"COLLEGES NEED MORE RURAL STUDENTS WHO ARE WILLING TO SAY, ‘I DON’T THINK THE WAY YOU THINK AND I DON’T ACT THE WAY YOU ACT, BUT I AM STILL CAPABLE OF DOING THE SAME WORK YOU ARE DOING.’"
- Amanda Wahlstead, Wellesley College STUDENT (Pappano, 2017)
By the numbers
72%
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Land area in America that is categorized as rural
Percent of the American population comes from these rural areas. That's about 1 in 7 college-aged students High school completion rate for rural students is at 80%, right behind suburban students at 81% Rural areas lag behind metropolitan areas in post-secondary attainment by 13.7% (American Community Survey, 2011) |
Why the disparity in post-secondary attainment?
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A variety of factors could be involved:
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For the rural students who desire to attend college, they have unique barriers to overcome. A student's hometown may not have the jobs to support advanced degrees, and he's worried he will be too different from their peers if he travels out of town to a four-year institution. A student may not understand financial aid and her parents are unable to help because they did not attend a four-year institution. A student may fear that the two Advanced Placement courses offered at his high school will pale in comparison to a student from the city with 14 on their transcript.
College enrollment administrators should work to understand rural students, their needs, their backgrounds, and the resources they have been offered at their high schools. As only 14% of America's population lives in rural areas, these students can provide a unique perspective and contribute to the diversity of knowledge on a college campus.
It is estimated that 12.5% of Virginia's population live in rural areas, totaling just over 1 million people (Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 2017). Below is a map of the counties of Virginia currently identified as rural localities:
College enrollment administrators should work to understand rural students, their needs, their backgrounds, and the resources they have been offered at their high schools. As only 14% of America's population lives in rural areas, these students can provide a unique perspective and contribute to the diversity of knowledge on a college campus.
It is estimated that 12.5% of Virginia's population live in rural areas, totaling just over 1 million people (Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 2017). Below is a map of the counties of Virginia currently identified as rural localities:
Virginia Rural (Non-Metropolitan) areas as defined by the
Office of Management and Budget in 2005
For additional resources and a printable college access and mobility guide, visit the resources page.
