We recently moved to Chapel Hill as a family and while our eldest son is in Ohio for college, our youngest (12, 6th grade) is already vowing to stay close to home. The moment he stepped onto Franklin St he became a full blown Tarheel. Even dyed his hair Carolina blue!! UNCCH is definitely his first choice school.
I know he’s only 12 and things can (and probably will) change, but is there anyone who can speak to their experience being from Chapel Hill and going to school here as well? Was it awkward ? or was it awesome?
DH is adamant he wants DS to have the full college experience of being on his own like his older brother. He thinks us being a 5 min drive away will be detrimental to that. I think we’ll simply have to have some ground rules. I think it’s ridiculous to write off an excellent school ( not to mention affordable) just b/c it’s in your backyard.
Thoughts?
A LOT of my son’s friends are from within a 20 minute drive. It’s mostly an advantage, because when they want to go home, it’s a short drive away. None of them have considered not living on campus, or moving back home after a year. In fact, most of them will be in a condo complex off campus, even though they could easily commute from home. It’s all how you choose to do it- let the kid take the lead, let him/her decide how often you meet and all that. You’re right, there’s no earthly reason to NOT go to UNC just because it’s next-door!!
I thought this might be the case. Good to know my impression turned out to be true. Obviously, it’s a very diverse school, but it’s also a fairly small-ish state and a big school so w/ 75% of the UG population being from NC I figured a good number would be from relatively nearby.
I get my DH’s point, but I don’t think it outweighs the positives.