Suitcase school?

<p>Fang Jr. is very interested in Kalamazoo. I noticed that it has a high percentage of students who are from Michigan. Do a lot of students leave on weekends? That would be no good for Fang Jr., as the weekend commute to Silicon Valley would be a bit far.</p>

<p>When S came home for Thanksgiving, it was his first time back since he left in August. It seems that few go home on weekends from what he's indicated. The City of Kalamazoo is considered a college town with plenty of student activity as there's a large D1 state school directly next door to K College. If I recall, this year's incoming freshman class was 1/3 OOS.</p>

<p>Fang, my son is a freshman at K. We're not from Michigan and while we're from the Midwest we live too far away for him to come home on a whim, although he was able to get home for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Anyway, he is having a great time and reports that there is always plenty to do on weekends. And although a majority of K kids are from Michigan, he has met people from all over the country and tells us that not being from Michigan is no impediment at all socially. I suspect the school also takes this into account in dorm assignments and placements. He's in a Quad setup. Two from Michigan, he's from Wisconsin and the fourth is from Oregon.</p>

<p>The question you raise was a slight concern of ours, too, but it has proven not to be an issue.</p>

<p>Good luck to your son.</p>

<p>I've known two Kalamazoo grads in my time here in the Hudson Valley, both extremely bright, creative types. One was a NYC native, the other came from California. Because of them I always thought of Kalamazoo having a student body that was reasonably well distributed from throughout the country like Skidmore or Vassar. That 71% come from Michigan is a real surprise.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that even if a kid comes from another part of the state, that can translate into a hefty trip back home. Given that K is located in the southwestern section of the lower peninsula, areas in the northern lower or upper peninsula are several hours away. Some kids coming from OOS would actually be in a better position to make a weekend trip home.</p>

<p>My S has many OOS friends so that in-state % does seem high to me. There's a distinct international population as well. If the term suitcase school could be used to describe K, I'd say it's from the huge % of kids coming/going from study abroad. S is a sophomore and said he's met many new upperclassmen who are back on campus this year. K also strongly believes in community as they have a 3-year on-campus residency requirement.</p>

<p>Kids going home on the weekends definitely isn't a problem. I live about 25 minutes from K, but I hate leaving Kalamazoo on the weekends because all of my friends are still there. </p>

<p>So it's definitely not something to worry about =]</p>

<p>it doesn't seem like that many people leave. there're always a few people who go home every weekend, but I would say most stay around.</p>