<p>I actually think this was a valuable discussion although I’m sorry that people’s feelings were bruised in the process. When visiting colleges with my own kids I saw a couple of campuses that I loved- which were not on the radar screen when I was in HS just because of my parent’s East Coast bias coupled with the general lack of sophistication about college at that time. It’s not that my parents set a distance limit or would have been horrified at the thought of going far away- just that kids we knew went to college on a Greyhound bus or on Amtrak (or on the T if you were lucky enough to go to college in Boston) so folks weren’t kicking the tires on Beloit or Northwestern or Kenyon or Miami or Rhodes or any of the very fine schools that I’ve come to learn more about as an adult.</p>
<p>I went to Brown, as I’ve mentioned before, and despite being only an hour away from home it could have been another planet. I had never even heard of half the places my classmates were from- and had certainly never known anyone who had a summer house anywhere. And they weren’t all rich or affluent- but even the other “scholarship kids” were exotic. (child of two missionaries? military brats?) And the grad students even more so- they were old enough to have their own stories, not just “child of”.</p>
<p>We live in a flatter world now, so I think kids do need to venture a little further or stretch themselves consciously to break out of the confines of their HS existence. I’m sure OP’s D would do that at either place. But personally I found Brown and Providence to be a fantastically supportive combination. </p>
<p>Best of luck to your D.</p>