  Neither hubby nor I stayed local to where we grew up.  Prior to settling here when oldest started kindergarten (literally two months before he started), we'd lived in 3 other states and had moved something like 10 times in 9 years of marriage.

 

I'm a nomad at heart, but by staying here for 17 years we've ended up sinking down roots with our jobs, so I don't know if moving again is happening or if we'll just travel a bit more.  Since we have college bills to pay, we're staying put for now.  Once college (and med school) is done for my guys we might be the two old geezers out backpacking the world.

[Jenny in Florida]

It says that my son's small-ish private university got 32% of its freshman class from Florida that year. I would have expected it to be a little higher, but I'm kind of pleasantly surprised. It means my son will have an opportunity to mingle with a more geographically diverse population than I would have thought he would staying in state.

[Gwen in VA]

I'll try to explain what I mean and then retire from this conversation.

 

My older two went to a college that draws students from all over the country and all over the world. Since graduating they have seen very few of their college friends because they are halfway (or more) across the country from almost all of them. Seeing those friends is expensive, so, despite years of rooming together and/or hanging out togetherthey, the relationships have become occasional contacts by Skype and text only.

 

On the other hand, my older two still get together with their local friends from high school. Almost all of their high school friends, despite scattering to the winds, come home for Christmas or another holiday, so gatherings are fairly easy to arrange. Physcial proximity, even if only because of families, does help maintain contacts!

 

My dd who is attending a local college is in the arts, and she is finding that her local contacts are IMMENSELY helpful in opening up all kinds of opportunities -- ones that she would not have had until junior or senior year if she had come onto the campus as an unknown. She is sinking some DEEP roots in this community, and I think that experience will stay with her the est of her life.

 

I am NOT arguing that everyone should go to a local school. Out of the six people in my immediate family, only one has attended a local school. My dd1 is hoping to go to Italy this spring to stay with friends from college! I am not saying that local is better!

 

All I am saying is that attending a school where more people come from the local area does have some advantages, so if anyone on the forum is feeling like her student is deprived because,for example, only 30% come from out of state, they should realize that there is a benefit or two in staying local.

 

 

[Caroline]

I understand what you mean. My DS is going to a local school. His girlfriend is from the next county over, less than 30 minutes from our house. He does have friends from all over the world at school. His fraternity brothers come from Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and all over North America. But there are also a lot of people from the ATL suburbs. So when he is home at Christmas, her gets together with his high school friends and his college friends. (Even though he goes to school 30 minutes from home, he lives on campus and only comes home a couple times a semester.)

 

I'll try to explain what I mean and then retire from this conversation.

 

My older two went to a college that draws students from all over the country and all over the world. Since graduating they have seen very few of their college friends because they are halfway (or more) across the country from almost all of them. Seeing those friends is expensive, so, despite years of rooming together and/or hanging out togetherthey, the relationships have become occasional contacts by Skype and text only.

 

On the other hand, my older two still get together with their local friends from high school. Almost all of their high school friends, despite scattering to the winds, come home for Christmas or another holiday, so gatherings are fairly easy to arrange. Physcial proximity, even if only because of families, does help maintain contacts!

 

My dd who is attending a local college is in the arts, and she is finding that her local contacts are IMMENSELY helpful in opening up all kinds of opportunities -- ones that she would not have had until junior or senior year if she had come onto the campus as an unknown. She is sinking some DEEP roots in this community, and I think that experience will stay with her the est of her life.

 

I am NOT arguing that everyone should go to a local school. Out of the six people in my immediate family, only one has attended a local school. My dd1 is hoping to go to Italy this spring to stay with friends from college! I am not saying that local is better!

 

All I am saying is that attending a school where more people come from the local area does have some advantages, so if anyone on the forum is feeling like her student is deprived because,for example, only 30% come from out of state, they should realize that there is a benefit or two in staying local.

[creekland]

All I am saying is that attending a school where more people come from the local area does have some advantages, so if anyone on the forum is feeling like her student is deprived because,for example, only 30% come from out of state, they should realize that there is a benefit or two in staying local.

 

Whenever anyone asks me about "best" engineering schools I often ask them where they want to live.  From the experience I have, in this economy, the vast majority of engineering companies like to hire from local (meaning within a state or two) favorite colleges - mainly because they have oodles of applicants and they know what to expect from graduates.  This, of course, is info for new hires straight from school.  Once one has been on a job, what they have done on that job counts for far more.  But for new hires, one wants as much going for them as they can get and "name" schools are not necessarily those in the Top whatever on any list - they are the Top schools on the local hiring manager's list.  Around here, the main schools are Penn St and Va Tech.  When we lived in FL, schools from FL and GA took the high spots.

