<p>What do you guys think would be the benefits/downfalls of either decision?</p>
<p>benefits: you can go home on weekends
downfall: you can go home on weekends</p>
<p>I think going a few hours away is best because youre close enough to home so that youre not isolated from youre family but far enough away to where you can be independent.</p>
<p>The main reason im not going to Tulane (less than 30 minute drive) or LSU (about an hour) is that Im sure my parents will try to smother me. </p>
<p>Many want to be close to home because they have a safety net that they can always fall back on if things get out of control. Others want to “spread their wings” by going to that is farther away so that they can experience life for themselves.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on your relationship with your parents. I originally wanted to go to a school out of state and at least a 3 hour plane ride or more away. I ended up getting a better deal at a school about an hour away and decided to attend. I don’t see my parents anymore than my friends at school do and I prefer to not go home as often. My parents respect this and agree that I’m in college and they want me to have a life at college. On the other hand, it is convenient for going home for vacations and things not having to worry about flying. It is also nice because I can go home for Mother’s Day on Sunday and then come back to school right after to finish up my finals.
If your parents are cool and will let you have your space than going to school locally is not too bad. If you would go home on the weekends then I think it is detrimental because you will not get the true college experience.</p>
<p>my parents are about an hour away and they really don’t bother me at all. i do go home more often (once or twice a semester not counting breaks) but i really like it because i’m able to go home easily for things that my family wants me to be around for. also, as we’re all getting ready to leave i’m not stressing out about finding storage. my parents are driving to pick me up and packing for me lol.</p>
<p>Personally, I would go far away, but that’s just my personal preference I guess.</p>
<p>It’s just that when a person goes to school close to home, I have seen kids go home more often, because they can. Not just because of parents or a “get-away” from college stress but also because commonly a few high school buddies end up sticking around your hometown and it’s a convenient social safety net as well. I have seen this multiple times. It is certainly not everyone though.</p>
<p>I don’t think distance should be the main factor in your decision - I mean if one school seems a lot better or has a great culture/ atmosphere than go there, but given all things equal, I’d choose the college at least 3 hours away or out-of-state just because you are really ‘throwing yourself’ into it. You can also do that close to home, obviously as well. But by going far away you don’t have to rely on your self-discipline not to go home, lol.</p>
<p>
About sums up my thoughts.</p>
<p>It really depends on your parents.</p>
<p>If they’re the overbearing kind who will want to visit every single weekend and bring you dinner on the weekdays, then I’d say go as far away as you can. If not, go to the closer school. All my life I wanted to get away from home for college for the sole purpose of escaping my parents, but I ended up at a university an hour and a half away, and it was an excellent choice. I don’t have to go home, but when I want to (once every few months, or for holidays) it’s much easier to jump in the car with a bag of clothes and head home than worry about driving for hours or catching a plane.</p>
<p>And you can bring your laundry back to mom :D</p>
<p>Far Away: You will be forced to become a much more independent person and get a much broader perspective on life.</p>
<p>Staying Close: It will be easier to get used to.</p>
<p>I’d also say: Depends on parents.
My parents are somewhat clingy, so I’m glad they can’t visit me/ask me to come home. Don’t misunderstanding - going home for a weekend is nice. But after some time you remember why exactly you wanted to leave… :-)</p>
<p>Yeah this is a question that is now a increasing concern of mines. My top choice, ( Michigan State University) is only about 10 minutes from my house. Second choice, about a hour. I really question my top choice, due to the distance from my house. I do think further the distance ( at least a hour, or even 30 minutes) can make you feel more independent, more feel as of being in college, and maybe somewhat part of the college life experience.</p>
<p>I agree with Coolbreeze. My friend goes to UCLA and he lives 2 miles away. He says it does not feel too close at all. He is part of a frat and there are so many on campus activities that he does not even have time to go home. He says its like a bubble. I am not going to UCLA because I live a couple of blocks away, so I want to experience something a little bit different. USC is far enough. At first I thought I wanted to get as far away as possible from my mom, but I realized that it may be kind of hard to get used to things at first because I am really close with her. But, for grad school I am definitely going to the east.</p>
<p>Yeah, for me, two choices were ASU or U of A. Although it didn’t really influence my decision very much (I’ve more or less known where I was going since I was a kid), ASU is a mere 20 minutes away, whereas U of A is a 120 minute drive. I like the idea of being away, but not too far. It’s far enough to where my parents won’t be intruding, yet also close enough that if there was an emergency, I’ve got them as a safety net.</p>
<p>Just from personal experience: Going to college close to home doesn’t mean you will be home. Both of my brothers went to college 10 minutes from where we live, in the same town! Neither of them came home that much, and they basically would see us when they felt like it. They were definitely on their own.</p>
<p>I’ll be going to college just under an hour and a half away. I originally thought I wanted to be 2-3 hours away, but that’s not how things worked out. I feel that it’s definitely far away that I’ll feel like I’ve gone somewhere, but close enough that I can go home when I want/need to and it won’t be a big hassle.</p>
<p>When you go to college far away there will be times when you wish you could just go home for a weekend. When you are closer you probably won’t go home that often but atleast you have the option once in a while. Im about 5 hrs away from my house and since I don’t have a car with me I can only go home on breaks. You get used to it, but every now and then you get this urge to go home for a weekend.</p>
<p>I don’t plan to annoy my child with visits, but I like that he can walk out of his dorm, take a train, and walk home to our house if he feels like it. I went to school about 45 minutes away from home and I NEVER let my parents come visit me!</p>
<p>I go to school 5 hours away. I can technically get home by bus or train on weekends, but it’s a huge hassle. Despite this, I went home once every few weeks my first semester of freshman year at college. Now I go home about once or twice a semester, as well as during breaks.</p>
<p>I had the option of going across the country for college, but I am glad I did not take it. If two schools are similar in the academic opportunities (and etc.) that they offer, I would advise attending the one closer to home. There may be times in college when you really want to get away from your roommate(s), or when you really want privacy, or maybe you’re just sick of dining hall food and want a nice home-cooked meal. Also, you’ll see your friends go home to attend Mom’s birthday dinner or something, and you might get homesick. You might also end up being indifferent towards or even disliking your college experience. At these times, being able to just leave everything and go home at the drop of a hat is truly priceless.</p>