<p>We have been considering a rural college for my son. My son would at least be going to school for the first 2 years without a car. Bus service is nearly nonexistent and not practical. Taxicabs would be so expensive that they are not an option, and are unheard of on this campus. I called the health center because I wanted to know how a student without a car could get to a medical specialist (ie: eyedoctor, dermatologist, orthopedist, etc.). I got honest answers, but not ones that I wanted to hear. They do not arrange for rides for necessary medical diagnosis/treatment. Students are left on their own to arrange those (ie: Rides from from other students. 50% of other students have cars). I was told that the bus system is very inconvenient (ie: might need to be at bus stop at 9:15 for a 12:30 appt.). The health center would call a specialist who treated someone for a prior chronic and perhaps treat with that information. Do we scratch off all rural schools?</p>
<p>How often do you anticipate that he would NEED to go off campus?</p>
<p>If the school is otherwise an excellent fit for your S, I don't think I'd cross a rural school off the list unless you anticipated that he'd need to leave campus frequently. If 50% of the students have cars, I have to think it wouldn't be that hard to find a student you could pay to take you where you needed to go. I know kids who never leave their campuses (whether they're rural or not). They go to the eye doctor, dentist, doctor, etc. at home during breaks and fortunately don't have chronic conditions or emergencies.</p>
<p>I agree that it's probably easy to get rides for the rare situations where your son needs to get off campus (rides to the airport, unusual medical visits, etc.). If he has some sort of chronic medical condition that might be different. Plus, rural schools probably have more going on on campus than schools where people can go to a nearby town.</p>
<p>Other considerations:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>how will he get everyday supplies like toothpaste, prescriptions, etc. (will you mail it to him, can he cope with the markups and limited selection at the campus store, order online, etc.)?</p></li>
<li><p>do students end up driving drunk because they travel to off-campus parties and have no other way of getting home? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Some people can cope with these issues and make safe choices/be content with limited options--they feel that the good qualities of the school outweigh it. But rural life isn't for everyone, and if your son's not interested that's ok too.</p>
<p>Consolation, not often. I just feel like he would trapped, well not in an emergency situation, but if he needed some medical care for an annoying unexpected problem (ie: toothache, he'd have a spare pair of glasses but I suppose both could break or need adjusting over a semester).</p>
<p>mdoc, my son is very healthy, but I know that medical conditions do come up and sometimes they require something more than what the on campus health center can provide. We have not even visited this school yet. I am just trying to decide whether I would send him there without a car because one is so cut off from services. Sigh...... It does seem like this school is otherwise a pretty good fit, but I am saying that prior to our visiting.</p>
<p>stacy I cross posted with you.</p>
<p>
[quote]
* do students end up driving drunk because they travel to off-campus parties and have no other way of getting home?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This was a reason that I did not send my older child to a different rural school. There seemed to be little to offer on campus on weekends, and I felt some of that was a strong possibility. That school has since built a student center and now offers much more than it did when we were looking.</p>
<p>Toothpaste, shampoo, shoelaces, band-aids, are not a concern. I would send my son stocked with that stuff, and mailing it out is not an issue either. Having access to appropriate medical care as needed, and not getting into a car with someone who was drinking is a much greater concern for me.</p>
<p>Middlebury? 10 char</p>
<p>I think "rural" need to be defined better. Are you looking at this through an urban northeastern lens? When I moved from Boston to my current town, the population was 14,000. I thought I was in the middle of nowhere. Having lived in the cornfields for a while, I know there are places MUCH smaller.</p>
<p>I've seen college students being dropped off at out town's clinic where we have specialists and also downtown where there are others. Some of the specialists come to the area only once or twice a week. We also have a hospital. So, if the size of my town fits your idea of rural, I'd say no, don't cross all rural schools off the list.</p>
<p>I think at least phone all the colleges and their health centers, esp if there is an ongoing condition or one that could flare up. Your son won't be the first one they have that needs more care than can be provided on campus. Perhaps they have specialists that come in once a month to their clinics?</p>
<p>In the case of an unexpected problem he couldn't take a taxi-cab because it would be too expensive? WAT?!?</p>
<p>Is your kid 8 yrs old? Why are you so worried?</p>
<p>laxtaxi, no it is not Middlebury. I understand that it is a wonderful school though.</p>
<p>Twomules, no I am not talking as a "cityslicker". I did call the school's health center. That is why I said that I got answers, but they weren't the ones I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear something like:</p>
<p>We arrange for our campus van to drop students off who require medical care twice per week at such and such hospital, health centers, or some central location (or by appt.). This school does not do that. I know my friend's D (different school) was taken to a doctor by campus police, so some schools will accommodate a student when necessary.</p>
<p>There is a city that it is about 30-40 minutes away, and a small town with doctors 20minutes away (by car). There is nothing, truly nothing within the town.</p>
<p>Vector, that isn't really very nice. People of all ages have emergencies, or need a doctor from time to time. Yes, I was told that by the health center that there aren't cabs seen there. They explained that it would be cost prohibitive to take a cab to a doctor from that location. I am not "so worried". I am thinking things through in advance.</p>
<p>My daughter goes to a rural school. Even though she's in her freshman year and no freshmen have cars (not allowed), it's surprisingly easy for her to get rides when she needs them. </p>
<p>The college runs shuttle buses to the airport at common travel times. Also, the junior resident assistants are willing to give or arrange rides to the nearest sizable town if needed. There are also zipcars on campus that students can rent. These are all good for situations the student knows about ahead of time. You might want to check into similar possibilities at the college your child is considering.</p>
