Four-year colleges and universities collectively located in the Southeast and Southwest of the United States were the only two regions to have experienced positive enrollment increases between 2017 and 2021. A variety of macro-level factors play into this growth, according to a report from EAB.
“College Search Trends Across Space and Time” examines the changing higher education landscape and examines how demographic shifts and the kinds of institutions preferred by students in each region affect the region’s overall application and enrollment rate.
The regions where its institutions experienced the highest enrollment growth saw application volumes grow even faster. Likewise, regions that experienced enrollment declines experienced plateaued or declining application rates. Specifically, the only two regions with positive enrollment rates in the four-year span—the Southeast and Southwest—also just so happened to have the highest application volumes.
State-by-state variation in college application volume:
- Southeast: 22% (enrollment increased by 3.9%)
- Southwest: 18% (enrollment increased by 5.3%)
- West: 14% (enrollment decreased by 1%)
- Northeast: 12% (enrollment decreased by 0.5%)
- Midwest: 10% (enrollment decreased 4.3%)
“Institutions should recognize that driving application growth remains a crucial strategy, especially amid increasing non-consumption and declining college-age populations,” the report read.
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A litany of factors underscores why the Southeast and Southwest had higher application and enrollment rates than the rest of the country.
For one, they represent two of the three regions with a higher rate of 18-year-olds; the West experienced a 4% gain. Projections over the next decade through 2031 are only positive for the Southeast and Southwest. Consequently, states with positive demographic changes just so happened to experience higher enrollment growth, including Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Secondly, while the application volume of public and private institutions increased at a relatively similar rate nationwide, interest in public colleges and universities in the Southeast and Southwest jumped significantly more. EAB suggests this might be due to the “strength” of these regions’ public systems, such as the University of Texas.
The West, Southwest and Southeast just happened to have the lowest rates of students migrating outside their region to attend college. EAB points to the larger picture of a “north-south divide”: those in northern states have a higher proclivity to leave.
Furthermore, non-selective institutions in the Southeast and Southwest increased their enrollment from 2017 to 2021. These institutions experienced at least a 4% drop across other regions.
EAB’s recent report shows that male enrollment has declined another 2.6%, a phenomenon well-documented for some time now. However, what’s most striking here is that only the Southwest and Southeast mustered positive, albeit small, gains in male enrollment, less than 1%.
