Going far away from home for college

<p>my number one school is 15 hours away... 14 of those by plane, but I wouldn't have it any other way xD</p>

<p>i'm going in state, to gtech, but i may as well be farther because my fam will do anything to avoid the traffic in atlanta, so i figure it's far enough to have my own life, but close enough to not have to pay for airfare home:)</p>

<p>Basically all my top choice schools are on the opposite side of the country. I live in socal and I have been accepted to boston college and that's where I really want to go. I think you should figure out why you want to move so far away. for me it's bcuz I want to experience something new and I feel the school is a good fit for me. But if your reason is just to get away from your parents, save yourself the gas money and stay in state; you're parents won't just randomly show up and it saves a lot of money.</p>

<p>Go away.</p>

<p>It's not about being independent from your parents. Have fun with the idea of an entirely new city. I guarantee you won't regret your decision.</p>

<p>do it. if you have the money and you know for sure that college/major is right for you.</p>

<p>Yeah, definitely do it. You won't regret it. Besides, you'll go home how many times? 3 per year? It's not worth it to choose a school based on the cost of a couple of plane tickets whose cost you could defray by working for like 2 days each. I moved from the midwest to New England and think it was the best choice of my life.</p>

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To be honest, it really doesn't matter whether you go 60 miles or 2000, you can be just as independent and such as long as your parents get the message that you don't want to be coming home regularly.

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<p>That's not necessarily true...even if you don't go home every weekend, you'll still be in the location of your childhood. Your old friends will most likely still be there. You'll still be comfortable, and won't get that chance to start new and discover yourself in a new and potentially challenging environment. And if you ever get sick or need the laundry to get done, you will always have to fight the urge to run home to mommy or daddy.</p>

<p>I went from Seattle --> Boston. I wanted the face that challenge of being far away from home, and far away from my parents who love to pamper me. It's been a very empowering experience thus far.</p>

<p>So I cast my vote for you choosing a college further away.</p>

<p>I was the kind of kid who didn't like to spend the night at a friend's house because I wanted to be home, but I ended up going to college in Georgia, about 1000 miles away. In deciding to go that far I asked myself "Where should I go so that I'll never wonder 'what if I would have went there?'" I love it now! And I come home about every month and a half to two months. Only an hour and 1/2 flight away!</p>

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if you have the opportunity to go to a totally new place, do it. i dont understand the kids who go to school close to home and then go home every weekend to hangout with old hs friends and have their mom do their week's laundry.

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<p>i agree i can't wait to completely change everything. most (if not all) of the people i know are going in-state or close to it. they go to the same colleges, hang out with the same people, and live in the same places. </p>

<p>going from SC to CA.</p>

<p>Do it... You will seriously regret it if you stay home trust me. It just feels like high school all over again.</p>

<p>I could not imagine staying home for college, but I am the type of person who wants to see and experience new things all the time, so going far away makes perfect sense to me.</p>

<p>My college is about 4 hours maximum away from my home, which is good enough for me, as its in another state, and completely different environment since it's a city, and I my home is more in a suburban area.</p>

<p>I was talking to a group of my high school friends yesterday...when asked if college was way different from high school, 3 of my friends said "NO, it's just the same!" and the other 3 said "YES, it's radically different!!!" The difference was, essentially the difference between staying in-state and out-of-state, living in the dorms or commuting. </p>

<p>Going to school in Michigan (being from Alaska) was probably the best decision I've ever made, ever, for my sanity if nothing else. The only thing that is hurting is my pocketbook...otherwise I am soo glad I decided to get out of my home state to go to school 3000 miles away. It made me realize that I truly cannot stand living in AK after graduation... there's just too much to do and see. I've always been the super-independent person, not sentimental and I barely missed my family (even though I love them very much). I was just busy with too many things in college, and was having too much fun essentially...</p>

<p>My one friend who went to Western Washington ended up transferring back home to Alaska for the upcoming semester...but honestly she was a big homebody and wasn't perhaps the most open, approachable person when it came to making new friends.</p>

<p>I've talked to alot of people, and most people who went out of state enjoyed it, and most people staying in-state say they regretted it, or regretted not having the opportunity to go out of state. They immediately moved to another part of the country as soon as they graduated. I'm also from the Midwest, and we are known for having a feeling of inferiority to other regions.</p>

<p>I'm also from Pennsylvania and I go to school on the West Coast. I don't regret the decision to go far, but its not for everyone.</p>

<p>At first, it is very weird to think you're on your own in a different part of the country. If you can handle the initial surprise (for lack of a better word), you'll be fine. I was very homesick during the first week but I got over it quickly and haven't had problems since.</p>

<p>All in all, if you feel you're ready to be totally independent, you can handle it. Most of my friends don't go home that often even though they're within a few hours of their house.</p>

<p>Of course, make sure you will like that school before you go to it. If you don't like it, you'll feel very stuck there.</p>

<p>If you have the opportunity, take advantage of living in a different part of the country. It doesn't have to be a different coast. Living at least 6 hours away (or a different time zone) from home is enough.</p>

<p>Personally I don't understand why someone would want to live close to home.</p>