<p>There's definitely a prevailing view here that it's silly and unnecessary to leave the area for college. I can't tell you how many weird looks and responses I've gotten when I say my son is going to Iowa. I try to express excitement about everyone's college plans. Though my son wouldn't consider going to school in-state (and I agree with him), I don't give people incredulous looks and say, "Why would he/she want to go THERE?" when someone tells me their kid is going to school in-state.</p>
<p>"Whether my kids decide to hang a shingle within 60 miles of my house or 600 miles, doesn't mean they're more or less independent. Just that they like living here."</p>
<p>I agree with you Doubleplay. As I said in an earlier post, I want my girls to make that decision on their own, and that it be an informed decision. How can one decide it the old hometown is where they really want to be, when they've never experienced anything else?</p>
<p>Bethievt--I also receive some strange looks when I tell people my daughter is heading to Minnesota for college. (We're in Kentucky.) I just shrug them off. Like your son, my daughter sees this as a priceless opportunity to experience something other than what she's known for nearly 18 years. It should be an amazing, if not always comfortable, time for them to grow and learn. ... I, for one, did not venture out of my personal comfort zone all those years ago when I attended a local college. In certain ways, I believe that experience stunted my growth. It took me forever to gain a sense of independence and the confidence that I could survive--even thrive--on my own. In my case, a loving parental boot-print in the posterior might have sent me farther afield for a far more enriching college experience. But that's just me. Certainly, what's best for one young person is not what's best for all. ... By the way, congratulations on your son's wonderful college choice. Grinnell is awesome! Tell him we look forward to the Quiz Bowl competitions with Carleton!</p>
<p>Hindoo</p>
<p>Thanks! As you know, I think Carleton is one of the best schools in the country (and Grinnell, of course, is another). I don't think you need to worry about your daughter staying in love with it. When I talk to people who have gone there, the main problem they remember was having to leave when they graduated.</p>
<p>Carleton is on my list of under-rated schools, fwiw; if it were in New England, it would be rated more highly in the popular mind. Ditto Grinnell. And Macalester. And Whitman. And Scripps.</p>
<p>Good list. Among LACs I'd add Reed, Lawrence, and College of Wooster.</p>