<p>Like any other high school student I had big dreams to get away for college. Anything to get away from Utah. So I applied and got in everywhere I had applied to, including JHU and Berkeley. The major downer is the fact that the prestigious schools offered me no scholarships and grants just loans. All the other schools did offer some free money, but not nearly enough. So I made the decision that I couldn't come out of undergrad with that much debt, and I just had to stay here at the University of Utah. At first I was fine with the decision. The science and research programs are pretty solid, and it is free. Now, however, I feel like I cheated myself by staying here. I'm only like 15mins from home, and I feel like I'm just going to have no real experience.</p>
<p>So who is not going away for college? Why aren't you? and do you feel it was a good or bad decision for you?</p>
<p>I’ll be about 2 hours away from home. I didn’t even consider actually going out of state because I don’t want to have to adjust to a new place and be too far away from my family. I think it’s a good choice for me because it’s not like I’ll have my mom around all the time (it’s not close enough that she’d just stop by to say hi after work), but it’s close enough that she can still help me if I need it. Another reason why I chose it is because I got an awesome scholarship.</p>
<p>Are you still going to live in the dorms? Just because you live by home doesn’t mean that you have to be there all the time. Just look at the bright side: you can have homecooked meals anytime, you can go home and have privacy, if you forget something it won’t take long to get it, you don’t have to pay to ahve laundry done, and travel expenses will be low You can always transfer later.</p>
<p>I’ve commuted for all my years of college, and I do feel like I’ve lost out on something. Then again, dorm life doesn’t happen here as much as it does in other countries.</p>
<p>I’m about an hour from home, but I love it. I was in the same boat–I wanted so badly to get out of Iowa and was accepted to some amazing schools. In the end ISU ended up being much much much cheaper and my parents decided after the fact that they would only pay the equivalent of what they pay for ISU, so I “ended up” here but now that I’m here, I wouldn’t want to go to school anywhere else. For undergrad at least. I fully plan on going to grad school out of state and living my adult life outside of this state–preferably on the east coast, the Pacific NW, Colorado, or Utah. </p>
<p>But I love everything about this school–the people, the classes, the sports, the activities, the campus, the nightlife, everything. I grew up cheering for this school and going to summer camps here so I was plenty familiar with it. I go home maybe once a semester, sometimes only for a weekend or two in the entire year. It’s possible to go to school close to home and not miss out on the experience.</p>
<p>Well technically since I went to my school in the summer, I’m not “going away” for college. But actually, I’m only two hours away from where I come from.</p>
<p>I originally wanted to get the hell away from home, and went to a school 5-6 hours away (driving). I left after the first semester, and am now 20-30 mins. away from home. I love having the option to come home whenever I want. It’s also much easier to bring stuff to school/home. While it’s in state, it’s not like high school part II/13th grade, because most people from my HS go to schools out of state. I’ve met all new people, and it’s been great.</p>
<p>I also applied to schools far away, and am somehow ending up at a school that is 15 minutes from my grandparents house, and 1 hour from my house. My goal is to come home 1 weekend a month. However, I wouldn’t mind going to my grandparents house every now and then for dinner. They wanted me to live with them, but my excuse was I paid for a dorm when submitting a deposit because I didn’t know. Luckily, money isn’t an issue. Is my goal of only going home 1 weekend a month realistic? I haven’t told my parents yet…</p>
<p>I’m not for another two years, and even then I’ll only be going two hours away, still in-state. I’ve never had any real desire to go out of state, and I wouldn’t even be going as far as I am but their program for what I want to do is way better (the uni near me doesn’t have a very good music program). I’d rather live at home and commute like I am right now (I’m in community college) but obviously a four-hour daily commute over mountains would not go so well. I’ve never really understood the need that so many people have to get away. I love where I live. Plus, having free everything is definitely pretty good. :D</p>
<p>I’m going to a college only like 20 min from my house, I grew up always knowing I was going to that college. I’m accepted into it too! I’d rather stay close because the community there is everything, I really don’t see any reason to go to any other states anyway unless it was Hawaii or something.</p>
<p>Bizarrely enough, out of the seven schools I applied to and were accepted at, the one that gave me the best deal (and also the one that was the best size for me) is ten minutes from my house. I would still say that I’m going away, though, because I’m living on campus and it’s still moving outside of my house, even if it isn’t very far.</p>
<p>yeah i was in the same boat..i wanted to go to wellesley college in boston more than anything but they didn’t give me enough financial aid, so i ended up at my in-state school 30 minutes away. it happens to be UNC-chapel hill, so i definitely got a good deal academically, but i was worried about going to the same school as a ton of my high school classmates and i was afraid i wouldn’t end up feeling like i was “away.” i was definitely wrong, though–carolina is big enough that i can choose who i hang out with and far enough away that i still feel like i’ve left the nest. i came home for maybe two weekends a semester and my parents came up a few times for football games (i’m on the colorguard) or to take me out to dinner. i’m really happy where i ended up even though i wasn’t so enthusiastic to begin with.</p>
<p>I never went away. In Canada it’s different… 99% of people just go to their closest University. It isn’t really advantageous to go to any big University over another for undergrad, so no one really cares. Most people commute, also.</p>
<p>Similar situation for me. I’m from Pittsburgh and went to the Univ of Pittsburgh, which is roughly 15 mins from my home. I was very bummed out at first, as my top two choices didn’t work out due to financial reasons. I figured within a year I’d transfer elsewhere. </p>
<p>A funny thing happened though - I loved Pitt. I live close to home, but only see my parents 3-5 times per semester. Occasionally they’ll take me out to dinner on the weekend or I’ll run home for something, but generally I don’t see them unless I absolutely have to. </p>
<p>I’d suggest you do the same - keep your distance and don’t spend any weekends at home. Even though you’re only 15 minutes away, act as though you’re 15 hours away. I don’t know how familiar you are with Utah’s campus, but even having grown up in Pittsburgh, I’d never walked around the Pitt campus very much. It was like being in a new city all together. </p>
<p>PM me if you need any more advice, and fyi, I’m going to be a Senior.</p>
<p>My mom thinks that she’s going to come by once every week or so and take me out to dinner off campus and get my dirty laundry. Should I even avoid that? It seems like a pretty good deal for me.</p>
<p>OKgirl - No, if you’re ok with that, then why fight a free meal/clean laundry? In regard to the OP though, who said he felt like he wasn’t “getting away”, then it might be best to do so.</p>
You can always transfer later.</p>