One-quarter of applicants ruled out colleges because of states’ political climate: Poll

Just more than a quarter — 28 percent — of students ruled out a school because of the politics, policies or legal situation in the college or university’s state, according to a new poll from the Art & Science Group.

Out of that group, about two-thirds decided to exclude certain schools at the beginning of their search, the organization found.

It is not more likely for a conservative or liberal to exclude schools due to the political climate of the state, the poll shows, but respondents did have varying standards for what they want in the state they could go to school in.  

Those who identify as liberal say they will exclude schools that they consider too conservative on abortion rights and LGBTQ issues. Conservatives say they won’t go to a state that they believe is too Democratic, too liberal on LGBTQ laws or too lenient on crime, according to the survey.

The top two concerns among moderates were leniency on crime and being too Republican, the data shows.  

The most frequently excluded state in the poll is Texas. Other states that are ruled out by 15 percent or more of prospective students include Florida, California, New York and Alabama.  

The poll comes as states have been deciding the legality of abortion since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, and fights over policies regarding which bathrooms or sports teams transgender individuals may use or participate in.  

The survey was conducted between April and June 2024 among 1,918 high school students. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.