<p>I used to think that I wanted to go to a college that is less than an hour from my home. Call me a homebody if you must, but being around my family and my pets is very important to me. I wanted the ability to go home every weekend, or better yet, commute so I could go home every night. Admittedly, I am rather paranoid that something horrific would happen while I'm away at college. However, recently, I visited a college three hours from my home (American University), and discovered it is the perfect match for me. American is strong in all of the programs which interest me, the campus is beautiful, there are a plethora of internship opportunities, and I absolutely love Washington DC. However, I'm not certain that I'm comfortable with the distance from home. Several colleges in my area offer The Washington Semester, which enables students to spend a semester at American University so even if I don't attend, I can study there, albeit for a brief while. However, there's a part of me that feels I would be missing out if I stay close to home for the majority of my college education. I would like some input from current students (of any college). If you attended at a college a "significant" distance from home (meaning that it is impractical for you to go home nights/every single weekend) how do you feel about your decision? Are you grateful for the opportunity to grow away from your family, or do you wish that you had chosen a college closer to home? What about people who stuck close to home? Were you thankful for the ability to maintain ties with your family/hometown, or do feel you missed out on some good opportunities? If anyone with anxiety/related issues would like to shed insight on their university experience, that would be much appreciated as well.</p>
<p>My school is a 12 hour drive away (and I make that drive alone ~4 times a year). I absolutely LOVE my school, so I feel it’s worth it.
However, I can only go home for the major breaks - thanksgiving, winter, and spring.</p>
<p>3 hours away is nothing. You’ll be able to go home more often than I can, but not every weekend.</p>
<p>I think the best thing for you to do is just apply. You’ve got a year (or more if you’re not a rising senior) to decide if you can handle the 3 hour distance. I wouldn’t worry about it just yet- cross that bridge when you have to decide which school you’re going to.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m a huuuuge homebody, and I went to school 11 hours away. I didn’t get to come home at ALL spring semester (January 5-May 9). It was really hard, and I got homesick at the end, but I know now that I can live on my own after school, wherever a job may take me.</p>
<p>I have to text my mom every day, whether I go to school 10 minutes or 10 hours away, so that was a nice way to stay connected. We’d chat on the phone if one of us had something to say, but there was no pressure to. I called her more often in fall semester than spring, but I think she knew that I needed time to grow on my own, and it worked out really well for me.</p>
<p>Junior year of high school, I got frequent panic attacks from overloading myself (3 cheerleading squads, a part-time job, NHS, volunteering, etc. etc.), but as of late have been few and far between. Around April, my homesickness coincided with the start of finals to make me feel completely horrible and far away from home, and I had one of the worst panic attacks I’ve ever had. I was more scared than usual, because no one was around to help me if something were to happen, which prolonged the attack. All I wanted was for my mom to hold me and say everything was going to be all right, but she couldn’t and didn’t. Eventually, my sobs subsided and I forced myself to go to bed at like 7 p.m. I woke up the next morning feeling far better (not good, but better), and just tried to focus on only the day at hand, until my dad finally came to pick me up for move out. I persevered and so can you if you put your mind to it. Three hours is such a reasonable distance–your parents won’t come poking around in what you’re doing if you want alone time, but if you have that physical need to be home for the weekend, it’s very feasible with little to no pre-planning. I say go for it.</p>
<p>I thought this was about the Cake song.</p>
<p>im going to a school in another country and im a big mommas boy but its an adventure and the school is worth it since i loved it more than any other school</p>
<p>when a school like in ur case is worth the sacrafice of being away for a long time, you do it</p>
<p>I go to school 2,000 miles away from home, and I love it! You really get a chance to grow, and develop your independent adult life. You can’t be attached to home forever. It’s good to spread your wings and see new places. The fact that you can’t go home often is good, because you learn to deal with things yourself (laundry, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, etc.). And the few times you do go home, the trips seem a lot better (it’s kinda hard to explain though). </p>
<p>Anywho, the only annoying thing is having to fly across the country all the time (4-5 times a year). But that has nothing to do with being homesick…just annoying flight delays and airport lines and cramped airplane seats, but I’m just ranting. Also, moving in and moving out can be…interesting…like shipping everything or buying a lot when I get to my college town. One more thing is not being able to see my friends during breaks when I go home since I’m so far away. But I’m gonna do summer sessions or something on campus next summer so that takes care of that. But if you’re 3-4 hours away driving, none of these disadvantages will apply to you.</p>
<p>^^ I thought so too.</p>
<p>As I am also a HS senior, I have no insight on your concerns.</p>
<p>(♫He’s going for speed. She’s all alone (all alone!), all alone in her time of need♫ I couldn’t resist :P)</p>
<p>I’m one of those people that stuck close to home, if you consider “one hour” close. I was thankful especially when I had a difficult time or lacked sleep. I could just go home. At school I often felt lonely and just angry because I hated it so much. There were periods where my mood changed frequently. There was a point where I found myself sobbing in the bathroom once a week. I’m crazy to be going back to school this fall, but I just didn’t know where else I could transfer to. Commuting to my school, despite being only one hour away, would be hectic.</p>
<p>I don’t think I missed out by being close to home. But, I really didn’t care about the ultimate college experience. I almost considered going to school in New York so I could commute because I really didn’t mind if I didn’t have the luxury of walking across a college quad. And my parents aren’t really strict and allowed me to be independent throughout high school, so I wasn’t going to experience anything new except living away from them.</p>
<p>Three hours is not bad. At worst, if you hate your time there, you could always transfer to a college closer. Hopefully you enjoy your time at American U that you wouldn’t have to resort to that! But, I suggest that if you do go three hours away, try to limit calling home a lot. Like once a week is good and as time goes on, spread that to every other week or so. I used to get sad when my parents called and I was only one hour away! Sometimes I was tempted to just hop on the train and go home! Or maybe if you feel the only way to comfort yourself is to call home all the time, then go for it, but for me, I felt it didn’t help. I was so reluctant to hang up the phone at times.</p>
<p>Simply put: I think you should take the chance, unless you suffer from some major anxiety disorder. If not, then take the chance!</p>
<p>I’m making the jump, whether my parents like it or not, haha. </p>
<p>I’m applying to a couple “close” schools that I like, Michigan, Northwestern, Maryland, and Georgetown, but those are all 3-7 hours away and that is as close as I want to stay lol. I’m applying to a couple in-state schools (1 public, 1 private), but I’m really only applying there because of my parents and you kind of have to have at least one in-state public school. Though it is my last resort for me lol, and I’ve done research on good merit OOS schools to have as well in case things don’t work out.</p>
<p>I don’t really have a “top” choice, but ones that are near the top are USC, Alabama and FSU. Bama and FSU are safeties, but I really like the schools and would like to save money for grad school. And they are “only” 12-15 hours away, haha. At least I’d probably be able to come home for Thanksgiving, and spring break(not that I’d want to go back for spring break, hahaha) if I went to one of those schools. </p>
<p>But USC is all the way across the country…and quite frankly that scares me a little bit…and if I had to pick a front runner right now, USC would be it haha.
But I literally know 2 people living in California right now and a close relative lives 8 hours away, but that is pretty far to see frequently. </p>
<p>But then at the same time, it is exciting to know that I will completely be on my own, sink or swim, no real safety net. I guess what I’m worried most about is making friends, and I’ll need pretty good friends, because I won’t really have family support going to school 2,000+ miles away from home. </p>
<p>arggghhh confusing times</p>