Colleges that began recruiting more aggressively in rural America have succeeded in increasing applications — but getting admitted students to enroll and finish remains a tougher task.
On a crisp weekend at Amherst College, admitted high school seniors from small towns clustered around a fire pit, swapping s’mores and stories. The scene was part social, part strategic: a two-day program designed to make rural applicants feel welcome and see themselves on a selective college campus.
Those outreach efforts are the next phase of a campaign launched when a Missouri-born University of Chicago trustee, Byron Trott, seeded the STARS College Network (Small Town and Rural Students) with an initial $20 million. Trott saw that while roughly a quarter of Americans live in rural areas, they have been dramatically underrepresented at elite colleges. Since founding STARS, and after additional investments, the initiative has grown: STARS member institutions rose from 16 to 32 and reported that more than 90,000 rural students applied to member schools last year — about a 15% increase.
With those application gains established, colleges are now focused on improving yield — admitting rural students who actually matriculate — and supporting them through graduation. STARS has encouraged member schools, including Ivy League and top STEM institutions, to make a point of visiting rural high schools and to fund programs that reduce barriers to campus visits and early immersion.
But several persistent obstacles make enrollment and persistence difficult for many rural students. Cost is often the first concern: rural households have lower median incomes than the national average, and private selective colleges can seem unaffordable despite financial aid. Families in small towns may also carry cultural reservations about attending far-away, elite institutions; some students and parents worry about standing out or leaving their communities.
Trust and familiarity are central. For many rural students, selective colleges have not been places they saw people “like them” — admissions offices simply did not visit their schools. That absence has contributed to skepticism about whether higher education is welcoming or relevant. Polling shows rural Americans are less likely than urban and suburban residents to view college as beneficial, and concerns about cultural change or political differences can influence decisions.
Practical barriers compound the cultural ones. Rural high schools often offer fewer advanced courses or extracurricular pathways that strengthen competitive college applications. Students may lack mentorship from family or community networks who understand the application and financial-aid process or who can help with career-related connections after graduation. Once on campus, rural students can experience homesickness and isolation when campus culture feels unfamiliar; data show rural enrollees are more likely to stop out and less likely to graduate compared with suburban peers.
Colleges are experimenting with ways to address these gaps. Several STARS schools cover travel and lodging so admitted rural students can spend a day or two on campus; last year more than 1,000 rural applicants took that opportunity. Host institutions arrange class visits, meals, social events and overnight stays so prospective students can picture life there and meet others from similar backgrounds.
Amherst’s recruitment offers a case study. After joining STARS, the college increased its rural admits from 70 to 96 in one year, and officials say the share of rural students on campus rose from about 6% to 11%. Amherst’s admissions staff now runs targeted outreach and an overnight program for rural admits, and college leaders point to financial aid supported by a large endowment as a factor making the option realistic for families.
Students who participate in these programs report both relief and surprise: many did not expect elite colleges to reach out, and some say the campus visits helped them overcome doubts about whether they belonged. High school seniors from small towns have described feeling self-doubt — assuming top schools were “out of reach” — until they saw peers from similar places succeed.
Still, campus culture can be jarring. Scholars who study rural students at elite colleges note differences in lifestyle and social norms — what’s familiar in a small town may not be mirrored on an urban or private-school dominated campus. That mismatch can affect belonging and, ultimately, retention. Colleges responding to that reality are setting up peer groups, mentoring programs, and career advising that specifically connect rural students to alumni and industry networks.
Advocates argue that increasing rural representation benefits both students and institutions. Students bring diverse lived experiences and perspectives that enrich classroom discussion and campus life; colleges benefit from a broader pool of talent and viewpoints in a politically and culturally polarized time.
Still, turning interest into enrollment and then into degree completion requires sustained investment: outreach to raise awareness and trust, financial aid that makes attendance feasible, programs that ease academic preparation gaps, and on-campus supports to build community and career connections. The work that began by persuading rural students to apply is moving into a longer journey to help them arrive and thrive.
For many small-town students, attending a selective college can also change how they see home. Several rural students at Amherst said their experience made them appreciate their hometowns in new ways and think about how they might contribute to those communities after graduation.
The next measure of success for STARS and participating institutions will be whether rising application numbers translate into higher enrollment and stronger graduation rates for rural students — not just a single visit to a campus fire pit, but the completion of a college degree and the long-term benefits that follow.