Every year more and more students from the northeastern states are choosing to go to college in the South. When you wonder why this is, your first thought probably immediately is because of the warmer temperatures and lack of snow. While that is true, it goes much deeper than that. When you have winters like the one we had in 2026, where there is always snow on the ground and it gets dark at 4 o’clock, it is hard to get motivated to do things like going out or even doing your school work. Since it gets dark so early, you start to get tired and lose your motivation to do anything,  

When I was touring colleges in the South over February break I noticed a few things that can make a community so much stronger down south then up north. The first thing was that when the weather is 70 degrees and sunny people are more willing to stop and have a conversation with you as opposed to when the weather is 20 degrees and everyone has big jackets with their hoods up and are just looking to get to class without getting frostbite. The second thing is everyone seems to be in a better mood when the weather is warm and that goes for anywhere, not just colleges. When the weather is nice people are more willing to want to do things with other people, even if it is just going to get coffee or ice cream or go for a walk with one another.  Nicer weather makes people more social. 

Another reason that more students are choosing to go to a Southern school is because of the sports environments that these schools have.  The energy around athletics is a big draw and the sense of community that the students feel while attending games.  It is super fun and students love attending the games and cheering on their teams. Even when they graduate, the sense of alumni present is so much stronger down south because of the big sports energy and makes the southern school roots just that much deeper.

These are just a few reasons why many students from the northeastern states are choosing to go to college in the South.