For decades, cultural depictions of the American college experience focused heavily on the Ivy League, or at least on Northeastern schools — think of Lady Bird, in which Saoirse Ronan’s character risks a mountain of student loan debt for freedom and excitement in New York City. But now, Kyndall Cunningham reports, the winds are shifting southward. Gen Z students are increasingly flocking to Southern universities, inspired by #RushTok content, a general rise of Southern culture, and the perception that schools in the country’s lower latitudes might just be more fun. “Universities that have historically been famous for their sports teams and frat parties suddenly seem to have the aspirational sheen of the Ivy League,” Cunningham writes.
In some ways, the trend might be yet another example of young Americans’ uncertainty and their distrust of institutions. Gen Z students don’t necessarily see college as a ticket to a solid, middle-class life anymore, so they’re increasingly looking for places where they can make friends. “For a group of young people who came of age during pandemic lockdowns, attending a big state school in the South might represent an attempt to retrieve the years they lost,” Cunningham writes. “It’s also, according to what they see online, a path to finding more meaningful social experiences in an increasingly online world.”
—Anna North, senior correspondent |
