In recent years, it has become more common to find students on the University of Mississippi campus who are not from Mississippi. These students pour in from neighboring states, and increasingly from northern or western parts of the country, too.
On the university’s Oxford and regional campuses, excluding the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, 53% of the students enrolled are not residents of Mississippi, according to the university’s admissions office.
Students are seeking out SEC schools like Ole Miss, in search of a change in lifestyle, politics, and overall culture. The beauty of Ole Miss’ campus, the quaint town of Oxford, the attractive academic programs and cost are just a few of the reasons students feel the pull to come here, according to these out-of-state students.
Audrey Aney, a freshman biology major from New York, said that Oxford provides the thrill of SEC life while being a small town.
“I chose to come to Ole Miss from New York because of the atmosphere,” Aney said. “All of the people here are so friendly and welcoming, the small-town vibe is homey along with a good change of pace. I love how the school feels like a big SEC school with all of the fun social activities, but still has the smaller aspects of seeing your friends and people you know all over campus.”
This particular part of the university’s charm is what draws a lot of out-of-state students to Ole Miss.
“I think when students visit our campus, they find that we are sort of the best of both worlds. We are a big flagship SEC school, yet, academically, we are much smaller than our peers,” Jody Lowe, director of admissions, said.
Carly Chance, a freshman from the West Coast, describes Ole Miss as feeling like a home away from home.
“I came to Ole Miss for a number of reasons. I got accepted into the honors college, I fell in love with the deep-rooted tradition that was so special to Ole Miss and the campus itself,” Chance, an exercise science major from California, said. “It feels like a home away from home. I love it here so far and am confident that I made the right choice coming here.”
Not all out-of-state students find themselves satisfied with their choice. Coming from very different places, some have found the culture at Ole Miss to be isolating.
“While academically I believe I made the right decision, the campus was not as welcoming as I was expecting,” Kaelin Zoephel, a multidisciplinary studies major from Chicago, said. “Coming from out of state is definitely a disadvantage, where I felt like everyone already knew each other and had established friend groups.”
Years ago, it would have been surprising to see so many students in Mississippi from places like New York and California, but as the admissions office increases its recruitment in other states and as the university continues to build its brand, people from all over the country are attracted to the idea of attending Ole Miss.
“The university does have a very strong national brand, and so our primary recruitment footprint is from Texas to Virginia and that is where we see the majority of our students, but we have seen a lot of growth in other areas,” Lowe said. “So, California is in our top 10 applicant states, Illinois and Missouri are in our top 10 applicant states, and just outside of our top 10 include places like New York and New Jersey.”
Illinois has one of the highest in-state tuition costs in the country, and scholarship opportunities often make University of Mississippi cheaper. These cost savings also compel many students to consider the University of Mississippi.
This trend of growth among out-of-state students is reflected in recent numbers released by the university, where it was revealed that the freshman class alone grew by 16.9% compared to last year. One of the most surprising statistics, though, is that Ole Miss’ campuses have a higher percentage of out-of-state students than students who are Mississippi residents.
“For Oxford and regional campuses not including the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the resident percentage is 47% resident and 53% non-resident,” Lowe said.
Much of that growth is attributed to prospective students seeing the tight-knit campus community and vibrant sense of tradition that are not seen as much at other schools, particularly outside of the South.
“I originally did not think I was going to like Ole Miss as much as I do, but when I toured the campus, I was in awe of how beautiful it was,” Brooke Slaton, a freshman Integrated Marketing Communications major from Denver, said. “I loved how big tailgating, football and Greek life is here, and at the time, I could really picture myself going to school here.”
Although the distance from her home is not ideal, Slaton expressed how her experiences at Ole Miss have made it worth it.
“Moving so far from home wasn’t easy, but I have found a home away from home within my sorority and my friends,” Slaton said. “I have had so much fun here so far, and walking around campus every day, I feel so lucky to go to such a beautiful school.”
The admissions office expects the university to follow these trends of growth in the next few years. If it does continue on the same path, though, the university might have to start considering what the campus’ capacity limits might be. The university already has announced the building of new residence halls to replace Kincannon Hall, which is being demolished, but increasing enrollment could still overwhelm the campus and the surrounding Oxford area.
“We hope that we will continue to see a lot of interest from out-of-state students, but we are aware that the university has to consider what capacity might look like in the future and if the university needs to take any steps to curb that growth in any way,” Lowe said. “At this time, we are not restricting the number of out-of-state students who are enrolling at the university, but we are watching those numbers closely.”
