In-Migration of College Students to the State of New York

Abstract

The interstate migration of college students influences college admissions policy, student body composition, and ultimately the labor force of a state, as noted by Abbott and Schmid [1]. The tuition differential between resident and nonresident reduces the college choices of student migrants [13]. Some college administrators oppose such policies against out-of-state students without considering the possible consequences. The Virginia State Council of Higher Education [22] reported that in-migration of students may contribute to maintenance of enrollment levels despite the projected decline of Virginia's college age population. Student migrants tend to work in the state where they obtained their higher education, thus they become an educated labor force for that state [13]. The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of the interstate migration of students. To this end I estimated a model for in-migration of college students to the state of New York to examine the effects of migration determinants associated with various characteristics of student migrants' home states. College Students and Migration Differences in student characteristics between states will affect student migration patterns. Studies of migrant and nonmigrant students reveal that migrants are academically more talented, have higher educational expectations, and have a better socioeconomic background [8, 9, 10]. Fenske et al. [8, 9] found that migrants obtained higher ACT (American College Test) composite scores relative to local attenders, and they emphasized institutional quality as a basis for their choice of college, while putting less importance on cost factors. A similar finding was also obtained by Ferriss [10]. Abbott and Schmid [1] found that the majority of first-time undergraduates in major private universities in the United States were out-of-state migrants, whereas in major public universities migrants represented a low percentage. Similarly, the majority of graduate migrants from Virginia attended private institutions [22]. The Virginia State Council of Higher Education [22] also reports that 87 percent of migrants from Virginia who were in professional programs attended private institutions in the District of Columbia. The importance of the quality of education seems to increase with the level of education, because it is considered a part of the career [1]. Thus graduate student migrants are more concerned about the quality of an institution. A concomitant finding is shown in Bayer's study [3] of science doctorate recipients, which showed that those who migrated attended better universities than those who did not. Abbott and Schmid [1], however, found that the quality factor alone was a modest determinant to account for interstate migration of first-time undergraduates in the major universities in the United States. When they controlled the effects of state size and distance, the quality factor represented a modest significant variable. Admission policies, such as restrictive admission requirements and quotas, have acted as a barrier to student mobility [5, 10]. A state's tuition policies also play a significant role. Charging higher fees to out-of-state students may have a significant influence on the type of students who enroll. College costs were statistically significant for low-income student groups, but they were insignificant for other income groups [12]: low income students are more likely to attend home state institutions. Carbone [5] suggests that migrants put greater importance on the prestige and reputation of an institution and are thus willing to pay higher tuition. According to Christal and his associates [6], costs and financial aid policies might be partly the reasons why 87 percent of all first-time students in Southern states remained in their home state in 1979; state-supported financial aid is usually not portable, whereas federal financial aid is. Scholarship availability acts as a pull factor for attracting graduate migrants [9, 10]. …