Part 8
A shrinking globe doesn’t help . . .
Today’s college students are also the first generation to consider travel a routine, rather than novel, aspect of life. The excitement of back packing through Europe enjoyed by their parents has been replaced by the far more hum drum Spring Break in Tuscany or Costa Rica. Where Baby Boomers watched in awe as Nixon arrived in China, Beijing has become just another “class trip” destination for their children. Today’s college applicants grew up with discount carrier, Southwest Airlines. Despite offering no frills and no seat assignments, Southwest flies more domestic passengers today than any other airline. In the consciousness of this generation, air travel is essentially public transportation. Today’s college students view discount carriers Southwest and Air Tran in much the same way their parents thought of Greyhound and Trailways. For the first time, going to a college “close to home” is increasingly measured in flight hours and not miles driven.
It’s true that statisticians still cite the indisputable fact that the vast majority of college students attend school within 100 miles of their parents’ house. But . . . as the old saying states, “There are three kinds of lies; ordinary lies, damn lies and statistics!” This particular statistic doesn’t separate out all of the college students who attend relatively local public universities and even more local community colleges.
Students attending the top 100 colleges in America are increasingly considering schools far and very far away from home. When more students from New York consider Stanford, the admissions office in Palo Alto feels the crunch. Similarly, when more students in California consider Columbia, the admissions officers in Manhattan feel the pressure. The traditional geographical boundaries for America’s top colleges are tumbling down and they’re tumbling quickly!
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