Airline and even flight dependent according to my husband. Would be worth call to ask, but know it could change upon arrival and how full the flight is too (and maybe even the class of your ticket).
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That is huge!
My S25 is having a really hard time making a decision. It’s an interesting situation because he got guaranteed sophomore transfer to his dream school -BU (yay!) but that means picking a not so perfect option for first year.
He’s got an in state cheapest option at a campus he just doesn’t see himself liking (we visited last week) - UNC Charlotte. The connection and vibe are just not there for him but it’s ‘fine’.
His other choice is to study abroad for two semesters thru Verto Education with a direct pathway to his transfer school - BU. He’d be with other students transferring, some (about 10%) to his school specifically. With this one he’s just not sure about being so far away from home and all the unknowns that come with that. Plus there’s no good way to decide on vibe, etc.
Parents and his grandparents (helping to pay) are feeling cheapest and traditional campus option is safest, easiest and best, especially since he’s not sold on study abroad, but want him to make the final choice. We’ll support and can afford either.
He always wanted an urban environment (hence BU) and UNC Charlotte is not that (25min from city) and it was just a safety so he never wanted it to begin with. But he never really cared about studying abroad either. So I think he just is trying to decide which he would be less likely to be the worst. And is worried he’s going to be miserable. Definitely never saw this as the decision to make.
Anyone have any thoughts?
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They did give more financial aid. I asked for $8000 more and they only gave us $4000 more. Boo hiss! Otherwise, the school is really a great one for her.
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Where is the study abroad option? In a big city?
I think it depends on what factors will make him “miserable” – my oldest spent a summer in Rome after freshman year, and she had the time of her life (got to travel all over Italy on the weekends, was with a fun small group who became tight friends, etc) – but the apartment was dubious, air conditioning barely worked, they had a washer but not a dryer so had to hang all their clothes, etc. And they were living on a loud street, so if they opened some windows to try to get air circulation, they couldn’t sleep from the noise.
If stuff like that is going to bother him, and if he’s not sold on studying abroad anyway and is nervous about the distance – then I’d definitely pick the in-state easy option. I know my kid would not have been on board with studying abroad for her first year – but after a year of college under her belt, she was ready.
Funny, UNC Charlotte is also on my D26’s list as a safety – we’re not in state, but it’s only about four hours away, and they have a fun marching band that intrigues my kiddo. We haven’t toured the campus, though.
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You can also buy the instruments a seat - might be worth it depending on the cost of flights. I’d think two guitars could be in one seat.
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If finances allowed it, I’d encourage my kid to do the study abroad option. Apart from the fact that it will be kids on similar paths, college is (again subject to $$) about spreading your wings. And if he does hate it, he also knows it’s limited in time. (I guess that would be true of the safety school too, but it’s different studying when you know from day 1 you’re on a path out of the place you are making connections at.) I think both the experience and the fact that he will be with some kids going to the same college as he is would swing my opinion that way.
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Options are London, Prague, Florence, Seville, and Buenos Aires. A diff one each semester. Good point on the logistics of the living environment - not sure his thoughts on that. Definitely something to discuss. Thx
Another point is that he has done two weeks exchange in Buenos Aires in 10th grade with school mates and traveled internationally with us throughout his life. So being abroad is not a new experience but 3.5 months at a time without someone he knew would be.
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S24 did a study abroad first semester option (he was in a bit of a different position as he intentionally picked his school so he could do the specific program he attended abroad).
There were lots of students in the program who had been spring admitted to their top choices. (Tons of highly selective NE schools). Everyone seemed to have a blast, and all those starting in the spring semester had pretty seamless transitions to their ‘permanent’ schools.
If you have the money, the study abroad option can be fantastic. But be aware that the ‘extra’ costs can really add up. S24 is pretty frugal, traveled a lot and had a wonderful experience but there were other students who basically had no upper budget and traveled extensively (every weekend), shopped every luxury brand known to man, and ate out constantly. There were other students who ran out of money toward the middle/end of the semester and struggled to get to the end. Take any budget you think is reasonable and add at least 50% to that number for the study abroad option.
