Given several factors, geography being the most substantial, I would imagine that Northampton and Accomack counties are even bigger outliers than Appalachia.

I would guess that in terms of student origin enrollment figures for most public colleges in Virginia are probably skewed towards more populated localities in general. That probably aligns pretty closely to income levels (as economic opportunities within the Commonwealth are generally better in the highly populated areas). So the discussion of income is probably more relevant than geography. It's just interesting that "Appalachia" is singled out for commentary. Perhaps there is also a "Friends of the Eastern Shore" cohort that has not been identified.