<p>There’s been a request for some discussion about kids who have drawn a circle with home as the center, and are adamant about remaining within it, or looking only outside it, as they narrow their college lists. </p>
<p>There are related threads, I know, but some new parents have asked for a specific look at this aspect of the search.</p>
<p>I understand there will be coffeecake. And coffee. So - thoughts?</p>
<p>I have no problem with either choice, as every child is different. My D would not even consider any colleges in her home state, she wanted to experience something new. I would not be surprised if my S stayed closer to home. There are so many choices, if a child wants to limit themselves by geographic area, why not? As long as there are acceptable choices in the area considered, I think it is fine.</p>
<p>That’s a good point, mamabear. I had no problem with D’s three-hour radius, but the wealth of choices inside that circle is amazing. I can imagine having a very different reaction if we lived in a different part of the country.</p>
<p>S1 wanted a college within a 3- hour radius and had plenty of choices.
S2 goes to college within walking distance from home. His friends are from different states, all of them very, very far from the college.</p>
<p>“I can imagine having a very different reaction if we lived in a different part of the country.”
You bet. A three hour radius would net one other option worth considering. Down here we extend it to a 12 hour radius. At least that gets you to LA, Denver. Dallas. :)</p>
<p>I’m envious. My D drew a 6-hour radius and wants to be <em>outside</em> it.</p>
<p>I like the idea of including some schools that are not in the student’s preferred radius but otherwise seem like a perfect fit. By the time May rolls around, kids’ preferences may have changed. I think having as much choice as possible is nice.</p>
<p>2blue, that’s just where we are with S1, actually. Most of his choices are inside the same circle his D used, but he’s seriously interested in two that are outside.</p>
<p>Of course I want him to find the place that fits him best. But I’d be dishonest if I said that the distance of one of the schools on his list doesn’t give me qualms, privately. I don’t air them in the house - just venting them here.</p>
<p>D wanted a different part of the country - beyond the 3-hour radius. S wants a cold climate- definitely beyond a 3-hour radius. Both of S’s best friends are looking out-of-state, too. If everyone goes where they currently prefer, one will be in southern California, one will be in the midwest, and the third will be in Boston.</p>
<p>My children drew the circle, and I’m thrilled they are willing/ready to fly that far from the nest.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, though my kids all ended up 1,000 miles+ from home, they have friends who are very close and have had the same college experience. In our family we had no boundaries set by either us or the kids. We sort of let the college search find its own level and they all ended up in the Midwest, while home is on the East coast. We saw schools an hour from home and schools in California, as well as many in between. What we have observed is that even the kids who stayed in NYC (we live in the suburbs) treat being at school as if they were far away. Many only come home during school breaks, do their laundry in the dorm and have dinner with the parents only on rare occasions, even if Mom or Dad work in the City. I think that whether or not a student wants to stay or not stay within a particular radius, they should explore whatever schools appeal to them, and let the decision flow from there. Financial issues aside, our feeling has been that from college forward this is their life and they should have control over where and how they live it. If, however, finances dictate that adding travel costs to the equation put some schools out of reach, then I totally understand limits on the search.
What a high school junior is comfortable with in terms of distance from home may not be what a high school graduate is comfortable with. That’s why I believe the wide berth is necessary unless there are other limiting factors.</p>
<p>fireflyscout - S wants a cold climate? send him my way.</p>
<p>csleslie, I hear you. We moved to Texas from the northeast. This week we visited 3 schools in state and drove 999.8 miles (exactly). I’m trying to promote a trip back north and if we were to visit all 6 schools and include 2 trips in the area to see friends we’d still be under 600 miles. My H and I feel that if you’re going to be 4-5 hours from home, why not hop on a plane and be some place special (which isn’t to say we didn’t like the schools we saw – we did).</p>
<p>My son really wants to stay in-state. Of course, this is Texas, so that could still mean several hours away. Is it wrong to want him to spread the wings a little? We haven’t done a lot of traveling as a family, so I think that’s kind of limited his ambitions.</p>
<p>We live in Cleveland and we let our daughter choose where to apply, and now she has found a perfect program at a school that seems perfect to her - UT in Austin. Our family considers it “too far to drive” - it is two long days of driving - but she just talked on Facebook with a senior from the Cleveland area who goes to UT and he says Little Rock is a good half way point when you are driving. (I told the D I think maybe his parents are not driving for two days to drop him off and then driving for two days to get back home - maybe he is bringing his car down there since he is a senior - probably has an apartment and a job or internship.) Two long days of driving is is “too far to drive” one way. At least Southwest Airlines serves both cities - no direct flights but relatively inexpensive flights. I think a big school is a good fit for her, and I think Ohio State was too familiar and too full of friends - and the program she will be in is perfect for her. I think we will be all right.</p>
<p>We did consider distance as a criteria- but that was more linked to accessibility ( driving mountain rds for three hours would be lower ranked than a school that was 4X as far but was easily accessible by air) & location ( which included rural/urban).</p>
<p>Transportation was also a criteria- both to/from & around the college. She didn’t want the expense of needing a car for either.</p>
<p>emeraldkity, that’s another good point - accessibility vs. simple distance or time. I’m afraid we’ve been terribly spoiled by the fact that D can get on a train five minutes from our house, and get off (after a couple of very simple, all-indoors transfers) at the foot of her campus. Not only has it been convenient for all of us, but it’s been a nice step towards independence for her, too.</p>
<p>My son’s primary concern was academic - he was looking for top computer programs, he didn’t care how far away they were, but for his safeties we looked at convenience. Both RPI and WPI are 3-4 hour drives and within an hour or two of family. The fact that Pittsburgh has a good airport and that the drive isn’t impossible were plusses, but not dealmakers.</p>
<p>I guess I would like D to be more adventurous and I have some ideas about schools that might be perfect for her if only she’s be willing to go cross country. On the other hand, I really want my “baby” as close to home as possible and am secretly relieved that she wants to be near us too.</p>
<p>Also re: accessibility.
My kids are 8 years apart & I appreciated that D#1 was close enough so that her sister could easily take the train ( either alone or with a friend) down to visit. It gave D#2 more independence in a controlled environment as well.
( sometimes I would drive down also, but go home earlier)</p>
<p>I also appreciate that during holiday times/bad weather, the delays are not extensive.
I also was very thankful that she didn’t need a car although she does carpool with friends to come back to Seattle occasionally. My nephew attended school in Eastern Wa, and I heard many stories about falling asleep at the wheel on long car trips back to Pullman after events in Seattle. scary. He has wrecked his car, but no one was seriously injured thank goodness.</p>
<p>My D wanted out of the area, wouldn’t consider northern New England, Rhode Island (had she never heard of Brown???) and a few other states that for some reason didn’t appeal to her (I know, I know…). She ended up at a great mid sized university 15 hours from home. She is transferring primarily for academic reasons which I completely support, but now will be 4.5 hours from home. With the prices in gas, and having a friend who gets buddy passes, it will cost more for her to drive home/back during the year than to fly home/back from Pittsburgh. Sigh. What I liked about her being in a large city was that she got to experience a different area of the country with its weather, cultures and quirks, found her way all around it, and added to her life experience. She knows Boston well so going there would not have been any big deal (she grew up in a tiny town in a rural area).<br>
D #2 wants out of New England if possible, likes DC…who knows. I definitely support them seeing and experiencing another part of the country and something other than a rural state.</p>