I have been very actively searching for colleges for the last year in hopes that I will find something that I love, but I haven’t. Basically, I have found some schools that I think I would love, but they are all over 10 hours from home. I’m sort of hesitant to be that far away. Would it be THAT different if I went to a college 12 hours from home as opposed to a college 6 hours from home? I might not be able to visit once a month, but I would still be able to come back for major holidays, right?
bump
bump
My older son goes to school about 7 hours away. He comes home for Thanksgiving, Christmas (Winter Break) and Spring Break. You will be very busy at any school you attend and due to the distance, yes coming home for the holidays may be the only time you can get away from your studies. Much will depend upon on your family and the costs involved to come home. Younger son goes to school 2 hours away and only comes home for the same holidays. If you make it a priority to visit home, then it should not be a problem.
That certainly helps. Thank you!
I’m from CA and went to college in MA. I loved it. It was great not to go home very often. I spent summers and Christmas breaks at “home” (scare quotes b/c school started to become my home), but that’s it. Good times.
When you’re a college student, you no longer “go home” as often; you make your own “home” on campus. Whether you live 6 or 12 hours away, you won’t go back often outside of major holidays and breaks. If you found colleges you like and they’re far away, good for you! Now, check the net price calculators: applying to colleges further away tends to help you with national colleges (LACs or research universities) if they’re private because you bring geographical diversity. If the college practices preferential packaging, it may even mean more financial aid.
However, applying out of state to a public university tends to be costly, unless they have specific merit scholarships you qualify for (and not all universitivies do).
I don’t think the amount of hours matter when you’re talking over 4 hours. Distance from home is really good fro some students. It teaches you to be independent and become more assertive. My daughter went to school that was a 5 hour flight away. We missed her being home, but she came home for winter break and summer. She has grown up so much because of her experience away from home. But on the other hand, some people just can’t handle being far away from home. I think it’s best to be taken out of your comfort zone; usually, only good can come of it. Sorry for rambling…
Thanks for your help! I actually was wondering if there was sort of a threshold like that. My sisters were all about three hours away from home and came back maybe every six weeks. We are a very tight-knit family as well, but all my sisters are on their own now anyway, so I dunno if I would be inclined to come home as often.
It’s something to consider cost-wise. Being within driving or train/Amtrak distance can be much cheaper than having to fly between home and college. If the college is rural and/or not near an airport, you’d have to tack on additional time and expense. A lot of students attending college relatively far from home prefer to leave their stuff in storage over the summer rather than move it back and forth, so include that in financial calculations as well.
My kids went to school about 1500 miles from home. They did not come home for Thanksgiving - airfare was too expensive. Besides distance from home, you also want to consider how easy/difficult it is to get to the school. Some schools are difficult to get to without a car.