Campus DLC - too few students

[Whiplash]

I'm working on a new city using the Campus DLC and I'm having great difficulty with my Campus area(s). My city has about 55,000 people but despite having policies like Education Boost, I can't get more than 1400-odd students into my Trade School. I didn't build any other Campus Areas, even though I can build all three at that level, for fear of taking students away from the Trade School and causing it to drop in rank (currently on Rank 4, which I think is Acclaimed).

So there's a huge gap between Eligible students and actual students as far as my third level sector is concerned. Elementary and High schools don't have the same issue, whatever number of people are eligible, most of them are actually attending school, the gap is very small. Strangely though, this hasn't stopped the city from having 61% of population highly educated. So I guess I have two questions, that are inter-related:
1) How can I have capacity for thousands of students and thousands of people eligible, only to have only a small proportion of those actually attending?
2) Do campuses compete with each other for students or will a student have a preference for one type of campus over another and simply not go to third-level if their preferred type is not available?

[-GeOBounD-]

To get my campuses to level up, I temporarily destroy all other colleges on the map.

[Whiplash]

I don't have any of the "default" university buildings at all.

[caseyas435943]

The idea is good for the DLC. But the way it plays out isn't. Dorms no one uses. If you can get more than 3500 in a College grats. You can have 10K needing college and have a Campus area of 15K and you'll be lucky to get 3500 students.

I've build trains to them. Metro, tram, buss, blimps. You name it. It doesn't matter. They will not go even if they don't have to walk 1 inch to them. But plop down the classic college building and it instantly fills to 4000K and it will do it right next to the campus area. Students will even leave the campus area for old college buildings.

It's sad design. Again the Idea it great. The buildings you put in look great. You just have to realize you'll have thousands screaming for college and even if they live across the street they'll not go to them.

But build 1 of the old style buildings as far away as you can from anyone and they'll fill instantly. It's maddening really.

[Mr. Monday]

Originally posted by Whiplash:

2) Do campuses compete with each other for students or will a student have a preference for one type of campus over another and simply not go to third-level if their preferred type is not available?

Yes, they most certainly will compete with each other. To minimize this I don't build the old versions at all until all three Campus versions are maxed out in prestige, and I try to build the Campus versions on different city sides to maximize their coverage. I also only have one school with active policies until it's maxed out in prestige as well. When their prestige drops you don't lose any building you've already built (but you may not be able to build new ones that are locked to the higher level). I don't know if people have a preferred type of college to go to though.

[Whiplash]

Good question, but no. I'm aware the HC does have a "disable university boost" option for this scenario, when it's time to put the HC into my current city, that's what I'll be doing. In any case, I played around with this a little more, once my trade school got to Level 5 I built a university area, no surprise my trade school went down a level and there's only a few hundred in the university area. It does seem like the Campus areas simply attract fewer students than default University buildings and that there's little or nothing the player can do about it.

[Hoes Mad]

Tick your budget up a little bit. Worked for me

[Hoes Mad]

I ticked my education budget up about 10% and it seemed to help

[peb2002]

The classic universities (as well as high and elementary) appear to work on the following basis in my experience:

1. They have an area of effect for land value and happiness
2. They will soak up demand for tertiary, secondary and primary education respectively across the city (I find if I open a new area and plonk a school down, it is immediately filled to about the same level as schools elsewhere, even though there are no nearby students) with no relationship between local demand and local supply (read area of effect).

I have also found it impossible to 'fill' my Campus DLC tertiary facilities, no matter where I put them or how many dorms, faculties or other buildings I put in or how attractive (no fees, free lunches etc.) I make it or the transport options as well for that matter. I'm almost always forced to add a classic university to match demand. It would be good to get a "realistic" mod for this as well.