<p>There was one time when my daughter missed the college shuttle back to campus because one of her flights was delayed. While she was at the layover airport, she posted on Facebook what was going on. Someone saw her note and offered to come pick her up at the airport (a good 45 minutes away). Then she recognized another student from her college on the next flight, so she was able to get a ride with her and didn't need the pick-up. I'm impressed at how helpful everyone is, even though she's only been there for a semester. So for the unexpected situation, it might not be as hard as you imagine to get rides.</p>
<p>I should add that my daughter hardly ever goes anywhere she can't walk to. In fall, I don't think she was driven anywhere except when she came home or went to events for her sport. In January, she went on a shopping trip with friends and visited friends at another college. This works for her, but staying so close to campus might drive some people crazy :).</p>
<p>I had all sorts of worries before my oldest went to college that ended up being no big deal once he was there. When people said "he can get a ride from another student" I was skeptical, but it ended up being very common and easy to do. The kids really took care of each other.</p>
<p>northeastmom, call campus security and see if they'll take your student in an emergency. That's separate from health services. My d goes to an urban school with a medical center just off campus. Campus security will give rides to the medical center to kids who cannot get themselves there or who need it in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>This college may do it as well. And if the issue is one that can be scheduled, like a dentist's appointment or something other than a trip to the ER, he's likely to be able to hitch a ride.</p>
<p>Besides, in the "once in a blue moon, these things happen" situation you posit, I wouldn't think that the occasional taxi would be that expensive in the grand scheme of things that you couldn't afford it.</p>
<p>Even people in rural areas need to get to docs, hospitals, dentists, buy groceries etc...how rural can this be? I'm thinking of a friend, whose "town" has 400 people and there are 2 hospitals within a 35-40 minute drive and food 15 minutes away. I drove all over Maine, Vermont and NH with S2 this fall and I had fogotten how close the little towns were compared to huge sections of the midwest, southwest and the west. Even in the midwest, southwest and the west, the college towns have at least a basic "town" where kids can get the essentials, including medical care. The towns might not have Subway, but they've got places with food, sundries, etc. I'm guessing if 50% of the kids have cars, by the middle of freshman fall he'll know people with cars. Although as a chuckle, S1 is in a rural school and one of his original freshman roomates from Atlanta was gone, gone, gone by the end of week 2 so perhaps it's not right for some kids (being in a small town area) but I wouldn't be too worried about the essentials for survival (unless essentials means a large enclosed multi-story mall and all the latest and greatest within an arms reach.) I will admit, though, that we sent a car out with S1. He rarely, rarely uses it because many of his friends have better cars according to him. He would have been just fine without a vehicle.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I had all sorts of worries before my oldest went to college that ended up being no big deal once he was there. When people said "he can get a ride from another student" I was skeptical, but it ended up being very common and easy to do. The kids really took care of each.
[/quote]
Same experience. Since moving away to school right after last July 4, there was really only one time that my D felt she really needed a ride, and a friend with a car drove her. (She generally takes cabs to the airport.)</p>
<p>Northeastmom, tens of thousands of kids go to rural schools and get their needs met. If you've always lived in a city I can see how this might be a concern. People who live in rural places tend to help each other more. My DS, one of only a few freshmen to have a car on his rural campus takes all his friends shopping and anywhere they need to go. </p>
<p>This should be a non issue in considering colleges.</p>
<p>chedva, you have a good idea regarding campus security. I will give them a call. </p>
<p>As far as a cab, I have no problem paying the $50-60 dollars for a long cab ride the one time that there is an emergrency. What got to me was when the person in the health care center told me that was not really an option. She said that she had never seen a cab at the campus, and that it would be too expensive.</p>
<p>Oh, and there is a shuttle breaktime to the airports. I am not worried about that. If he missed the shuttle because of flight delay, from the airport I know that there are taxis if he needed one.</p>
<p>I don't think having eye glasses adjusted counts as any kind of emergency. How rural can this place be? However, if your child is in need of services regularly, and you know this, you would be ill advised to keep such a school on your list. I went to a VERY rural school and never once did I need to get to an emergency dr or specialist. Seriously, when you say a school is inbetween two corn fields, my undergraduate school literally was!</p>
<p>But define emergency. I am sure that there are such things as ambulances (which would be a huge emergency). Otherwise, bladder infections, colds, flus, earaches and even STD's are probably well handled by the university clinic or health center. I know three kids who came down with Mono during their freshman years and while each school handled missing classes somewhat differently, they all were well equipped to handle the medical side of things.</p>
<p>You are sending your kid to college. Colleges are not there to act as surrogate parents. If you want that kind of oversight, perhaps a PG year at boarding school is what you seek. But on the larger chance that your kid is perfectly normal, I advise you: Do not underestimate your son's resourcefulness and if you are rightly concerned about his abilities to handle the challenges, look at different alternatives because it's really not about the school being rural or not.</p>
<p>My son has no problem seeking medical care when needed. It is about getting there and back. I don't mean that eyeglass adjustments are an emergency, just that some repairs could come up. This is absolutely not in the same category as getting pneumonia. My son does not need a PG year btw. He is very focused, and self sufficient.</p>
<p>It's not rural if there is cab service ROTFL!!!</p>
<p>My daughter was at a very rural college in the midwest. The only town within walking distance had some bed and breakfasts and a couple of restaurants. No stores at all. She relied on her friends for three of the four years, including rides to and from the airport and even back and forth to the East Coast. She always knew someone with a car and it was very common on the weekends to go to the local Target or Walmart to buy whatever was needed or wanted. I think those same friends would have driven her anywhere if she had an emergency too. As far as I know, she didn't have any.</p>