A rising number of high-achieving students are bypassing Ivy League and other Northeastern campuses in favor of Southern and Sun Belt universities, citing campus activism and political tensions as a factor in their choices, college counselors, researchers and applicants say.
Education Department data analyzed by The Wall Street Journal shows an 84 percent increase over two decades in the number of Northeastern students attending Southern universities. Applications to Southern schools rose about 30 percent between 2018 and 2022, a shift that counselors and sociologists say has accelerated in the wake of high-profile campus protests and controversies since October 2023.
Parents and students—particularly those applying from abroad or from families with Ivy traditions—say the intensity of recent activism has influenced where they will enroll. Michael, a 17-year-old American student living in Singapore who had been aiming for Harvard, told advisers he plans to apply instead to the University of Virginia, citing concerns about what he and members of his family describe as an overwhelming activist climate at some Ivy League campuses.
"My older brother is currently at Harvard. From what he has told me, the level of activism there can be overwhelming, and it has made his college experience more stressful than it should be," Michael said, according to interviews with advisers quoted by media outlets. He said his brother had even considered transferring because of disruptions tied to protests.
College coach Christopher Rim, who has drawn attention for charging up to $120,000 to advise wealthy clients through the admissions process, said families are "paying attention to what is happening on campus and in the news" and are factoring campus climate into enrollment decisions after admissions offers arrive. "Families want to secure admissions offers first and then weigh the political and social climate when choosing where to enroll," Rim said.
Sociologists and admissions advisers described three overlapping explanations for the shift: concerns about activist-driven disruptions and antisemitism on campus; the appeal of warmer climates and lower living costs; and rising academic reputations among some Southern and Sun Belt institutions.
Neil Gross, a sociologist at Colby College who studies higher education, said politics is playing a larger role in college selection than it did a generation ago. "Some are trying to get away from politicized schools. Others are trying to get out of states where they disagree with the politics," he said.
The trend follows a period of intense protest activity at a number of high-profile campuses. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in the Middle East and ensuing fighting in Gaza, universities including Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Northwestern, University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pennsylvania have experienced protests and controversies over administration responses, free speech and campus safety. Harvard drew particular attention: protests and administrative criticism preceded the resignation of then-university president Claudine Gay in January 2024, and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ranked Harvard lowest among 251 campuses on its free-speech scorecard that year.
Former President Donald Trump threatened to withhold more than $2 billion in federal research funding from Harvard after the university declined certain administration demands about campus activism; a federal judge later ruled that action illegal.
Advisers say concerns about antisemitism and safety have been salient for some Jewish applicants and their families. Rachel Rubin, founder of Spark Admissions and a Harvard Ph.D., said parents most often intervene when Jewish students express fear of antisemitism or of feeling unsafe because of campus politics.
The shift is evident in application figures at Southern and Sun Belt institutions. The University of Miami reported a record 58,139 applicants for fall 2025, an 8 percent increase over the prior year, and admitted 17 percent. Vanderbilt University set an applications record and accepted 4.7 percent of applicants this admissions cycle. Duke University reported a 10 percent increase in applications, pushing its acceptance rate below 5 percent for the first time.
Cost differences between regions do not fully explain the trend. Published annual costs—including tuition, room, board and fees—are similar at many elite private institutions: Harvard estimated annual student costs at roughly $86,926, Duke at about $94,217, Vanderbilt $94,274 and the University of Miami about $98,118. Harvard, however, maintains need-based financial aid that can make attendance effectively free for families with incomes under $100,000.
Advisers say many applicants cast wide nets of 15 to 20 schools to secure offers and then weigh campus climate and perceived stability when making final enrollment decisions. As selective Southern universities draw more applicants, advisers and analysts say those schools are becoming more competitive, narrowing traditional admissions pathways.
Students and parents interviewed by admissions counselors offered different motives: some said they wanted a less political campus experience; others sought environments they perceived as safer or more stable in the face of funding and administrative controversies. The movement, researchers say, reflects both long-term demographic and academic trends and a more immediate reaction to the political landscape on certain Northeastern campuses.