Colleges far from home

[thumper1]

We asked our kids to apply to a school either no further than three hours drive away OR within one hour of a relative or close family friend. We just felt that if need be, someone should be able to get to the kids somewhat quickly. DS went to school 2 1/2 hours away. DD went across the country about 25 minutes away from a good friend and near tons of cousins. And it worked well for both of them (and us).

[dadofsam]

I went to college a 2-hour train ride from home, which was about as far away from home as most of my classmates went. But that was in the Dark Ages.

If we had limited our S as suggested by other posters, he would have been limited to UCs, given the size of our state and the lack of many private colleges in it. That would have been good for our pocketbook (and ther are fine schools) but not necessarily best for him. As it was, we gave him no limits on distance and so he went to a school that was just right for him and, as I like to say, just about as far as he could get from his parents and still be in the same country.

And now he's again moving across the whole country this time for his first job.

[drizzit]

If I had a 6 hour drive limit on college choice I would have had 2 colleges to pick from.

We did not limit sons choices at all. I don't understand that. I did kind of discourage anything in the east, Mississippi river and beyond due to travel costs but one son applied to Northwestern and Penn anyway. He would have been free to go had he chosen them and the money had been right.

[MommaJ]

One thing that would concern me today about distant schools is the chaotic state of air travel. Some airlines are are on the brink of failing, others are cutting back on flights, which will make all the remaining ones more crowded and difficult to book, with fewer bargains to be found. The fuel adjustment add-ons are going through the roof, with no end in sight. And even if the actual flight is only two or three hours, with the time required to get to and from the airports on both ends, normal airport wait times and frequent delays, each flight basically kills an entire day. My son always took the train or drove home for Thanksgiving and winter and spring breaks, and was able to come back for a few family weddings, his sister's Bat Mitzvah, and his grandmother's funeral, in each case without any hassle. He even just popped in for the heck of it on rare occasions. If he had to fly each time, many of these trips just wouldn't have happened. My daughter has other reasons to stay relatively close to home, but even if she didn't, I'd strongly push her in that direction.

[NewHope33]

One criteria from D's college selection list:
"No school within 500 miles of home."

After several beatings she agreed to reduce that to "within five hours of home." Tough kid.

[SJTH]

We have chosen not to limit our children and, as previously mentioned, the chaotic state of air travel is increasingly becoming a concern. We're west coasters, and S1 goes to college in NY (no direct flights), where his connections all last year were nail-biters. S2 is looking at East coast schools as well, for a music specialty. Sigh. He is at camp in Rochester now, and had a nightmarish trip--1st plane landed with only 1 wheel at O'hare and took off again to circle. Connection to Rochester had to make an emergency landing (someone passed out) in Buffalo...so they sat on the ground in Buffalo for 90 mins, then made the hop to Rochester. Hmmm...maybe that will incent him to stay closer to home????

[ChiSquare]

Having the same qualms, SJTH. We're in the midwest, but D would like to attend college on one of the coasts, and the most attractive colleges (to her) to date are all remote - i.e., more flights legs, more travel time, more money.

I had told her previously that she should only apply to schools that she would like to attend, then we would pay for the least expensive of those that accept her. (She could "upgrade" if she pays the difference.) I intend to factor travel costs into the equation, so that may be a subtle push for the closer colleges on her list.

[3togo]

^^^
yes what is right for one student may be very different than another student (close or far from home is only one example). That said, for my family it will not be the parents who decide the child should be close to home or if is OK if they look further away ... it will be the child deciding if they want to be close to home ... or whatever geographic decision they make.

[thumper1]

Yes, air travel is an issue. The increasing costs are much more than what we estimated two years ago. It will cost us twice as much to fly DD home this Christmas as last. No..the school did not adjust her financial aid to reflect this. AND there are much fewer flights to choose from, never mind the worry about whether the airline will be in business by December.

[nativelady]

My parents told me that I could only go to a school in the state of Oregon, our state of residency. It was just not something that I wanted to do, for several reasons.
I'll be attending the University of Pennsylvania in a few weeks.