My assumption is that this is all based on how the US census / American community survey conducts its research. It tracks migratory patterns, but does not map i

My assumption is that this is all based on how the US census / American community survey conducts its research. It tracks migratory patterns, but does not map individuals effectively. There are a handful of datasets that track migration patterns, which can be used to assess movement in and out of geographic areas to other counties, states, and international territories. The ACS does provide fairly granular geographic analysis, which could be used to look at individual colleges and their migratory patterns. If one were to care about the migration patterns of SUNY schools, for example, one could look to see whether those individuals stay in state, or then leave the state, upon graduation. All in all, the ACS is a great tool for high-level research, but often opens more questions than answers.