Explainer: Who Are Rural Students?

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Anything but homogeneous, rural students span age, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic background — and they bring these diverse experiences with them to campus. Yet, colleges still struggle to identify them and serve their needs.

“Who Are Rural Students?,” a new The Chronicle’s latest Explainer, gives an overview of this sizeable, but often misunderstood population representing millions of students across the country. Read the report to better understand:

• Why must colleges better serve rural students? While rural and suburban students have similar college matriculation rates, significantly fewer complete their degree.
• What do we need to know about their challenges? Distance, lack of funding, lower incomes, and more keep many students off the radar of college admissions.

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Who Are Rural Students? was produced by Chronicle Intelligence. Please contact CI@chronicle.com with questions or comments.