Edited to add: Prague, Seville and Florence would be pretty reasonable cost-wise and easy to travel between. Exciting options!
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anyone else’s kid “soiling the nest”? My S25 has at least 4 loads of laundry to do, a basement to clean up from having friends here Saturday night and job applications to complete. And he spent the entire day yesterday in bed and just lounging around. I am biting my tongue but about to lose it.
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Got me to look it up for us on Google Maps, and…71 hours, assuming no breaks or traffic jams.
But Muncho Lake Provincial Park is a beautiful drive in late summer, so at least that option has that going for it.
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I’ve visited all of those except Florence. I’d say, if he’s not sold on the idea of abroad and coming from the US, I’d scratch Buenos Aires off the list. The others are all fabulous. London is a city unlike any other and if he loves urban, I would jump at a chance to spend a semester there. Prague and Seville are both gorgeous (I believe Florence is too but can’t talk from experience). One caveat is when he would be there for Seville - it gets crazy hot in the summer months. He may want to choose based on where he might like to travel to - Prague is well located for Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe and the others a bit better for Western Europe, though Spain is so big he may not get much out of Spain itself (which is also fine, there is so much to see there). London of course is easy to get to France and Belgium via train and spend weekends in the closer parts of Europe, as well as an easy hop to Scandinavia.
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Aren’t you basically a geographical oddity? Two weeks from anywhere? 
(ETA: this is a maybe-more-obscure-than-I-realized “O Brother Where Art Thou” reference. Although it is, in fact, famously hard to drive to Alaska, the last frontier.)
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It is! Her school is divided into residential colleges, and when she got randomly assigned to one of the newest ones with these sweet dorms, there was a celebration at our house. Almost bigger than when she got admitted to the school in the first place, lol.
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Pretty much!
Like, driving it takes just under 8 hours to get to the border with Canada, and that’s assuming that you’re going to be able to drive at or above the speed limit the whole way.
But trust me, you won’t be able to drive at or above the speed limit the whole way.
I’ve heard the Al-Can highway is where you might still be able to die of dysentery…lord willing and the creek don’t rise.
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I did that with my wedding dress years ago. Everyone on the plane got a kick out of it.
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We used to live 20 minutes from UNCC. It has always seemed so — average? — to me. It’s fine, but IMO doesn’t seem to have anything that makes it special. IIRC it’s a huge commuter school?
I think I’m not a fan of satellite campuses in general, but I’d at least want to go to one a cool location, like Wilmington or Asheville. I’d rather attend a worse state flagship campus than go to some satellite campuses, but that’s just me.
Boston U (that’s the BU you mean, right?) has so much more to offer than UNCC in every regard. The schools are on totally different levels. The prestige difference is huge. The locations are vastly different, and not just because one is in Massachusetts and one is in North Carolina.
Although I think it’s pretty scary to send your 18 year old abroad for a year, I think in your shoes that’s the option I would choose, especially because your son is a seasoned traveler. Assuming of course that the money is there for whatever price difference is involved. And I’d probably pick Florence.
Generally speaking and within reason, I don’t agree with “pick the safe bet” philosophy. The safe and secure route is for when you’re middle aged and older, not for when you’re young.
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Yes, Boston U. And yes, same thoughts on charlotte. My hubby and I and grandparents are from Wilmington, so we feel same about there tbh - nothing special and less likeable campus to us. And my son has never been a Mtn fan. Another set of grandparents are there. He didn’t get accepted to state or UNCCH unfortunately, which would have been great in this situation. Thanks for the ‘safe bet’ statement. That’s what I tend to think as well.
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I’m actually wondering if it’s more the unknown that’s causing him pause. Since he can’t ’visit ‘ a campus or anything to help decide and he doesn’t want to make the wrong decision.