Education Deserts: The Continued Significance of "Place" in the Twenty-First Century

When deciding where to go to college, students ask several important questions: How much will it cost? What academic programs are available? Will it prepare me for my future? What colleges and universities are nearby? While most research and policy conversations understandably focus on helping students answer the first few, this last question about geography and place is too often overlooked.

In Education Deserts, Nicholas Hillman and Taylor Weichman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison explain that place still matters. They argue that place matters even more for today’s college students, many of whom work full-time, care for dependents, and have close social ties to their communities. More...