<p>I live in MD and am pretty sure that all the schools I apply to are going to be in MA, RI, NY, NJ, MD, DC, IL, WI, MN, GA, or CA
I'm really interested in a couple schools in CA, but I'm really not sure if I want to fly to college... I could probably drive to the rest, except maybe MN.. </p>
<p>so what I'm asking..... did you fly to college and what was your experience like or are you considering schools that you would have to fly to?</p>
<p>I'll tell you our experience. Flying to a college is easier on the parents but harder on the student. Everything you own has to be shipped or carried. If you have a musical instrument--ship or buy it a seat on the plane. If you leave the dorm and need to outfit an apartment, it's more of a pain. Parents only have to get you to the airport, but you have to cab it or whatever at the other end.</p>
<p>If you are within driving distance you can come home more often (unless airfare is no object.) Of course, now that flying is more trouble than ever, the definition of driving distance has expanded. If more than one kid from your area goes to your school, parental car pools are an option. </p>
<p>That being said, if your dream school is across the country, and no closer option exists...go for it. Depends on which side of flyover country you live on, I guess.</p>
<p>Although I grew up near Washington, D.C., I attended school in Washington State. As such, I traveled across country several times a year. That said, I found the experience enlightening, especially the contrast between East and West Coast. It enabled me to analyze myself in a manner that would not otherwise be possible. </p>
<p>My advice would be to attend school in California. With the caveat, however, that it will undoubtedly challenge you more than if you stay close to home. You will learn to travel light, and, in the end, see that the aforementioned differences are lesser than previously expected.</p>
<p>im in mn and plan to pack all my belongings into my car and drive donw to cali for college.</p>
<p>Flying to college is easier, especially if you live near an airport and/or plan to travel in the winter. You can always ship stuff via UPS, FedEx, Greyhound, etc. </p>
<p>Back in the stone ages, I helped someone (twice) drive from the U of Detroit to the San Francisco Bay Area (my home / their summer internship in Silicon Valley). It was fun and adventurous to drive cross-country when I was young and carefree, but I fell asleep at the wheel on both trips. It's just too tiring!</p>
<p>Back then, gas was 32-35 cents a gallon and motel rooms were $19-20 a night.</p>
<p>Who wants to drive cross-country (home and back) for Christmas break? Even if your parents drive you, it is still a rediculously long round-trip for them.</p>
<p>If you feel that it's necessary to have your car at college, that might be a different story. If you plan to take your time to sightsee and/or visit friends or relatives along the way, then driving might be fun.</p>
<p>But it's never fun in the winter !!!</p>
<p>Just a thought - with gas prices as high as they are now, it probably won't be much cheaper to drive rather than fly cross country. Plus with the cost of motels and eating out and the effort expended on keeping up with such a long distance... I'm applying to two, or maybe three, schools that are out of driving range for me. I don't know if I'll even consider them in the spring, but it'll be nice to have some options available to me just in case.</p>
<p>FedEx Ground is very inexpensive.</p>
<p>5.0 Mustang..what CA college has parking for freshman?<br>
My son is in college in Boston, we are in CA. It hasn't been that difficult..Three of his friends are also in Boston...stuff can be shipped, etc. I just saw one of the Moms at the UPS Store...both of us shipping stuff to the kids..</p>
<p>I know USC does</p>
<p>Kid flew to CA a couple weeks ago--we shipped a few boxes. It was quite easy. Much cheaper than driving, though unless you have a lot for plane tickets, you might only come home for Xmas and summer --and family is not going to visit.</p>