Californians are more likely now to leave the state for college. Here’s where they’re going
A higher proportion of students from California started attending colleges based in other states in 2020 than ever before, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Education.
College enrollment dropped across the country during the first year of the pandemic, as many students chose to take a gap year rather than attend classes via Zoom.
Still, almost 40,000 freshmen from California started attending a four-year college in another state in 2020, up by 27% compared to 2010. Those 40,000 freshmen represent nearly 22% of all freshmen from California who began at a four-year college in fall 2020.
Four states — Oregon, Arizona, Hawaii and Idaho — drew more than 10% of their first-time students from California in 2020.
Many students also left California to attend college in the northeast. New York drew about 3,000 freshmen from California to its four-year colleges, more than any other state except Arizona. Massachusetts drew about 2,200 students from California, more than all states but Arizona, New York, Oregon and Washington.
At the same time, around 16,500 students left other states to attend a four-year college in California, roughly the same number that made the move in 2010.
The steepest rise in students fleeing California took place between 2008 and 2014, when the state’s public universities raised in-state tuition to make up for funding cuts. Around that time, the University of California system began increasing the proportion of its student body that came from out-of-state. Last year, for example, about 20% of new undergraduates in the University of California system came from another state, compared to about 9% a decade prior.
Beyond cost, there simply isn’t enough space in California’s public colleges for all the students who express an interest in attending. A recent report from the Campaign for College Opportunity found that the UC and California State University systems didn’t have enough admission slots for all the eligible students who applied. The report’s authors said that it has become more difficult to get into the University of California and some CSU campuses.
Tuition and fees have largely stabilized for the last several years, and the growth in students leaving has not been as sharp. But the proportion of students leaving to start college elsewhere continues to tick upwards each year.
The pandemic complicated the trend. There was a drop in California students attending four-year college overall — but the drop was larger among students attending school in state than among students attending out of state schools.
Also, at least initially, most California students attending out of state schools in fall 2020 were learning via Zoom, and other online platforms, many from their California bedrooms. They’ve largely left the state to attend college since.
Eleven out-of-state colleges drew more than 700 freshmen from California in fall 2020.
Leading the way was Grand Canyon University, a private Christian university in Arizona with a huge online enrollment that attracted nearly 1,850 first-time freshmen from California. Southern New Hampshire University, another college that mostly gives out online degrees, drew about 925 first-time freshmen from California.
The other colleges drawing the most from California were Arizona State University, University of Oregon, the University of Washington, University of Nevada-Reno, University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, University of Colorado, New York University and Boise State University.
Those 11 colleges collectively enrolled about 10,500 first-time freshmen from California in 2020. By comparison, UCLA and UC Berkeley collectively enrolled about 9,300 first-time freshmen from California in 2020.
Story updated on 8/3 at 11AM to note that Grand Canyon University is a private, Christian college.
This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 5:00 AM.