Local vs College vs Gap Year

I completely agree. The OP says that he can afford the costs, so I don’t know what the issue is. Maybe he just wants to know that he’s a valued, priority student. We just don’t know. Another student I’m working with, recently appealed his award from a SLAC. The school bumped the award up by a mere $2500 and that made all the difference. You never know. Each situation can have unique circumstances.