College Post story cites UMaine study on rural youth aspirations

The College Post cited a survey led by social scientists at the University of Maine’s School of Forest Resources in a story about how the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a greater drop in college applications among rural students compared to their urban counterparts. The Rural Youth Futures Project reported that the top barrier to college education among the rural students surveyed in Maine and Oregon was price. The study also asked students about their aspirations and the obstacles they perceive to achieving them, as well as their perspectives on schools and communities. Jessica Leahy, a professor of human dimensions of natural resources at UMaine, and Mindy Crandall, now an assistant professor at Oregon State University, published the study’s findings in fact sheets for schools to help them better meet rural students’ needs.