 

It may not be just engineering.  My oldest liked the area where he went to college and opted to settle there.  He had no problem finding a job in his field in the area (business).  Middle is firmly set on med school.   I doubt he'll have a problem finding a job once finished.  Youngest wants to live coastal and tropical.  He found a college in an area he likes.  Time will tell... fortunately, due to contacts from the internet, he also got contacts to get a nice lab job as an incoming freshman - something that wouldn't have been likely if he'd been a "run of the mill" entering freshman.  (One never knows what networking might bring - it's a small world out there!)

 

Local schools CAN be a bonus - it all depends upon what one wants.  

 

So many niches... so many places... and few "wrong" choices as long as the choice fits.

[Laura Corin]

Calvin's university breaks down statistics by UK vs. other EU vs. rest of the world.  The whole of the UK is within about 12 hours travelling time of his university, so that's probably still 'in state' in US terms.  There's a tradition in the UK of going away to university, so I'd be surprised to find many people living at home.

 

L

[creekland]

Calvin's university breaks down statistics by UK vs. other EU vs. rest of the world.  The whole of the UK is within about 12 hours travelling time of his university, so that's probably still 'in state' in US terms.  There's a tradition in the UK of going away to university, so I'd be surprised to find many people living at home.

 

L

 

We're on the East Coast of the US where states tend to be smaller, but it takes me 30 minutes (by car) to be out of state to the south, 3 hours to the east, 4 1/2 hours to the west, and about 4 hours to the north.

 

If given 12 hours of traveling time (again, by car) I can be a few states away - or well into Canada, even allowing time to cross the border.  It takes us 18 hours to get to youngest son's school halfway down FL, but in 12 hours I can be with oldest in northern GA.  ;)

 

There may be a couple of states where one could travel 12 hours and still be in state if driving the correct direction (or in Alaska), but in general, I think it's rare.  I guess it could happen in Hawaii too, but you'd have made several circles of whichever island you were on!

[Bootsie]

We're on the East Coast of the US where states tend to be smaller, but it takes me 30 minutes (by car) to be out of state to the south, 3 hours to the east, 4 1/2 hours to the west, and about 4 hours to the north.

 

If given 12 hours of traveling time (again, by car) I can be a few states away - or well into Canada, even allowing time to cross the border.  It takes us 18 hours to get to youngest son's school halfway down FL, but in 12 hours I can be with oldest in northern GA.   ;)

 

There may be a couple of states where one could travel 12 hours and still be in state if driving the correct direction (or in Alaska), but in general, I think it's rare.  I guess it could happen in Hawaii too, but you'd have made several circles of whichever island you were on!

I can drive 12 hours and still be in Texas.  DD is 250 miles away at college but still in Texas (she could have chosen schools further away and still be in Texas).

[maize]

I can drive 12 hours and still be in Texas. DD is 250 miles away at college but still in Texas (she could have chosen schools further away and still be in Texas).

Yep, Texas takes forever to get through. You could fit quite a few smallish countries in all that empty space...

[maize]

I think the closest I have lived to family since graduating from high school was when I was in Los Angeles and had a sibling in San Francisco--still a good day's drive. I haven't lives within a thousand miles of my parents since leaving home.

 

ETA: being so far from family has given me an excuse to make that long drive across Texas multiple times :D

[Laura Corin]

There may be a couple of states where one could travel 12 hours and still be in state if driving the correct direction (or in Alaska), but in general, I think it's rare.  I guess it could happen in Hawaii too, but you'd have made several circles of whichever island you were on!

 

Husband's family is from Texas, so that's probably what I was thinking about in terms of still being 'in state' after twelve hours of travelling.  Realistically, the furthest corners of the UK (where a boat trip would add to the driving time) are sparsely populated - I would imagine that 90% of the students would be within a five hour drive of C's university, as it is pretty centrally located in population terms.  It will take us a bit over eight hours to drive.

 

L

[creekland]

I can drive 12 hours and still be in Texas.  DD is 250 miles away at college but still in Texas (she could have chosen schools further away and still be in Texas).

 

You could possibly do it in TX if you lived at one extreme and drove to the other.  I did a quick google of Houston to El Paso and got 10 hours of driving time.  From the vast majority of points in TX, 12 hours of driving time will put you out of state (assuming no traffic issues, of course).

 

In CA, San Diego to Chico gives me 8 hours and 40 minutes.  One can go farther north in CA, of course, but that's the northernmost city I could think of this morning... quite similar to how I picked my TX cities (memory and thinking of what the farthest two apart are rather than consulting a map for the actual farthest apart points).

 

Middle son goes to school 300 miles from us and it takes us 6 hours (including stops for gas/lunch) to reach him.  There's only one state change.

