<p>You don't understand my father's personality and medical conditions, which, if I told you, you would instantly see that I'm not being immature and infact calling him irrational occasionally is not an overexagerration in the least.</p>
<p>I may have come off as being a arrogant kid in this thread, but that's only how I act online. Trust me, I don't throw tantrums or anything like the such. </p>
<p>But anyway, that's what this thread is asking for - convincing arguments to lay to try to convince him as such. But people keep on detering off topic.</p>
<p>Well I guess you could talk to your dad about the transportation these schools offer to get back home (train, bus, plane obviously when you really need it) and their hopefully low cost. Perhaps you could also try to change your dad's stereotype of the Midwest: U of Chicago is in a great city environment (its not just surrounded by cornfields/farmland as your father probably assumes is typical of the Midwest), it generally has a liberal and democratic lean as does Illinois itself.</p>
<p>w. Uchicago he knows that the Chicago area/IL in general is a very liberal place, but his response was "i can't drive there in 4 hours". I find it contradicting though because he is ok w/ Washington D.C. but that would take 8 hours to drive too, but I dont want to make that comparison incase he suddenly sees that and rules out D.C. as well.</p>
<p>Theoretically this situation is very general. There is no specific problem here, whether cost or transportation wise, except the distance itself. Basically, I need help with convincing him over his fear of far away distances. [It's not even that much more far away, just about 60 minutes than UPITT, which he's ok with]</p>
<p>If your father's personality and medical conditions are such that he doesn't react like most people would, then there's nothing that anyone who doesn't know him can tell you about how to convince him. The best you can do is explain to him, rationally and calmly, why going to these schools may be important to you. Why Michigan is better for you than a similar school within driving distance. </p>
<p>The rest is then in his ballpark. And just accept that you may not be able to convince him. And then apply to the schools that fix both your and his criteria.</p>
<p>As far as the politics thing goes, Chicago is one of the most secular, liberal cities in the country. Ann Arbor is a bastion of liberalism and easily more secular and liberal than 95% of similarly sized towns in the NE.</p>
<p>Midway Airport in Chicago is very convenient to Hyde Park. It's where Southwest flies in and out of. A cheap SW flight is probably going to be cheaper than two four hour drives round trip, not to mention a lot quicker.</p>