I live in Michigan, and I’ve been looking at ASU for awhile now, and it really looks like where I want to go, the only problem is my parents are worried about being so far away, and are hesitant to let me apply. We are visiting the campus in January so I’m hoping that can help sway them. Any tips on how I can change their minds?
The visit will surely help, especially as your parents can ask questions to admissions personnel, your academic department reps and students. The campus, friendliness, facilities and climate will sell itself–especially coming in the winter from Michigan. But you can also arrange in advance with your ASU admissions rep to schedule some time with an academic counselor for your major, etc. Have you made contact with an admissions advisor at ASU?
You might also ask him or her if ASU has a Recruitment Officer or Alumnus locally in your area that could talk with you and your parents. Are you applying to Barrett Honors College, by chance?
When it comes to a college kid going to school far away from home, most parents have the following concerns on their mind:
Are there decent medical care facilities/services nearby if the student gets sick?
As a piggy back to that, are there doctors, hospitals, & health care facilities that are ‘in network’ for the student’s health insurance?
Does the school have a big reputation as a party school?
Is the campus safe?
Is the area around the campus safe?
If the student finds him/herself in a situation where he/she has to walk back to the dorms/apartment late at night, is there a service that the campus police offers where they’ll escort you back home?
Is there a place on campus outside of your dorm room where you can study 24x7? For example, if you end up with a jerk of a roommate or the roommate is being too loud and won’t be quiet so you can study for a major exam.
Will the student be able to easily “find his/her tribe” at the school?
How are the academics? Especially in the student’s chosen major?
If the student decides to change majors, are there enough other decent options at the school?
How hard or easy is it for students to find employment after graduation at this university?
If there was an emergency and I (the parent or other family member) had to get to my kid’s school ASAP, how long will it take me to get there?
With that last question - ASU is in Phoenix. Phoenix is a major airline hub for a few airlines.
If it’s high on your list by all means apply. The cost to apply is minimal so at least make it an option. If your stats are good enough also apply to Barrett. Once accepted review your options with your parents and make the best choice for you and your family. Phoenix is an easy Southwest Airlines flight which at least gets you easily to Detroit - not sure where you live but that may get you close enough to home. ASU has rolling admissions so submit! Also merit aid is good and based on GPA, Test Score, and class rank. Good luck.
If you are a scholarship candidate, ASU is definitely a school to apply to. Our son is a freshman National Scholar. The scholarship has been fabulous but more importantly, he has found a home. I worried about him…we went to 22 schools total and he didn’t love very many of them. But he loved ASU in an instant. I at first wondered about the distance away from home, fitting in, whether the school was a party school, and if the school was “good enough.” Came to find out that he’s plenty challenged by the school, Barrett Honors is fabulous in all ways and is more than they promised, the dorm experience has given him a sense of community that is so good he doesn’t miss us much:( My biggest complaint about ASU is…they have given him all we asked and more, including the money, and he doesn’t seem to need us much. I guess that is a good thing:) We went back for parents day and are happy to report that after 10 weeks, ASU is all we expected and more, over delivering in every way. We are sold on their vision, their commitment to community and get it. Get your parents on campus, let them talk to dean of college and dean of Barrett Honors if you qualify. If you are a Barrett candidate, your parents don’t have a chance of escaping their magic. Yup, it’s that good.
OP, our senior has his heart set on ASU / Barrett Honors College and we live in Kansas City so it is almost as far. I’d suggest you ask your parents specifically what about being far away concerns them and see if you can address whatever the issues are with data, logical appeals, or whatever it is that you’ve learned has a role in your parents’ decision making.
Is it the added expense of getting you to and from school? You can research the cost of flights, figure out bus or Amtrak routes and expenses, find someone else who is going there so you have someone to drive with, etc.
Is it that they are worried you’ll be homesick? Figuring out the travel expense part would be relevant here esp if you can convince them that you’ll be home almost as much as if you went to a closer college.
For our situation, I do think my son will be more homesick that he expects but there is so much learning that comes from the hard stuff that I’d hate to prevent him from experiencing that discomfort. We have great direct flights from KC and they tend to not be very expensive + easy to get with FF miles.
Like RedbirdDad says above, the tour of Barrett is pretty impressive. My son is NMSF so they paid for his flight and had a full day of meetings and tours and really put on the full court press. The best parts were the serendipitous ones, though; at one point the faculty member that was showing us around ran into one of his favorite professors in the computer science program who stopped to give my son advice about which teacher to take for a specific class. Then we ran into the head of a lab (can’t recall the name but it is this awesome innovation lab) and we chatted for a long time. Instead of feeling like we were at one of the many cookie cutter tours, it felt like real people being genuine. The energy and excitement they had about ASU in general and Barrett in particular was undeniable.