Although many of its students come from North Carolina and neighboring states, Warren Wilson College has been a national institution for many years in terms of enrollment. A recent article in the “Education Life” section of The New York Times confirms that standing.

In a story titled “Southbound” in the July 30 issue of the Times, reporter Abigail Sullivan Moore notes that the percentage of Warren Wilson freshmen from the Northeast has grown from 20 percent to 36 percent over the past five years. The increase has occurred even as overall freshman enrollment at Warren Wilson has risen 41 percent during the same period.

An extraordinary profile of Warren Wilson College in The New York Times in February 2000 may have helped fuel the growth in enrollment from the Northeast. The Sunday feature article by Times reporter Jacques Steinberg, titled “Blue-Collar Jobs Complement Liberal Arts Courses,” focused on the Warren Wilson work program. Typically the Times and other national media zero in on trends in higher education rather than a single college, regardless of how distinctive it is.