When applying to colleges, Celia Frank knew she wanted to go out of state. Sick of the New Jersey winters she grew up enduring, Frank ended up opting to go south — way south, to the University of Miami in sunny Coral Gables, Florida.
“The campus reminded me more of a resort than a school, and the students seemed genuinely happy,” Frank recalls of her first time seeing UM’s campus. And, for four years as she studied biochemistry and molecular biology, Frank, now a recent grad, got to experience it for herself.
Frank’s migration down South for college isn’t an anomaly. In recent years, there’s been a rise in popularity of Southern colleges, specifically among non-Southern students. According to a 2025 Wall Street Journal analysis of U.S. Department of Education Data, the number of people from the North going to Southern public schools went up 84% over the past two decades and jumped 30% from 2018 to 2022. Tests and the Rest, a college admissions industry podcast, also noted that Northern student enrollment in Southern schools as a whole rose 84% from 2018 to 2022.
While the warmer climate enjoyed by Southern schools is certainly a draw, it’s far from the only reason students are flocking south. With Gen Z coming of age amid the pandemic, a decline in third spaces, and the rapid digitization of social interactions, many incoming college students find themselves craving a sense of community and tradition. “For me, the strength of the community in Southern schools was really appealing,” says Lauryn Taylor, a recent graduate of UNC Chapel Hill. “Some Northern schools, particularly the city-based ones, don’t have the same traditional college campus or community. I really wanted that for my undergrad experience.”
And it’s not just the big SEC schools that have this appeal. For example, at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, school spirit takes a different form. “William & Mary is by no means a big sports school, but we have school pride in different ways,” says Lauren Martz, a recent W&M grad originally from Pennsylvania. “Since W&M is so old, a lot of our traditions date back to when W&M was founded, and our events felt very historic.”
For some, the allure is in the overall culture of the South. “Everyone is so friendly,” Kayla Cuthbert, a junior economics major at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, says. “Back home in California, many people are individualistic and isolating, so it is harder to make connections.”
But how did so many prospective students come to the same conclusion about seeking Southern schools? Turns out, it might be the same way they learn about any other trend that captivates their generation: social media. “A lot of these schools are able to showcase things like warm weather, school spirit, football games, Greek life, and campus life in a way that looks really appealing online,” Frank says. “It can make the idea of going to college there feel like you are getting both a college experience and a completely different lifestyle.”
But scrolling on social media only goes so far. “Anyone who works in recruitment knows that one of the most effective ways to get students to commit is to have them actually visit campus,” Christopher Reed, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and Chief Enrollment Officer at Texas A&M University, says. “One of the ways that marketing [like via social media] helps us is to excite students to the point where they take a leap and schedule a campus visit.”
Raina Sohur, a senior originally from Massachusetts studying math and philosophy at UNC Chapel Hill, is proof of Reed’s point. “Greek life was especially prominent in what I saw online, and I knew before college that it was not something I wanted to center my social life around,” Sohur says. However, when arriving on UNC’s campus, Sohur was surprised by how incomplete that picture was. “My experience was shaped more by my classes, academic interests, extracurricular commitments, and the individual people I met than by any particular ‘Southern college’ stereotype.”
With Southern colleges becoming more popular nationwide, they’re also becoming more competitive — which, for many, makes them even more desirable. “Admissions data [from over the last 10 years] confirmed how colleges in the South that have always been selective are now even more so,” Julia Spaht, Senior Private Counselor at Top Tier Admissions says. “Institutions like Vanderbilt, Duke, Emory, Rice, and the University of Miami have all seen their acceptance rates fall by nearly half or more on a relative basis over the past decade.”
But while these schools are becoming more difficult to get into, experts recognize they can still be cost-effective options for students. “Although the cost of a college education has risen nationwide, large public flagships in the South offer lower tuition and generous merit aid for out-of-state students who have strong grades and test scores,” Spaht says. “Top private colleges in the South have also increased their need-based financial aid for all students, regardless of the region they are applying from, and a number of these meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. Others offer prestigious merit awards students can apply for.”
Annabelle Gesson, a recent grad originally from New York, can attest to this. Gesson transferred from Providence College in Rhode Island to UNC Chapel Hill to finish her degree in advertising and public relations. “I was drawn to UNC School of Journalism and Media because of their excellent program and to be a part of a larger school — ([an estimated] 20,000 versus 6,000 [students]),” Gesson says. “Even as an out-of-state student, the tuition was still less expensive than Providence College.”
For those weighing the choice of whether or not to consider college in the South, Gesson looks back on her decision to transfer and has no regrets. “It was the best decision of my life so far,” she says. “You make friends for life, experience a completely new culture, and realize that home is wherever you build your community.”