I am a current high school senior and looking to go to college more than 8 hours away from home due to a great scholarship opportunity. The one problem is my family is poor and can’t afford airfare all the time to and from the state. Any advice on the topic? Do colleges have plans for students that can’t afford to come home for those shorter breaks when dorms close? Or would I have to find someone to stay with?
@catbubble, are you saying that you have already been accepted to a university far from your home? And you are going this Fall? I would start with contacting your admissions counselor at the college and letting them know about your economic situation. They may help with specific grants for travel expenses. Next, I would try to see if there is a department at the college for low income, first generation or minorities. The staff from these departments are often aware of resources. I did read of a scholarship from the airlines that helps with plane flights. Google to see if you can find it. Also, often colleges continue to have certain dorms open for holidays that international students can use. Try to see if that happens at your college. And also there will be short holidays that you will need to find a family to stay with- maybe a friend’s family or sometimes professors offer their home for a short holiday. Work during the summer months to save for this expenses. Good luck.
Which shorter breaks?
The winter break between fall and spring semesters can be the most problematic, since the dorms may be closed. Other breaks like Thanksgiving are more likely to have the dorms open, but with limited or no food service.
But check your specific school’s dorm department to find out what is the actual situation at your school’s dorms during each break.
8 hours is a reasonable driving distance. I would look into ride-sharing opportunities at the school (usually posted on social media or some sort of physical message board). Have you looked into buses or trains? A bus might get you within striking distance of home and from there somebody could pick you up.
As mentioned above, short breaks (like 4-5 day weekends) usually can be accommodated on campus, although the dining hall may be closed. Breaks of longer than a week may be more complicated.
If the school has a decent number of international students, they probably have this covered pretty well as those students typically can’t go home for breaks (sometimes even over winter/Christmas break). There may be a cost associated with this and food service may not be available, so it’s possible that transportation home may be cheaper than a longer term stay at school. Do some digging on the college website calendars (they should indicate when dorms are open) and call the Residential Life office to get the best info.
Call housing and ask.
I have no idea what the cities are, but sometimes if you book the flights far in advance (which you can because you know the dates for the academic calendar FAR in advance), it can be really cheap. If I were you/your family, I would check southwest for flights, and if you book them soon you could get them for really cheap.
I rode Greyhound or Amtrak when I travelled from college to home. Just something to consider.
Contact Residential Life Office at the college and ask. There is one answer that will be correct for every school.