2022 Parent Survey: 80% prefer a school less than 6 hours away from home
About a third of parents will feel comfortable with their kids in a school under two hours away, and another third are fine with their student being 2-4 hours away. However, less than 20% would be comfortable with their student over six hours away.
One study of college distance from student’s home revealed that 72% of students attend college in their own state, and 86% are enrolled in a college in their region. [ii] It also revealed that students with lower SAT scores or lower family incomes tend to enroll in schools closer to home than their peers with higher scores or incomes. The pandemic may have shifted the trends towards keeping students closer to home, with uncertainties about travel top-of-mind for the
past couple of years.
MARKETING INSIGHTS
- Geography matters. Especially when trying to attract low-income or first-time college students, marketers should focus much of their attention on nearby areas.
- Depending on your school location, advertisements and outreach targeted to areas within four hours of your institution should be a priority.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you adapt to the evolving education marketing landscape and ramp up your efforts, please contact us today.
OUR LATEST WHITEPAPER
The Prospective Student Journey:
Reaching Traditional College Students
We have identified four specific points in the journey where schools can make small changes that can increase the number of incoming students. Learn how to implement these changes and optimize these opportunities.
