This does not even include Puerto Rico and the U.S. Island Areas. The answer is that the census is what will be used to determine how much money communities will receive in federal funding. Census numbers are also used to draw political districts and apportion seats in Congress. The census issue is especially important for colleges and universities that will need federal funds for educational programs and research. State and local governments will also use the census for planning and allocating funds for school construction, libraries, police and fire departments.
College students represent a mobile population that has traditionally been difficult to count.
Students living away from home will be counted where they are living in college. Census takers will distribute the census form to students living in dormitories. Students living off-campus will receive a census form in the mail that should be completed and returned. Students living at home should be counted on the form that is sent to their parents home. If you are a citizen of a foreign country, but are living with a household in the U.S., you must be counted with the household.