If you’re a student from a rural or small town in America, you may face unique challenges in attending college. But the STARS College Network can help you navigate these obstacles and find the right college fit!
What’s the STARS College Network?
It’s an organization that provides resources, support, and opportunities specifically tailored for students from small towns and rural areas. STARS stands for Small Town and Rural Students.
How do you access the organization’s support and resources?
This quick guide will talk you through what you need to know, including a list of colleges that are part of the STARS Network.
Let’s dive in!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(click to skip ahead)What is the STARS College Network?
The STARS College Network is an organization that partners with highly respected US colleges to address the challenges that often prevent students from small towns and rural America from attending undergraduate and graduate programs.
STARS also partners with several organizations to expand its impact.
One major partner is the rootEd Alliance. This public-private partnership helps rural students plan their futures, whether that means going to college, entering the workforce, or joining the military. rootEd places dedicated college and career advisors in 195 schools across Missouri, Texas, and Idaho.
STARS has also teamed up with Khan Academy and Schoolhouse.world to tackle gaps in math preparation. They provide students with free courses and tutoring to help bridge these gaps.
A new multi-year partnership with the College Board has also supported STARS with $300,000 in funding for the AP Rural Fellows scholarship program. This funding aims to enhance AP teacher training, create new resources for rural counselors, and showcase successful STARS models and practices at College Board national conferences.
STARS College Network’s history and mission
What makes the STARS Network so valuable? Even though students from small and rural towns graduate high school at similar rates as their peers in urban cities, they are less likely to attend selective colleges.
For example, in the Caltech class of 2027, only 7% of admitted students come from rural and small-town high schools.
The STARS College Network aims to bridge this gap by tackling several issues contributing to this disparity. Those issues include:
College admissions offices may overlook students from small towns.
Rural and small-town students often miss out on college ads and campus events because they’re not as widely promoted in their communities.
Rural high schools often struggle with limited college counseling resources, which means their students receive less personalized guidance throughout the college admissions process.
Many rural students lack the information to understand federal financial aid and scholarship options.
These students may also be less prepared for standardized tests, which are crucial for college admissions.
The STARS College Network combines efforts and resources to support students through these obstacles. It also helps these students navigate college life by offering ongoing support to ensure students remain enrolled and complete their degree programs.
STARS College Network events and resources
Whether you’re just beginning to explore college options or need help with financial planning, STARS provides resources to guide you every step of the way.
For example, their current list (at time of publication, just to paint the picture for you) of upcoming events includes:
Virtual Panel: College to Career (Social Sciences)—This event helps students learn how STARS member schools support students pursuing careers in the social sciences.
Virtual Panel: Rural and Small-Town College Students—This event helps students learn about college life and the transition from a rural or small-town high school to a large college.
STORY Virtual Information Session—This event offers insights on holistic college admissions, how to make a college list, and how to apply for college admission and financial aid.
Virtual Panel: Mock Application Workshop—This monthly event allows students to see what a real college application looks like and receive tips on how to approach the college search process.
STARS Virtual College Fair—This event, hosted by colleges in the STARS Network, allows students to learn about opportunities and programs at select colleges across the country.
STARS College Network Fly-in Programs—These in-person programs allow students to fly to select colleges for campus visits. Students can attend the program for free, including travel, transportation to and from the college, meals, and activities. However, space is limited. To be considered, students must be current high school juniors, receive a nomination from an educator, and complete an application.
Learn more about these opportunities and other upcoming STARS events.
Colleges that are part of the STARS Network
All of the colleges in the STARS Network offer specialized support for students and families from rural and small towns across the US. That support includes virtual sessions, free on-campus programs, and local sessions with local high schools and community-based organizations.
Here’s a list of all the colleges currently part of the STARS Network.
Amherst College
Auburn University
University of California, Berkeley
Brown University
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Case Western Reserve University
Colby College
Columbia University in the City of New York
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Northwestern University
University of Notre Dame
Southern Methodist University (SMU)
Spelman College
Stanford University
The Ohio State University
The University of Alabama
The University of Chicago
The University of Iowa
University of Arizona
University of Arkansas
University of Denver
University of Maryland, College Park
University of South Carolina
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
Yale University
How to join the STARS College Network
Joining the STARS College Network is easy—there’s no formal application. You just have to join the STARS mailing list to stay up-to-date on their program offerings.
You’re eligible to participate in their offerings regardless of your grade level. International students are also able to access virtual resources.
However, the in-person workshops are only for students from rural and small-town high schools in the US.
Final Thoughts
The STARS College Network is an excellent resource if you’re a student from a rural or small-town area.
It can help you find and apply to colleges and provide valuable support for financial planning and academic preparation. On top of that, joining the STARS Network is free and requires no special application.
So, we highly recommend taking advantage of this network if you’re looking for guidance and resources to make the college application process smoother and more manageable.
Want more free resources to help you navigate the college admissions process?
Check out our College Application Hub, which includes helpful guides on everything from writing your college essays to understanding financial aid options.
Special thanks to Ameer for writing this blog post
Ameer is a freelance writer who specializes in writing about college admissions and career development. Prior to freelancing, Ameer worked for three years as a college admissions consultant at a Hong Kong-based education center, helping local high school students prepare and apply for top colleges and universities in the US. He has a B.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in Spanish Linguistics from UCLA. When he’s not working, Ameer loves traveling, weight lifting, writing, reading, and learning foreign languages. He currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand.
Top values: Growth / Diversity / Empathy
