The highest percentage of soon-to-be college students are opting out of attending Texas colleges and universities due to the Lone Star state’s politics, according to a new study.

College applicants are ruling out universities based on the politics of the state they reside in, and LGBTQ+ students are being particularly vigilant. Over a quarter of applicants (28 percent) said that they "exclude schools solely based on political considerations in the state where the institution is located," according to a recent survey from the Art & Science Group.

David Strauss speaks to The Daily Texan about the recent studentPOLL study, outlining the effect state politics have on college-bound students when deciding where to attend school. 

According to a poll from the Art & Science Group, 28% of prospective students ruled out attending colleges because of politics, with 75% of liberals ruling out schools because of state policies on abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. 66% of conservatives did the same for schools in states they deemed too liberal. Texas was the most commonly excluded state.

Just more than a quarter — 28 percent — of students ruled out a school because of the politics, policies or legal situation in the college or university’s state, according to a new poll from the Art & Science Group.

“For a student to say, ‘I’m willing to rule out a state, a school in a state,’ before they even decide where to apply, that’s a strong indication of how important these issues are to young people,” said Nanci Tessier, principal at Art & Science Group. 

That’s one of the main findings from a new survey released by the Art & Science Group, a higher-education consulting firm. The percentage of students saying they ruled out a college based on the political leanings of a state increased slightly from a similar survey conducted by the group last year, which found 24% of students indicating their college choice would be affected by such factors.

Art & Science Group, which conducted the surveys, found that 28% dismiss schools based on state politics. And two-thirds of those students do so right out of the gate. “That's somewhat alarming, because obviously the colleges and universities don't have a choice,” said Craig Goebel, a principal at Art & Science Group.

As the presidential election approaches in a politically polarized nation, students are more intensely considering a state’s political leanings or local policies when they decide which college to attend, according to the results of a new studentPOLL by the Art & Science Group.