when i was a freshman i promised myself i was never going to go to my state flagship (which is literally the school im about to move into lmao) and i had so many preconceived ideas about it and i wanted to go to an out of state school and worked really hard to get higher grades/higher ACT. i literally have no idea why i was so against my flagship. just a ton of people from my HS go there that’s the only reason. i was going to go to an out of state school my senior year, was all set, and thought everything was in place. but then i had an epiphany and really REALLY thought about my flagship. i realized it was actually a perfect school for me. it had everything i wanted: a big school, in state tuition, tradition, close enough to home, etc. and i realized the only reason i refused to go there was bc people from my hs went there. WHAT A DUMB REASON TO NOT GO TO A UNIVERSITY. so i visited and fell in love. the more times ive visited it ive learned more and more about it and the people and ive learned to be more open minded. the more i prepare for college, the more happy i am i chose the school that i did. just a reminder to always keep your options open 
Thanks for sharing that. And what you will find, at any college but especially a large university, is that you will hardly ever see those HS classmates. I went to UNC Chapel Hill and had exactly one class with one person from high school, in 4 years. Nobody in my dorm was even from my hometown. And I hung out with 3 friends from my high school like one time, that I remember. But you were so right to have your epiphany about what was the best school for you all along. And why pay more for an out of state public school? Anyway, I hope some others in HS read your post and take your advice to be open-minded. Good luck to you.
@halsey7 – can you tell our daughter that, please?!? I just don’t get it and have heard the same (kid’s desire to go OOS) from other parents. The other thing we’ve heard is this, “I’m going to reinvent myself in college”. Don’t get that either. How about “be yourself” regardless of where you are! Anyway, it’s good to hear that you were smart enough to realize that college won’t be an extension of HS. Was there any particular trigger for your epiphany?
@droppedit basically the more and more people i saw committing to my flagship i felt more left out! and in the school group chat that i was in for the other school, i just felt so out of place and i knew it wasn’t really where i would be happy. i also realized that my top choice (8 hours away as opposed to now going only 1 and a half hours away from home) was just insane for me to even consider. you should ask your daughter to weigh out pros and cons, that’s what i did and i realized the only con to my school was people from my high school and i just kinda realized how much i would regret letting bad high school experiences influence my college life/decisions!