Colleges got more rural students to apply. The challenge is getting them to attend
Selective colleges are increasingly recruiting rural students to apply, thanks to initiatives like the STARS College Network, but now face challenges in convincing them to enroll and persist through graduation. Despite higher high school graduation rates among rural students, fewer transition directly to college compared to urban and suburban peers. Skepticism about the value of college and its impact on personal values in rural communities further complicates enrollment efforts.
- ▪The STARS College Network, funded by alumnus Byron Trott, has helped increase rural student applications to selective colleges by 15% last year.
- ▪Over 90,000 rural students applied to STARS member institutions last year, yet only slightly more than half of rural high school graduates enroll in college directly after graduation.
- ▪A Quinnipiac University poll found rural Americans are more likely than urban or suburban residents to believe college negatively affects political views and personal values.
- ▪Selective colleges including Amherst, MIT, and Yale now recruit at rural high schools previously overlooked by admissions officers.
- ▪Ninety percent of rural students graduate high school, a higher rate than their urban and suburban peers, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
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| Canonical URL | https://www.npr.org/2026/05/16/nx-s1-5797420/selective-colleges-woo-rural-students |
| Publication time | Sat, 16 May 2026 05:00:00 -0400 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-16T09:05:17.934Z |
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Education Colleges got more rural students to apply. The challenge is getting them to attend May 16, 20265:00 AM ET From Hechinger Report By Jon Marcus Admitted students and their families, including some from rural areas, take a tour of the Amherst College campus as they decide whether or not to enroll. Lucy Lu/The Hechinger Report hide caption toggle caption Lucy Lu/The Hechinger Report AMHERST, Mass. — Crowding around an Amherst College campus fire pit, earnest-looking high school seniors offered fire-building suggestions as intently as if they were taking a final exam.
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