Probably many different reasons. Maybe parents feel better about the lie than they do the truth (may well be some guilt in terms of being able to pay more/have saved more). Parents may not even know the real reason. May sound better to family/friends.
Seems to me that giving one reason when actual reason is another isn’t that uncommon in terms of parents/kids.
@tucsonmom if I knew then what I knew now-- I would have insisted dd go to CC and live at home. I trusted she could/would do it and she didn’t. I ignored any reservations I had because she was recruited to the equestrian team and she said it was really important to her. Apparently it wasn’t important enough to continue her medications responsibly.
@sarahpgh - So what’s the big deal with staying close to home? Do you think Mom and family are just going to drop in? Well, it doesn’t have to be that way! We have 3 kids, all went to schools @ 1 hr away - and we set up ground rules before they set foot on campus:
It was just as if they were across the country - but not! Bottom line - Don’t over think this - set up your ground rules to suit, have fun, learn lots and everybody’s happy. 
There are great schools in Pittsburgh, near Pittsburgh. Ohio (Youngstown, Cleveland State) and WVU isn’t that far either.
Your application list will depend on your stats and budget. You can post in college searcheand selection forum for suggestions.
^Youngstown State and Cleveland State wouldn’t qualify as “great schools” in my book. They’re okay commuter schools for C+/B- students and can offer decent scholarships to B/B+ students.
OP:
Are you a junior or senior?
Have you already applied to all these colleges or are you establishing a list?
I’d pick Pitt over Slippery Rock regardless of distance (especially with all the turmoil in PASSHE).
It sounds like, between your mom and sister, you’re covered for Pitt, Penn State, and Temple. Congratulations it’s not granted to many.
For Ohio, it’ll depend on your stats since you’ll be OOS - and thus your test scores will determine where you can afford to go.
Have you run the Net Price Calculators?
Take her to lunch or for a walk. Wait for a natural moment and then make your case. Allow her to disagree or counter but stick to your guns. Remind her college is your time to grow up into a young adult and you have to do what feels best to you and it will make you stronger but you’ll always come home to her. Then, offer he something like ice cream.
My daughter has a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition that needs monitoring - no meds, thankfully, but she needs to be aware of how she is feeling and whether certain symptoms start showing up. I have been lecturing her on what to look for, and begging her to listen to what her body is trying to tell her. I’m sure her doctor will give her the same lecture he has every year.
Luckily the furthest she is thinking of going is about three hours away - that’s an eternity in a crisis, but doable to get there if I need to. So as a mom, I understand where yours is coming from in terms of health. It’s hard to let go, especially when your child is not diligent about doing what he/she needs to in order to maintain good health.
I agree with others - start taking those meds responsibly. Find out more about your condition and what you can do for self-care. Talk to your mom about those issues, so she knows you are thinking about them and doing what you need to do.
From personal experience, I would say that at your age it is important for you to be able to choose where to go, barring financial constraints, regardless of health condition or even compliance with meds. However, this makes you, not your parents, responsible for the outcome, and you need to fully accept that.
Noone can force you to be compliant about meds. In fact, at 18, you can refuse them entirely. If I were your parent and you were not taking meds consistently, I would still keep the ball in your court and allow you to choose where to go, with full understanding that you handle any financial or other consequences to your actions or inactions : ) This is part of “letting go.” (Parents can help of course, not saying you are totally on your own, but you are at the helm.)
That said, one of mine eventually chose to be an hour away, and needed a lot of support in person for a few years (serious medical issues). I was so glad to be able to be there for her. And another one of mine was 3 hours away and ended up coming home, and I believe that a closer college might have been more sustainable since I would have been more aware of her situation (psych.). I visited frequently but there is no substitute for being an hour or so away.
In both cases, I took them to visit campuses that were very far away and they both chose the school closest to home, compared to others on the list Our relationship benefited because they could choose, and it also signaled the beginning of a new phase in life in which they were more responsible for themselves, despite challenges. In many ways, the parents need to understand this as much as the child. New patterns are needed and it is hard.
Some things to think about, somewhat unrelated to your original question:
I have a different take on the whole thing. It’s really hard for parents to transition from nurturing to providing support at a distance for an adult. This is a really hard age for parents. You are currently a junior in HS, roughly 17 years old I’m guessing. I think the best thing that you can do to transition your parents is to act the adult around her. Always. This decision on where to apply to doesn’t need to happen for at least 8 months. Try to find things that you can do that will surprise her with your maturity. Avoid being adversarial. It may not work, but at some point, you will have to have the “I love you and you’ve been terrific but the training wheels need to come off for my own personal growth” talk. Do what you can now to lay the groundwork for this talk now. Don’t push too hard now and scare her. Gradually take on more and more responsibility.
True-- WVU is a great school, my stepson loves it and got in-state tuition
@ Sarahpgh…Baldwin Wallace, John Carroll, Chatham,Saint Vincent, Gannon, Mercyhurst, Allegheny College,Duquesne, IUP, Penn State Erie and Washington and Jefferson are all good schools within 2 hours of Pittsburgh(in addition to the others mentioned)… My daughter is a senior and has yet to make the choice for a variety of reasons. I think you can find a great place within that distance!!! Stay open minded and you will be fine.
@toomanyteens - We WVians call WVU The University of Southern Pennsylvania. Our OOS tuition is less than many state flagships’ in-state and we are fairly generous with financial aid, so we get lots of OOS kids (and their $$$.) It’s no great shakes academically, but it would be a good choice for OP distance-wise.
If you have dreams about schools that are further away, that are affordable for your family, then take your medication and stay as well as you can consistently!
@Bestfriendsgirl My Step son is a petroleum engineering major and his curriculum seems to be pretty challenging. He graduated from a VA high school and received in state tuition because VA didn’t have that major available at its state schools. He also got a little more merit for ACT scores/GPA. It has been very affordable.
I was just throwing out some schools in states close to PA where OP might get merit.
Since I don’t know the OP’s stats or family budget for college, I suggested making a new thread with that information so people on CC can help make suggestions.
I wish we would live closer to Pittsburgh…
@toomanyteens VA doesn’t offer a petroleum engineering major? Not even at Virginia Tech? Wow! That surprises me. One of my S1’s friends was able to get in-state tuition at UTKnoxville for the same reason - no one, not even WVU, offered his major of biomedical engineering here.
I see this as your mom wants to be able to come and help out if necessary if you have a health issue. It would be hard for her to makea 3 hour car trip easily.
My daughter has social anxiety (and is on medication) but looked at schools within a 2 hour radius so she could get support if needed. There have been some medication snafus where I could run something out to her.
Despite me asking her if she had her meds with her both years so far have started off with her forgetting something.
Some people need to start their journey to indpendence with smaller steps.
But also consider technology to help you…there are apps that remind you to take your medication. Also if you have a weekly medication box (labeled Sun - Sat) you can see if you missed a dose.
Also I have seen kids that did okay at home with parental support completely fall apart at college when they were on their own. Not even make it to Thanksgiving. Your parents don’t want to throw away a semester of tuition. They want to set you up to be successful.
@Bestfriendsgirl Apparently not! (at least not when he started - he is about to graduate)
@bopper EXACTLY-- I ended up throwing away a year of tuition and she was not successful. So it is all well and good for people to say it is the child’s decision but not so much when is the parents dime.