<p>I’m also in the pile of people who chose my university primarily due to its proximity to home. It’s about an hour away, so I can dorm here, commute from home, get an apartment; I can basically do anything. </p>
<p>Also, I think it depends on what people want to do with their lives. When I was an 18 year-old high school senior, I wanted to stay in the metro Detroit area forever. I loved my little town, loved the nearby suburbs, and loved being only an hour away from Detroit and Windsor. At the time, I was all set, and going to a university in my area could help me stay in my treasured comfort zone. </p>
<p>However, now that I’m antsy to see more of the world, I can see how people would rule out a school closer to home. If you want to test your limits and see what you can do, you should really try and get a fresh start at a place with no safety nets. Going to the school where all of your buddies and some of your cousins go doesn’t really offer you diversity. </p>
<p>So, I think it all comes down to how one approaches life. Some of us are tangled up in our roots and wish to stay planted nearby; some of us broke free of those same chains and wish to fly away from our nests. We may realize our stance at 18 years old, or we may not. But either way, everyone is entitled to their initial feelings, even if they might change.</p>
<p>I think a lot depends on the support system you have in place and your own personal comfort level (both for parents and the student in question). When I was 17, my dream school was a tiny LAC in New York State. My father had died a few years prior and my mom no longer drove, so we were without a car. Nonetheless, I was extremely independent because I could walk to a commuter rail line or take local public transportation. But for anything much further away or off the beaten path, I needed somebody to give me a ride. I had a family member take the day off to drive me for my interview and by the time I got home I knew there was no way I’d be comfortable getting back and forth to that school. It was doable by taking trains and then catching a taxi to the school, but the remoteness and the added stress of managing all the logistics on my own was too much for me. </p>
<p>I think if someone does want to spread his or her wings, there are also opportunities to study a semester or a year abroad or at another school across the country. If the closer school has a lot of students from other parts of the country, there are also possibilities to travel home with a classmate. In those cases, I think the student can get the best of both worlds. No, it’s not the same as going to school in another state or on the other side of the country, but it’s also not the same as going to the state directional school either where 90% of the kids are local (and often commuters).</p>
<p>Most people on CC are probably familiar with this, but if not, check it out. Maybe that school “down the road” is actually populated with a large percentage of kids from other parts of the country. Check out Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins as examples.</p>
<p>[Where</a> Does Your Freshman Class Come From? - Students - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=214777]Where”>http://chronicle.com/article/Where-Does-Your-Freshman-Class/129547/#id=214777)</p>
<p>Yes, but UCLA and USC are exceptions.</p>
<p>My daughter grew up about 5 miles from Wellesley College. When she started her search, it wasn’t on her list, even though she was very interested in women’s colleges and had us fly out to CA to look at Scripps. I suggested that she at least check out Wellesley, so she attended the open campus for juniors in the spring of her junior year.</p>
<p>When I picked her up at the end of the day, she came out smiling and said, “Mom! I didn’t know Wellesley was a GOOD school! Hillary Clinton went here! Did you know that?”</p>
<p>She is now in her first year at Wellesley.</p>
<p>I forced S1 to apply to our local Cal State (Sonoma) as his safety. I made him tour, too. Nice campus, and I still think it has the most gorgeous dorms of any college anywhere (and between the two kids, I’ve toured a lot of schools). Affordable for us, had his major, good athletic teams. This school was a good fit for S1 in many ways, and he got in, but he refused to even consider it ONLY because it’s only a half hour from home.</p>
<p>You are getting a lot of stories of individual choices (mine went happily from west coast to east coast despite a Berkeley admission in her area), but the point is yours is interested in the away experience and I’d support that. It’s a great chance to live in another part of the country. A few extra plane trips shouldn’t be a deal breaker. But if the financial aid is significantly different that is another matter. You have to be practical about that aspect.</p>