Back to school: How state politics is reducing college options for US students

Washington: For US students, the political climate of a state is as important as good courses, a world-class faculty, and an amazing campus when they consider colleges for enrolment.

A survey by Art & Science Group, a Baltimore-based consulting firm, has found that college aspirants would prefer to take admissions in colleges in states that align with their own political ideologies.

The finding holds true for students who are liberal, moderate, or conservative. The survey highlights how a growing number of Americans are choosing where to live and study based on the state’s affiliation.

The findings of the survey

The Art & Science Group recorded the responses of 1,865 college-bound students. A quarter of the students said that they had reconsidered enrolling in a college based exclusively on state-level politics.

New York and California were the states most preferred by Conservative-leaning students.

Thirty-two per cent of these students said that they would avoid going to college in their own home states.

Lef-leaning students said that they would rule out going to a particular state due to the reason them being too conservative. They said that these states lacked concern about racial equality conservative LGBTQ+ laws, poor gun control and a lack of mental health support.

Meanwhile, right-leaning students rule out states for being “too Democratic.”

How abortion rights play a role in college enrolment

A separate survey by Gallup shows that 72 per cent of college students believe that reproductive rights in a particular state play a decisive role in their decision to stay enrolled in a college.

“Among those who say reproductive health services are an important consideration in their college enrolment decisions, more than eight in 10 currently enrolled students (81 per cent) and unenrolled students (85 per cent) say they would prefer to attend a university in a state with greater access to reproductive health services, while fewer than two in 10 would prefer to attend college in a more restrictive state,” the report said.

The survey found that 86 per cent of students who believe reproductive rights are important are Democrats.

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