Selective colleges are moving beyond getting rural students to apply and are now focusing on helping admitted students enroll and persist, as shown by Amherst College’s STARS College Network. The initiative, supported by a $20 million contribution from University of Chicago alumnus and trustee Byron Trott, targets small-town and rural applicants and uses on-campus visits and engagement activities. The event described around Amherst’s campus center included admitted students from rural areas nationwide, with admissions officials tailoring recruitment for students who historically may have been under-recruited by highly selective institutions. Reporting notes that while most rural students graduate high school, far fewer go straight to college compared with urban and suburban peers. The effort signals how enrollment strategy is evolving: institutions appear to be formalizing success models for rural students, linking outreach to conversion and retention rather than treating application rates as the endpoint.