Do you think its a good decision to go far away for college?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So, I'm in a bit of a confusing situation with colleges.
I currently live in Philadelphia, PA and I'm a rising Senior in HS.
I really want to major in Geology and go to graduate school for a Masters and possibly PhD.
I am very interested in nature, as I love to go camping, hiking, kayaking, etc. and I LOVE to learn about Earth Sciences, so that brought my into choosing to want to major in Geology. Now I know that a lot of schools around my area have alright Geology programs, but for some reason I feel like I should go far away for college, at someplace like Colorado, somewhere out West, somewhere just totally.....DIFFERENT, you know? And it seems like somewhere out West would be the most appropriate for Geology. I mean..hello? Rocky Mountains+Geology... Do you think I should go that far away just because I want a different experience from where I am now? Or do you think I should just take the more practical route and just go to a college fairly near me? I'm really lost on what to do. Part of me just wants to go somewhere far for college and the other part is just concerned about the costs of Air flight back and forth. Also, my parents are not too keen on the idea of going so far where I have to fly there. How can I convince them that I really want to go? And, what colleges would you suggest for me? I really want a Geology program that concentrates on field work rather than your typical college lecture.
So, do you think I should go with what I really want to do and go far away for college, or should I stay within the area? I'm really lost and I've been stressing about this all month!!! </p>

<p>Note: Also, let me make this clear!!!!! I was not a straight A student in high school, I have a 3.4 GPA and 22 on my ACT, 1060 on SAT (C&M) so don't suggest places like Harvard and what not.</p>

2

<p>You might want to try the search function. There have been some good threads about this. I’ll try to find one. BRB.</p>

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3

<p>Whether to go far away or stay close to home is really a personal choice that only you can make. There are pros and cons to both and you will have to decide based on your own personal criteria and family needs. But just for the record, PA has fabulous geology. :)</p>

4

<p>

Solution: Apply to some colleges close to home and some colleges farther away.</p>

<p>Ophiolite, one of the resident CC geologists, did her undergrad at U Pitt and loved it. It would probably be a reach, I think.</p>

<p>As for finding geology programs, that’s fairly easy. Relatively few colleges offer geology. </p>

<p>[Geology</a> Departments in the US and Canada](<a href=“http://web.archive.org/web/20080308035959/http://www.usd.edu/esci/geodepts.html]Geology”>Geoscience Departments WWW Directory - US & Canada)</p>

5

<p>In terms of good out of state schools for geology, University of Colorado and University of Arizona seem to have good programs. But, Penn State has a top notch geology program (perhaps better than the two I mentioned before and it just so happens to be in the same state as you). Not to mention, State College is much different than Philly, if your looking for a new, more rural atmosphere.</p>

<p>On top of that, if you consider cost (if that is important to you), going to an out of state college will really add up since your plan is to get your masters and PhD afterwards. You’ll be saving tons of money and get (if you use the resources they have at a big school like Penn State) a better education.</p>

<p>Plus, another added bonus is that if you (keeping all options open) decide to do something other than geology, you can always find tons of other fields of interest to pursue at Penn State. It’s one of the nation’s biggest research universities and I’m sure they have great programs in just about everything.</p>