The University of Notre Dame has joined the STARS College Network to support small-town and rural prospective students.
Notre Dame is one of 16 institutions joining the Small Town and Rural Students College Network this year. The organization then will include 32 schools in the nation.
In 2023, its first year, the STARS College Network assisted over 288,000 students. STARS is supported by a $20 million gift from Trott Family Philanthropies.
“STARS’ first year demonstrated that there is an appetite and imperative for our nation’s leading universities and colleges to better serve the massive talent pool in our small towns and rural regions,” said Byron Trott, chairman and co-CEO of BDT & MSD Partners, in a press release.
Students from rural and small-town America often face obstacles to attending college. They graduate high school at about the same rate as students in metro areas, but are half as likely to graduate from a selective college or university.
Because of distance and cost, college admissions offices sometimes bypass small towns and rural communities. Students in those areas are less likely to attend events on campuses. They often don’t have the networks to help them understand the financial aid and support available to them.
“STARS and its affiliated programs are opening doors in higher education for high-achieving rural students they might not have found otherwise, and the students, campuses and our economy will all be the better for it,” Trott said.
Notre Dame’s enrollment division plans to visit high schools in rural communities. The university will develop partnerships with rural community-based organizations. Notre Dame plans to fund rural student participation in summer pre-college programs. It also aims to bring students from rural areas to Notre Dame’s campus for Midwest Visit Day.
“As a driven and motivated individual from a rural community, Notre Dame has allowed me to finally pursue countless career opportunities that are often inaccessible within rural areas,” said Madison Cunningham, a sophomore from Colorado. “Notre Dame has given me the confidence and resources I need to hopefully serve as an attorney for marginalized individuals in the future.”
