<p>I am torn between two schools...all of my best friends throughout high school are attending a decent state school near our homes. I feel like this would be a blast and have dreamt of it for quite some time. On the other hand, I have pretty solid grades and test scores that could get me into a more academically prestiged private school that would help me out in finding a better job after college (right?). Should I be willing to sacrifice my friends just for a better education? Is going to a far away school alone that bad? </p>
<p>Have you been accepted, or is this theoretical/next year’s problem? If you haven’t applied yet, go ahead and apply to both types of schools. Visit a few schools that aren’t so close and see what you think. Remember – you will make new friends in college.</p>
<p>Also, it depends on what you plan to do after college. Do you plan to live in the area where you grew up? How is the academic area you plan to study at the state school? Also, is this your state flagship or not?</p>
<p>It also may depend on which state flagship it is. If you are in California (Berkeley), Michigan (U of M), Virginia (UVA or W&M), North Carolina (UNC), Texas (UT-Austin), for example, then you should probably just pick the state school if you think you will be happy there.</p>
<p>But my advice is even if you decide to go further away, don’t worry about the “prestigious” part. Go to a place that is a good fit for you - academically, socially, environment, type of school (university vs liberal arts college), cost, etc.</p>
<p>Given that you did not name the schools, nor your potential areas of academic interest, nor your eventual post-graduation goals, nor the net price at each school, there really is not enough information for anyone here to reply much beyond “it depends”.</p>
<p>Is there a cost difference?</p>