<p>I am in a dilemma.</p>
<p>I want to go to college with my friends, but people keep telling me it's not good because its harder to make new friends.</p>
<p>I have the opportunity to maybe go out of state to the university of miami or something like that but my friends wouldn't come with me.</p>
<p>What would you choose to do and why?</p>
<p>Choose the school that has the best academic programs for you, and that your family can afford.
You can still be friends with your high school friends - you can text, skype during the semesters, then hang out again during school vacations. None of my high school friends went to my college and I still hang out with some of them, many years later.</p>
<p>Only go to college with high school friends if that college is coincidentally is perfect for the both of you, otherwise don’t.</p>
<p>Challenge yourself. You can make it on your own. Do not let where friends go to college factor into your decision.</p>
<p>I went away to school to another state where no friends or even acquaintances were attending. I made new friends, had many experiences in life and eventually married a man from a different state than I grew up in. I’m a lot older than you.</p>
<p>But tomorrow I am meeting several of my friends from my youth ( high school/elementary school) for lunch. We each drive several hours to meet for lunch several times a year. I attended one of these friends daughter’s wedding this summer in a city a 6+ hour drive away. These friends and I went white water rafting together in June.</p>
<p>So, you can go to college without hs friends. You can make new friends at your school and have new experiences. Of course you can still keep your current friends. Move out of your comfort zone.</p>
<p>This isn’t just about sticking with your friends. It’s a lot more complex than that. I think this really depends on your values and what’s important to you. We always placed a lot of emphasis on getting the best education available, pursuing your opportunities where ever they take you and pushing boundaries to test yourself. But that’s only one value system and not necessarily the right one. There are consequences to that. Our kids went to schools far from home: One is marrying someone they met at that school and they plan to settle in the area they attended school in. The other probably will not move back here because her field will require her to follow the job. Knowing this, we would not change our approach - it’s what we did too and it reflects our values. But the costs - to us - are high. We know lots of other families that insisted their kids attend schools within driving distance - those kids stayed tied to their communities and their high school friends and will seek employment locally. Perhaps they didn’t optimize their educational and professional opportunities. Maybe they didn’t stretch themselves as much as they could have. Maybe they will be more parochial as a result - but I don’t think they are necessarily less happy or satisfied with their lives. </p>
<p>In short, this one is a very personal call.</p>
<p>If you have the opportunity to go somewhere with your friends, and is also a good school, then do it. Depending on the person and the school environment, having friends with you will make the transition much better.</p>