PERRY, N.Y. (AP) — In the rural setting of Wyoming County, New York, Briar Townes cultivated his artistic talents, aiming to one day make a profession out of them. During high school, he found his passion in a college-level drawing and painting course.

But despite the college credits he earned, college isn’t part of his plan.

After his high school graduation in June, he took charge of an art camp at the county’s Arts Council. Should this role not evolve into a permanent position, options remain for him at Creative Food Ingredients, commonly known as the “cookie factory” due to its contribution to the town’s bakery aroma, or among local businesses like American Classic Outfitters, which specializes in crafting sports uniforms.

“My stress is picking an option, not finding an option,” he said.

Even though rural students graduate from high school at higher rates than their peers in cities and suburbs, fewer of them go on to college.

Rural schools, including Perry’s, where Townes attended, have started offering college-level programs and eliminating barriers to further education, achieving some success. However, college isn’t as enticing for students in these regions, who face longer commutes for higher studies. Additionally, their parents often lack college backgrounds, and influential political figures express doubt about the necessity of higher education.

Despite efforts at the school level and increased outreach by universities, college enrollment among rural students has stayed relatively unchanged. In 2023, only about 55% of rural high school graduates in the U.S. pursued college, according to National Clearinghouse Research Center statistics. This contrasts with 64% of graduates from suburban areas and 59% from urban areas.

Pursuing higher education can significantly impact earning potential. As per the Social Security Administration’s research, an American man with a bachelor’s degree is expected to earn around $900,000 more over his lifetime compared to a high school graduate. For women, this difference in potential earnings is roughly $630,000.

A school takes cues from families’ hopes and goals

In places like Wyoming County, lacking a college degree doesn’t close doors to opportunities. The county, renowned for its slogan of having more cows than residents, offers economic prospects through its dairy farms, potato fields, and maple syrup enterprises, contributing to both employment and community identity just east of Buffalo.

“College has never really been, I don’t know, a necessity or problem in my family,” said Townes, the middle of three children whose father has a tattoo shop in Perry.

At Perry High School, Superintendent Daryl McLaughlin said the district takes cues from students like Townes, their families and the community, supplementing college offerings with programs geared toward career and technical fields such as the building trades. He said he is as happy to provide reference checks for employers and the military as he is to write recommendations for college applications.

“We’re letting our students know these institutions, whether it is a college or whether employers, they’re competing for you,” he said. “Our job is now setting them up for success so that they can take the greatest advantage of that competition, ultimately, to improve their quality of life.”

Still, college enrollment in the district has exceeded the national average in recent years, going from 60% of the class of 2022’s 55 graduates to 67% of 2024’s and 56% of 2025’s graduates. The district points to a decision to direct federal pandemic relief money toward covering tuition for students in its Accelerated College Enrollment program — a partnership with Genesee Community College. When the federal money ran out, the district paid to keep it going.

“This is a program that’s been in our community for quite some time, and it’s a program our community supports,” McLaughlin said.

About 15% of rural U.S. high school students were enrolled in college classes in January 2025 through such dual enrollment arrangements, a slightly lower rate than urban and suburban students, an Education Department survey found.

Rural access to dual enrollment is a growing area of focus as advocates seek to close gaps in access to higher education. The College in High School Alliance this year announced funding for seven states to develop policy to expand programs for rural students.

Higher education’s image problem is acute in rural America

Around the country, many students feel jaded by the high costs of college tuition. And Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value of college, polls have shown, with Republicans, the dominant party in rural America, losing confidence in higher education at higher rates than Democrats.

“Whenever you have this narrative that ‘college is bad, college is bad, these professors are going to indoctrinate you,’ it’s hard,” said Andrew Koricich, executive director of the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. “You have to figure out, how do you crack through that information ecosphere and say, actually, people with a bachelor’s degree, on average, earn 65% more than people with a high school diploma only?”

In much of rural America, about 21% of people over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree, compared to about 36% of adults in other areas, according to a government analysis of U.S. Census findings.

Some rural educators don’t hold back on promoting college

In rural Putnam County, Florida, about 14% of adults have a bachelor’s degree. That doesn’t stop principal Joe Theobold from setting and meeting an annual goal of 100% college admission for students at Q.I. Roberts Jr.-Sr. High School.

Paper mills and power plants provide opportunities for a middle class life in the county, where the cost of living is low. But Theobold tells students the goal of higher education “is to go off and learn more about not only the world, but also about yourself.”

“You don’t want to be 17 years old, determining what you’re going to do for the rest of your life,” he said.

Families choose the magnet school because of its focus on higher education, even though most of the district’s parents never went to a college. Many students visit college campuses through Camp Osprey, a University of North Florida program that helps students experience college dorms and dining halls.

In upstate New York, high school junior Devon Wells grew up on his family farm in Perry but doesn’t see his future there. He’s considering a career in welding, or as an electrical line worker in South Carolina, where he heard the pay might be double what he would make at home. None of his plans require college, he said.

“I grew up on a farm, so that’s all hands-on work. That’s really all I know and would want to do,” Devon said.

Neither his nor Townes’ parents have pushed one way or the other, they said.

“I remember them talking to me like, `Hey, would you want to go to college?’ I remember telling them, ‘not really,’” Townes said. He would have listened if a college recruiter reached out, he said, but wouldn’t be willing to move very far.

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