February 21, 2017
Source/Creative Commons
This photo shows Memorial Hall and Magnolia Circle at the University of Delaware. The college a popular destination for freshmen who hail from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
With springtime fast approaching, high school seniors all around the country will soon learn where they've been accepted to college, setting up a big decision about where they want to live for the next four years.
For more than a third of freshmen, it makes most sense to stick within 50 miles of home, or otherwise reasonably close, whether to take advantage of in-state tuition or because they prefer to have family and friends nearby. Others can't wait to go as far as they can, as fast as they can, to begin their lives as independent young adults.
Newly released data from The Chronicle of Higher Education paints a clearer picture of freshman migration patterns around the country, offering some insight into which states are seeing a boom in college enrollment and which colleges are attracting the most undergraduates from each state. Data comes from the Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.
An interactive map allows users to explore in depth, both by state and college, at two-year intervals from 1998 through 2014.
Here are the top 10 out-of-state colleges attended by Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents, respectively, in 2014.
10. Virginia Tech (178)
9. Youngstown State University (179)
8. Ohio State University tied with James Madison University (180)
7. George Washington University (185)
6. Rochester Institute of Technology (202)
5. Syracuse University (208)
4. Liberty University (274)
3. Kent State University (351)
2. University of Delaware (517)
1. West Virginia University (667)
10. Lehigh University (341)
9. Fordham University (353)
8. Syracuse University (410)
7. St. Joseph's University (422)
6. Temple University (424)
5. Villanova University (433)
4. New York University (599)
3. Drexel University (631)
2. Penn State University (884)
1. University of Delaware (895)
You can explore more data using The Chronicle of Higher Education's interactive map.
