@ucbalumnus Yes, and they just tell me things like “we just don’t want you to be far away from us,” but I’m sure that there’s more contributing factors.
@millie210 Thank you! If I do stay in-state, the university is about ~10 minutes’ drive away, and they wouldn’t let me live in a dorm (since housing doesn’t come cheap and I’m so close), so I would stay in my parents’ house. I’m actually a first-generation Asian, so we haven’t grown up in the town that I’m in; I don’t understand the strong connection that my parents have with it 
@mom2collegekids I realize that college is very expensive, hence why I have offered to contribute. I have applied to any outside scholarship that I could find were applicable to me, and I am currently considering tutoring as a part-time job in order to take care of my college expenses. However, my parents abhor the thought of me having a job, claiming it will “divert” my attention from my studies.
@happymomof1 I definitely understand why a parent would be concerned; when I put myself in my parents’ shoes, I fully understand where their worries come from. I have, again, offered to pay for my own transportation and regularly keep in touch through means such as FaceTime, texts, phone calls, etc. My parents were fully aware of the fact I applied to fourteen colleges (about half of them being Ivy League/similarly competitive schools) and the fact that I have, thus far, been accepted to three of those schools.