<p>“Agree generally - but I think it’s a worse scar to “let” someone apply knowing that you’ll never let them go there, than to forbid them from applying in the first place.”</p>
<p>But, that’s the point, unless the kid has some developmental condition that requires close monitoring, DP has no business “never letting them go” figuratively or geographically.</p>
<p>Whatever he dislikes about his life at Austin College, or misses about his forbidden life at Cornell College, will be <em>your</em> fault in his mind.</p>
<p>Another thing I will say about Cornell… (not meaning to offend any Iowa readers!). Odds just aren’t so great that he is going to love the location so much that he never leaves Iowa and comes back after college. If he was going to a bustling city with a lot of employers, there is that chance that he would settle in and not come back. But not so likely with Cornell. That does not mean he WILL move back to be near you. But I think it is unfair to let what may be your insecurities and desire to keep your children close (which I do understand as I said above!) dictate what he should do. He has gotten excited about Cornell, so let him go. I think if his test scores and grades are aligned for Cornell, then his excitement about it is a sign that it could go really well for him.</p>