Rural students are applying to college in increasing numbers, with over 90,000 applying to member institutions of the STARS College Network last year, a 15 percent increase from the previous year. This growth is largely due to the efforts of the STARS College Network, which was founded with a $20 million donation from Byron Trott, a wealthy Missouri-born alumnus and trustee of the University of Chicago. Trott was concerned that too few rural students were attending college, despite making up nearly a quarter of the American population.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 90 percent of rural students graduate from high school, but only about half go on to college, compared to nearly 60 percent of urban and 63 percent of suburban high school graduates. The STARS College Network has expanded to include 32 member schools, including Brown, Columbia, and Yale, which have agreed to recruit at rural high schools and provide support to rural students, particularly during the college application process.
Recruiting Rural Students
Marjorie Betley, deputy director of admissions at the University of Chicago and STARS’ executive director, said the organization’s focus is shifting from getting rural students to apply to college to helping them enroll and graduate. They are working to address the challenges rural students face, such as cost and lack of access to resources. The organization’s efforts include providing support to rural students, which has led to an increase in applications from rural areas.
Jack Hancock, a high school senior from rural Milford, Pennsylvania, said that many of his classmates and their parents don’t think college is worth it, and instead opt for community college or the local state university. Hancock, who was accepted to Amherst College, said that his family’s decision to send him to a private college was not a common one in their community, highlighting the need for more privacy and support for rural students.
Barriers to College
Rural students face a number of barriers when it comes to attending college, including cost, lack of access to resources, and a sense of not belonging. Olivia Meier, a college-bound high school senior from Chugiak, Alaska, said that many of her friends don’t see college as an option because of the cost and a lack of confidence in their abilities. The STARS College Network is working to address these barriers and provide more opportunities for rural students to succeed.
Mara Tieken, a professor of education at Bates College, said that selective college campuses can be a “rarefied environment” that can be intimidating for rural students. Tieken, who has written about the experiences of rural students at elite colleges, said that these students often lack the social and cultural capital to navigate the college application process and succeed on campus, which is why programs like career pathways are essential.
Supporting Rural Students
Several STARS member schools, including Amherst College, offer programs to support rural students, such as accepted student days and summer bridge programs. Catherine Colberg, a college-bound high school senior from St. Joseph, Minnesota, attended an accepted student day at Amherst and said it helped her feel more confident about her decision to attend the college. The college’s president, Michael Elliott, said that increasing the number of rural students in college benefits both the students and the colleges they attend.
- 90 percent of rural students graduate from high school
- Only about half of rural high school graduates go on to college
- Over 90,000 rural students applied to STARS member institutions last year
- 32 member schools, including Brown, Columbia, and Yale, are part of the STARS College Network
The STARS College Network is working to address the disparities in college attendance and completion rates between rural and non-rural students. By providing support and resources to rural students, the organization hopes to increase the number of these students who attend and graduate from college. As they continue to grow and expand their efforts, it’s likely that we’ll see more initiatives to support and recruit rural students in the coming years.
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