<p>How did you manage at first? Were you scared?</p>
<p>I'm now allowed to apply to a max of 8 schools anywhere in the country (I was recently restricted to just the east coast.)</p>
<p>I'd love to go to TX or CA schools.... But I live in CT and those are SUPER far away from home and extended family. </p>
<p>I'm a little nervous about going away that far, but there are good opportunities out there. </p>
<p>Here are the schools I'm looking at(I know it's more than eight):</p>
<p>UCF, UMass-Amherst, Smith, Clark U, U of Miami, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Rice, U of Texas at Austin.</p>
<p>I have family in CT (of course), Orlando, and Georgia. So UMass, smith, Clark, johns Hopkins, Emory, and UCF and UMiami aren't that big of a deal. Its mainly Rice and UTX. </p>
<p>Any advice? I'm a rising senior. </p>
<p>Also, if anyone has any type of medical needs, how was the adjustment to college, especially being far away?</p>
<p>I go to college 400mi away from home (in the same state, though), which can be the distance of more than a couple of states in the east coast.</p>
<p>For me, it hasn’t been much of an issue. I was excited about college, adjusted quick, and only had contact with my parents when they seeked me (they missed me much more than I missed them). In fact, when I went home for my first winter break, I was only happy for the first week.</p>
<p>Based on the sound of your post, it seems like you’re emotionally prepared for it. You’re going to be an adult, and if you just have a little social skills and an open mind, you should be able to adjust quite easily.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind: anywhere in the United States is at most a 6hr flight away!</p>
<p>I live in Tampa, FL and currently attend Reed in Portland, OR. As ansar said, the move wasn’t all that hard. There were moments when I was a little homesick, but there were always things going on around campus to take my mind off of it. I was also much more scared of the academics than the distance.</p>
<p>First, in-state or out-of-state really only matters for cost issues … otherwise distance/time from home is the relevant measure. As a CT resident, depending where you live you could be 5 minutes from Rhode Island while 2 hours from a CT school near NYC for example.</p>
<p>So, I’m not sure how your 8 school limit works … is that 8 schools total? … or is it CT schools and 8 schools OOS? If it is the later depending where you live it might make more sense to switch it to something like any schools within 2 hours of home and 8 schools further away (depending where you live this might bring some MA and RI into your “close” bucket and let you apply to more target schools)</p>
<p>Finally, it seems to me once a school is more than a couple hours away the distance does not matter a lot … it is not close enough for weekly trips home or for unexpected parent drop-ins. In addition, it a school is really far away, say CA, you’d be flying so time-wise it might actually be closer than some schools much closer mile-wise to which you’d drive. So think time more than miles.</p>
<p>Hmm … PS … why are you nervous about being away from home? Is there a known reason you’d be making a lot of trips home (a medical condition either you or a close relative have, for example)? Or do you think socially you’ll want to come home a lot? Or is it more ofa general nervousness? I my case in 4 years as an undergrad I believe I went home 2 times other than a regular break so the distance from home did not play into my experience at all. In other threads lots of parents raise proximatey in case of emergency but personally I’m not a big fan of planning my life around very unlikely events. For those open to it moving far away from college can be a great adventure … for others the security of staying near home makes more sense. Good luck!</p>
<p>zchryevns and ansar- thanks for sharing your good experience!</p>
<p>3togo- thanks!
it’s 8 schools in total. But I have 10 or so on my list but that’s okay. </p>
<p>It’s not a money issue just more of a general nervousness. I do have a medical condition that’s weather-triggered but it’s a problem no matter where I go. I won’t have to make trips home if there’s is a local specialized doctor near my school like the one I have here.</p>
<p>EDIT: my mom did want me to stay close for those “what if” moments and although I was upset, I was secretly okay with it. Now that the barrier is lifted it feels weird. I’ve never been away from home for more than a week, and even then I was only an hour away.</p>
<p>I think you should look for 8 schools you’re interested in, disregarding distance from home, and apply to them. Then, once decisions come out late senior year, you can see how you feel. You may just need to become accustomed to the idea of going far since your parents previously said you couldn’t. I don’t think distance from home should be a huge factor when choosing a college, but it should be a consideration if you still feel wary come spring time. You still have a while to grow and become independent, so you may feel ready by the end of senior year; if not, it’s perfectly acceptable to choose a school closer to home.</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s difficult to be far away, but there’s always phone calls and skype. Just make sure you go somewhere where you feel comfortable and at home.</p>
<p>I live in Texas and I’m going to school in nyc in the fall. im more excited than scared, although I am worried about how im going to adjust being completely alone for the first time in my life.</p>
<p>I will be going to school far away, but it is just a nonstop flight away and I have no roots here anyway. My parents are the only family I have here, and we moved here from somewhere else anyway. They’ll probably leave not long after I do lol :)</p>
<p>In terms of the medical condition: I’m guessing it’s something among the lines of panic attacks or something. If you have a local specialist where you live now, chances are good that there’ll be another wherever you go. Do your research!</p>
<p>As for the what-if situations: there’s always going to be rare cases, and you can’t prevent all of them. For example, a friend of mine got run over by a car her first semester here. Her parents had to fly in from India – that’s 22hr of travel time. Everything ended up fine in the end. Things like that can happen to anyone, anywhere.</p>
<p>Just assess the risk any ask whether or not it’s worth taking. There’s always a first time before you get experienced with anything.</p>
<p>excelblue- it’s not panic attacks it’s an immune system condition.
Oh yeah that story about your friend made me feel better (just kidding, but I’m glad your friend is alright!!!)</p>
<p>I guess I’ll be fine, I like JeSuis’ advice of seeing how I feel next year and not worry too much. </p>
<p>About those what-if situations: I smashed my finger in a door and had to go to the hospital (had to have pressure relieved and blood drained since it hit just behind the nail) during reading week this past semester. I didn’t go to the hospital until the middle of the night, but they were very helpful and sent me on my way within an hour and a half with a hole in my nail and a prescription for 30 painkillers in hand. I had nothing on me other than my Florida ID.</p>
<p>Two weeks later, after I had returned home, I had a three inch laceration in my scalp. When I got to the hospital, they forced me into the pediatrics ward because I was 19, and refused to give me any sort of painkiller because they “do not prescribe painkillers to children.” It took a second opinion, an MRI, and hunting down an on-call doctor for a few hours (the regular doctor sent me to the hospital across the parking lot for the MRI at 4:30pm and the office closed at 5:00pm) to get a prescription for 15 painkillers. I had 14 staples in my head.</p>
<p>Moral of the story: you could be very pleasantly surprised by the medical care wherever you end up going.</p>
<p>I go to school only about seven to eight hours from home. I never got homesick, likely because I came home just as much as if I was going to school instate. Many people thought every time I came home I would be staying for good. Didn’t happen. I think most college ready students are capable of living some distance from home.</p>
<p>I have read studies that say that the more you go home as a freshman, the more likely you will not adjust well. When our DD was applying, I kept telling her that I went to school an hour away from home, which was the closest anyone in our family had ever been, and never went home for weekends. It really is all about attitude. I went home for a big anniversary for my parents, my parents came and picked up my friend and I a few times and took up to the mountains for the weekend, and once I went home because I needed a purse that I had left at home. Other than that, we talked on the phone and I came home at holidays. The people that went home many weekends? They either dropped out by Christmas, or stopped going home all the time. There really wasn’t a middle ground. Don’t worry about the distance, but think through what your limits will be for yourself and your parents.</p>