12/9/2023 0 Comments College far away from home![]() You have a new city and a new environment to discover and explore and gradually make your own territory. ![]() You have a clean slate, so to speak, to find new friends and grow intellectually and socially. New Experiences: Nearly all the people you meet will be new to you. You will need that space to become the person you’re growing into in this exciting time of your life. Consįamiliar: If family and friends are close by, are you more likely to depend on already formed friendships rather than developing new ones? Will you rely overmuch on parental support when you should be experiencing the world on your own? The same familiarity that can be a help can also be a hindrance in that you might be too comfortable and reluctant to become more independent.ĭepends on the Parents: If your parents are mother hen types and insist on visiting you all the time or having you come home more than you’d wish, then moving farther away might help establish more space for you to grow and develop. In state tuition can make a big difference in the cost of college. Going to an in state college could cost around $15,000, an out of state college could cost up to $25,000, and attending a private college can run you $35,000 a year and up. Colleges often have scholarships for in state students as well. In State Tuition: Attending a college in your own state means a lower tuition than out of state public colleges would charge. This extra level of comfort could make the transition to college life easier for you. When you’re not that far away from home, jumping in the car for a quick trip home for face-to-face time isn’t a huge problem. Family and friends are close enough to lend support if necessary. Figuring out finances is a big part of going to college, and facing the reality of your own personal finances is one of those necessary steps in growing up and becoming independent.įamiliar: If you live at your college, but it’s within a few hours of your home, you’ll have a sense of familiarity. If you’re 3,000 miles away, getting home for a weekend would be possible, but prohibitively expensive. If you live at college, but it’s only an hour or three to drive home, then heading home for a weekend because you’re homesick isn’t a big deal. However, if you live at home, you’d save the expense of room and board, which could come to $8,000 to $10,000 a year, or approximately $40,000 for the whole four years. Living at home and commuting to school would save you even more, but most students heading off to college want to live at the college as well. Saving Money: There’s no doubt that staying close to home will save you money in travel costs. In other words, there’s no right or wrong on this question, just do what you consider best for you. If you apply to schools far away, consider yourself adventurous. If you pick a school close to home, relax, you’ll be in the main stream. Over half of all college students attend a school within 100 miles of home. Even if you choose to attend a college close to home, you may not get home all that often because you are busy building a new life at school.Įighty-six percent of freshman college students chose a school within 500 miles of their home, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. So she went to a college close to home until her home moved away from her. Then her family decided to move to another state as her father was offered a better job there. Yet she almost never went home since she didn’t have a car. A good friend of mine went to a small private college that was only 40 minutes away from her home. Whether you’re most comfortable somewhat close to home or desire a brand new situation farther from home is something only you can decide.īefore we delve into the pros and cons, here’s a couple of things to keep in mind. ![]() You’ll be growing and changing in many ways, such as becoming more independent, making more decisions unilaterally and adapting to your new life. The next few years will be an important time for you. The main thing to keep in mind is that you want the college you pick to be the right one for you academically and socially. Among the myriad decisions you have to make concerning college, a big one is how close to home, or how far away do you want to be? Like all other decisions, this one has pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses for each situation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |