<p>What are some pros and cons of going to college out of state, especially when the college is far away.</p>
<p>Con: It is far away.</p>
<p>Pro: It is far away.</p>
<p>Pros: The experience of living in another part of the country, the experience of meeting people from another part of the country, your parents can’t drop in unannounced</p>
<p>Cons: Transportation home needs to be planned and will likely be more expensive</p>
<p>Pro/Con: Less trips home - could be a good thing or a bad thing!</p>
<p>(I’m from NY and went to college in Chicago.)</p>
<p>Pro: you will meet people and experience cultural differences on a regular basis.</p>
<p>Con: you will have to tell every person that you meet the story of why you came to X from such a long way.</p>
<p>"you will have to tell every person that you meet the story of why you came to X from such a long way. "-- and will have to for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>I think I had the best of both worlds. When I started college, my parents were an hour away and my father worked in the same city where I went to school. I didn’t see them very often, and this was pre-cell phone so I probably talked to them once a week by phone. It was really helpful when I had a roommate emergency and my mother was able to come up to school to help me get a transfer during my first month in school. And when I got really sick, she drove up and brought me home to the doctor and took care of me for a week.</p>
<p>The next year my parents moved across the country and I was on my own. It helped me to become independent, to stand on my own two feet and take care of everything myself.</p>
<p>Now, my DS goes to school thousands of miles away. He definitely has to stand on his own two feet. And he is experiencing a different culture. But I hate that I wouldn’t be able to get there quickly in an emergency.</p>
<p>With DD, I’d love it if she would choose a school within a few hours from home. We’ll see…</p>
<p>For schools that draw their student bodies mostly from nearby areas (such as state universities) only:</p>
<p>Pro: It’ likely that you will know nobody. You can completely reinvent yourself.</p>
<p>Con: It’s likely that most of your classmates will already have friends on campus who came from their high school or home community. These people may stick to each other like glue, making it difficult for you to make friends.</p>
<p>Marian is right on, and this is an issue my son is facing. We told him so he knew up front, but living it is a whole other story. He went to a private Catholic school. He could have gone to any number of schools that had dozens of kids from his school and other schools in the area that he knew at least residually from events. He could have gone to a school where most of the kids came from other areas, and there is no concentration of kids from a particular school or area. Instead he went to an OOS uni where no one from his graduating class attended and maybe 2 kids total from his school being there. He literally did not know anyone other than 2 cousins there. And he could see how his cousins seemed to know everyone at the university. His one cousin came from a high school that had 20 kids go there, 20! Not to mention that he knew lots of kids from state events. </p>
<p>It’s been a rough experience for him since he was used to being in a setting where he knew kids from elementary school and had a 3rd degree relationship with just about any and everyone in the school He is truly odd man out here. A large core of the kids live within an hour from the school and have one foot outside of it for activities. It’s can be dauting when you are many hours from home and when you feel down there is absolutely no one who knows you well enough to notice. Any high school talk he might have is like a foreign language, whereas when the other kids go into that mode, most of them are included. </p>
<p>Distance is not the issue here. My other son went to an in State uni which is the same distance away. It’s just that he feels like the odd man out, because he is.</p>
<p>Weather, travel and culture shock are all things to consider.</p>
<p>Weather. When we visited Stanford, the student guide mentioned that we had come on a very sunny day for March. The comment went on to include that Spring semester came as a shock to kids from Southern California since the weather was not like what they were accustomed to. </p>
<p>My Dallas S found the winter weather in Colorado to be something of an adjustment depending on where the student came from. The warmer weather students were shocked by lows below freezing starting in early November and going usually until sometime in May. </p>
<p>The colder wearther students who were accustomed to milder weather in late August -September were shocked with how hot the un-airconditioned dorms got in those months. I went to the University of Texas in Austin and recall students from along the Canadian border states being really unhappy with how hot it got.</p>
<p>If you get depressed or moody when there are long periods without sunshine you need to consider where you go to school. Weather will also impact what you will need to wear.</p>
<p>Travel. Check out the Weather Channel and see how the weather will impact getting to and from your parents’ home and the away college. On CC each Winter there are numerous horror stories about trying to get students back and forth, especially using airport hubs that experience ice.</p>
<p>Travel also can mean more hassle and expense generally. If you have to fly to “X” town or city and then use different transportation to the town of the college, this will impact you in lots of different ways.</p>
<p>Culture shock. This is no joke when it comes to adjusting to your college. For instance, say you’re going to be in and around San Francisco for college. You might want to know and consider that total nudity in public is not per se illegal and that SF does not attempt to forceably remove homeless from living on the streets. If you are a non-Texas female, you might want to look into what you have to submit to in Texas if you want an abortion while attending a Texas school.</p>
<p>The pro is that it’s an adventure.</p>
<p>The con can be if money is an issue, getting back and forth for fall, end of school year, holiday breaks, and having family come for Parents Weekend, move in day, or grad day can be unaffordable for some families.</p>
<p>Then there’s storage costs over summer or the cost of shipping things back and forth.</p>
<p>I don’t think the costs involved with travel are really understood until you’ve been through it. Even getting a lucky cheaper airfare can get get expensive when you have to add shuttle costs to and from airports. And when family helps with move in, add another 500-1,000 for plane, hotel, rental cars, restaurants, etc.</p>
<p>rathole comment … I think better question would have been about going to school “far” from home. An in-state student in Texas or California can be a LONG way from home … while someone from Connecticut can be 2-3 states from home and a lot closer to home than some in-state Texas and California students.</p>
<p>Travel costs are a major factor. We didn’t realize until after he started that not only did the school have a Thanksgiving Break but a fall break in October. It’s not just the airline tickets, he first has to buy very expensive bus tickets to get to the airport. </p>
<p>That being said, it has been a great experience for him. He’s at a small college where he has met people from all over the country. The cold weather hasn’t really bothered him (coming from Texas) since he doesn’t have to worry about driving or even clearing the sidewalks. And I think he enjoys telling the other students, “you think this is hot? You don’t know what hot is…” type stuff. I think it is an advantage that it’s not the type of school where a group of friends from high school all attend. Everyone is starting over and there aren’t the preconceived notions about what you’re supposed to do or how to act. </p>
<p>He has become a lot more independent just because he’s had to if he wants to get home. And I think it will make it easier for him to take some chances in the future.</p>
<p>It also depends on a particular situation if travel is going to be a problem. My friend has a son at Emory and he has no problems getting regular inexpensive flights home. There is also family in the area, so it makes going down there a double duty trip and there is a place to stay to boot.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we really got reamed one year for travel for my son when had some injuries and potential health issues. Buying tickets at the last minute can cost a fortune.</p>
<p>The big thing missing is simply that when you are younger, it is the time to try something that as you grow older you will be less likely to do. </p>
<p>This includes going to school in a city even if you are not a city person and may never live in a city again. Trying a study abroad program. Take a class in something out of your major or learn how to play an instrument. As you grow older, stuff gets in the way like buying a home, having a family and trying to stay employed. </p>
<p>That’s when moving back to your home town and being closer to your parents (your aging parents 
) becomes more appealing.</p>