Key points:
- Feeling supported is central to the college experience students want
- 10 ways to support nontraditional students on your campus
- Colleges claim to deliver value, but struggle to track its delivery
- For more news on prospective students, visit eCN’s Campus Leadership hub
Politics are having a growing impact on where students choose to attend college, according to a new report from education company EAB.
Recruiting the Anxious Generation draws from three new surveys of American teenagers and reveals that nearly one-third (29 percent) of prospective students reported removing at least one college from consideration for political reasons.
Sixteen percent of students removed a school from consideration because of the political environment of the state where that college is located. Students from families with higher incomes were more likely than their peers to remove colleges they considered too liberal or too conservative.
“Gen Z students aren’t just evaluating academic offerings and campus amenities,” said Pam Royall, EAB’s Head of Research for Enrollment Services. “Whether they lean left or right politically, feeling welcomed and supported is central to the college experience they want.”
Student definitions of campus safety are also evolving. Survey data shows that 60 percent of students define a safe campus as one that includes “freedom to express my thoughts and values without harassment,” up more than 8 percent from 2024. More than two-thirds (67 percent) of first-year college students said that mental health and wellness support is critical to feeling safe on campus.
“Previously, conversations about campus safety have centered on physical safety,” Royall added. “Today’s students–sometimes called ‘the Anxious Generation’ by social scientists–have a more holistic definition of safety that also includes emotional well-being and affirmation of their right to express their political opinions without fear of judgment or reprisal.”
It remains key for higher-ed leaders to understand key traits of the Anxious Generation when it comes to recruitment:
- This generation lives online, with 45 percent saying they’re online almost constantly–this gives recruiters a direct line to prospective students, but also means increased competition
- Gen Z students often struggle with mental health issues, which many say manifest in how these students choose a college
- Many students in this generation want to attend a college that reflects their values
EAB’s report summarizes the findings from the following three surveys the company conducted across late 2024 and early 2025:
- 2025 Communication Preferences Survey: 19,299 current high school students were surveyed about their preferred communication channels in college search.
- 2025 First-Year Experience Survey: 11,500 prospective first-year college students from the entering class of 2024 were surveyed about their perceptions of college and the criteria they used to decide whether and where to enroll.
- December 2024 Mental Health Survey: 7,720 high school and first-year college students were surveyed about the impact of mental health concerns on their college search process.
This press release originally appeared online.