 

When we have exchange students, it's been a fun activity of ours to compare distances with them.  They either come thinking they can see CA in a day (from PA) or think that it would take two weeks to get there (by car).  Neither is actually true assuming one "drives" rather than "meanders."  TX is a little bit larger than France in overall size.  ;)

[Mabelen]

My dd's school student population is overwhelmingly in-state, however it is also incredibly diverse. With 36% Asians, 31% Hispanics, 17% Whites, 7% African Americans and 5% Internationals, 60% of whom are First Generation students plus it being in a geographically big state, this is not something to worry about!

 

Edited to add: her school also claims to have been one of the first major universities to actively recruit home-schooled and non-traditionally educated students. It is part of the UC system, which I have read here I think not to be very home-school friendly, so I don't know how that plays with the above claim!

[creekland]

Yes, my son is nearly 400 miles away, yet he is in-state. :-)

 

But 400 miles averaging 50 mph is still just 8 hours driving time.  This, of course, assumes that you aren't on the highway going 70 for the whole time.

 

Can you go another 200 miles in the same direction (more or less) and still be in state?

[Teachin'Mine]

Creekland Texas is 773 miles wide by 790 miles long.    Even with their higher speed limits, you can drive 12 hours and still remain in-state.  California too, but I would imagine that a third of that time could be spent just getting through LA.  lol  I'm sure most driving long distance, other than for tourism, would try to avoid that area.

[creekland]

Creekland Texas is 773 miles wide by 790 miles long.    Even with their higher speed limits, you can drive 12 hours and still remain in-state.  California too, but I would imagine that a third of that time could be spent just getting through LA.  lol  I'm sure most driving long distance, other than for tourism, would try to avoid that area.

 

What can you plug into mapquest or google and get 12 hours driving time in state?  I'm being unsuccessful when I try it.  Ditto with CA.

 

I don't doubt that TX is big.  We've crossed it a few times. (CA too)  ;)

 

[Teachin'Mine]

Texarkana to El Paso is 816 miles.   What does it show for travel time?

[creekland]

Texarkana to El Paso is 816 miles.   What does it show for travel time?

 

 

11 hours 24 minutes... ;)

 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=driving%20time%20Texarkana%20to%20El%20Paso

 

Farther down on that page someone else said 11 hours 47 minutes, but I didn't click on any links.

[Caroline]

Pensacola, FL to Key West, FL is 13 hours + driving time.

[maize]

When driving such ling distances you've also got to figure in gas and potty breaks at a minimum, actual travel time is necessarily longer than the calculated "driving time".

[maize]

Follett to Brownsville Texas gives me 13 hours 17 minutes.

[Teachin'Mine]

11 hours 24 minutes... ;)

 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=driving%20time%20Texarkana%20to%20El%20Paso

 

Farther down on that page someone else said 11 hours 47 minutes, but I didn't click on any links.

 

They must know a faster route than Mapquest or drive over the speed limits.  lol   Mapquest shows two routes.  One is 12 hr 10min and the other 13hr 23min.  : )    But obviously the actual travel time would be considerably longer assuming breaks in driving.

 

[maize]

Google does seem to regularly assume speeding in their driving calculations...

[creekland]

Pensacola, FL to Key West, FL is 13 hours + driving time.

 

Ooh!  Good one!  Yes, FL will work when starting in the panhandle.  I had completely forgotten that!  To use apples to apples comparisons, Google says 12 hours 32 minutes.  Dividing the miles (832) by hours that means 66.56 mph (with no stops - purely driving time).  I do know the speed limit for much of that highway is 70, so it may not be that unrealistic if one traveled at a time with no traffic backups.

 

When driving such ling distances you've also got to figure in gas and potty breaks at a minimum, actual travel time is necessarily longer than the calculated "driving time".

 

Oh of course.  And if you're like us, you need to factor in hiking and leisurely eating time too.  I really dislike going from Point A to Point B without having some fun along the way, but we first calculate driving time, then add what we want for the rest (which can include traffic when we know we're going through known bottlenecks).

 

Follett to Brownsville Texas gives me 13 hours 17 minutes.

 

This one works!  It's 831 miles, so just a mile shorter than Pensacola to Key West.  Google gives it the same driving time as P - KW at 12 hours 32 minutes.  Pending speed limits and traffic in TX, I suspect one has a better shot of hitting the target time there than in FL where I'm doubtful that one could average 66mph on some of those highways - and esp can't once one gets south of Miami and the highway ends...

[creekland]

We drove down US1 on our way to Key West last winter. In many spots, the speed limit was SLOW... like, 35mph. Going through the keys took FOR. EV. ER.

 

At least it's a pretty drive with a few really nice state parks along the way.  For the FL trip, that part would probably be my favorite - far surpassing the segment on I 95!

 

But it is kinda cute to think of averaging 66mph on the road there.  Since one tends to go 75 where the speed limit is 70 and since the highway part is far longer (miles wise) it might be able to be done if there aren't traffic jams.  I'm not sure I'd bet on it though.