Getting into college can be an overwhelming process.

News 12 spoke with Jenna Shulman, who runs “Get Me Into College” in Florham Park. The organization works with students on things like applications and scholarships. They also list schools based on academics, social goals and cost.

In terms of the cost of college – schools like Kean University are on the cheaper side. Rutgers and Monmouth universities are in the middle. Princeton University is on the higher end of costs. This is all in terms of tuition and other fees.

Shulman says it is partly why more students are applying to more schools to cast a wider net.

She also says that another recent trend is that New Jersey students are going to schools in warmer climates such as Alabama, Auburn and Texas.

"They are really into going there to do sports, weather. We're seeing a lot of TikTok trends like ‘Bama Rush’ and sorority recruitment that makes it very bright and shiny to go to the schools,” Shulman says. “So definitely a big shift.”

She says that some of that may be political or cultural. But it also goes back to the COVID-19 pandemic, when many southern schools stayed open.