I am in my senior year of highschool and trying to decide if I want to go away to college or not. I told myself over the last four years that I would, but now that the time is here, I'm not so sure. I'm trying to find out which is better. Of course, my mother wants me to stay in town, telling me I'm more familiar with my surrounding and that my family is here if I need them. Okay, that's true, but I want my freedom. My mom's answer to that is to help me get an apartment about five minutes from home and 15 minutes from the college she wants me to go to. The thing is, I want to live on campus and have a roommate. I don't want to live alone and I definitely don't want to live at home. I want my own place and space. We visited some local colleges and the dorms are very very small, but the campus is awesome. I think I would really enjoy the campus of one of the schools which happens to be the most expensive one and it doesn't have the best nursing program not to mention its too far and located in the city, so of course, mom is against that school. I guess I think being away would be more fun and I can hang out and meet people and go to parties. According to my mom, I can do that here. Maybe I just want something different. In the midst of making this decision, my mother noticed the neighbor's daughter, who had gone away to school (two hours away) had been home for about a month. It's April, schools not out. My mother notices everything. Finally, we figured out why she was home. Apparently, this school had been having problems and the students did not know about the problems. The police and detectives had been on campus and finally after weeks of this, another incident occurred and a student walked by and found a not so nice message on the walls of one of the dorms. Needless to say, the school shut completely down for safety purposes and sent all of the students home. I guess, just maybe, I may stay home. Which do you think would be better, a school in town or a school outside of town.
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Well, the answer to your question depends on a lot of factors. You want to go to a school where you feel at home... a school where you get a good vibe. You also want to go to a school that has a decent program for what you want to go into. You want to study nursing? Then make sure the school is pretty good with that. I encourage you to meet with a nursing faculty member (the dean, if possible) to discuss the program. Not only will this help you understand what their program has to offer you, but also many schools are impressed when a student takes the initiative to set up that kind of meeting.
Another thing you can do is sit in on a class or two. Just ask the admissions office, and they'll be happy to give you a few options. Also, some colleges let you spend a night in the dorm. You can give that a try, too, to see how you like it.
No matter where you go, I HIGHLY recommend living on campus. Sure, the dorms are small, but that's the way it's supposed to be. However, being on campus means you can be a full member of the college community. You can become involved in your school and activities. Studies have shown that students who are involved in at least one club or activity generally have a higher GPA!
It's up to you how far you want to go. Keep this in mind, though... it's so easy to keep in-touch with friends and family these days... email, cell phones, etc. So, don't worry about going farther from home. You can keep in-touch! Just choose a place that has a good academic program and a good campus atmosphere.
Good luck!
As a parent who believe in education, I believe that the college experience is almost as important educationally as the formal classes.
I live in Wyoming. I certainly did not force her to go but I gave my daughter the opportunity to go to prep school in New Hampshire which she chose to do. And I encouraged her to go to college in a different region of the country. She is now a sophmore at Auburn in Alabama. A person learns a lot when they live in different parts of the country. And the also gain a lot of independence and self confidence. And these days, with free long distance calling plans, instant messaging and the internet, it is easy to stay in touch. I chat with my daughter almost every day and sometimes more than once.
But a lot of these decisions are about economics. Not every family can do what I have been able to do. And some families have to spread their resources to several children where as I only have one.
I notice that statistically, the kids who attend the local junior college for the first two years of college do better when they transfer to the University of Wyoming then the kids who go to the University for all four years. I guess the moral of that story is that you can get a decent education almost anywhere you go to school. I think the kids in the junior college are enjoying the benefit of small classes where the first couple of years at University is huge lecture classes.
Okay. There are a lot of things to take into consideration here. The first one, in my mind, is responsibility.
There are a lot of people about to graduate who want to go to an out of state college simply for this reason:
"I hate my parents. I can't wait to get out of this house. I can't wait to be by myself and and not have rules or restrictions or supervision so I can party whenever I want and be completely irresponsible."
On the other hand, there are people who wish to go out of state because there are opportunities out of stae that their local in-state colleges don't offer. For example, I live in Wyoming and if I wanted to become a CSI, I think I'd have to go out of state. I duno. I haven't looked into it, but you get my point.
You also need to take into consideration the cost of living. For example, it's cheaper for me to go to college here in Wyoming than in Denver, CO because Wyoming has lower taxes or something. And besides; I love my family and I don't mind staying in my own house for a couple years instead of paying for a dormitory. I think if you live close to the college, it makes more sense to live where you are rather in the dorms. Why pay to live in a place where you have to share a room with strangers who might steal your stuff when you've got a perfectly nice house nearby?
Another REALLY IMPORTANT thing you need to consider is transfers. I plan on going to the local junior college here, and when I'm done with that, I plan on going to a University either in this stae or in Nevada. I'm going to be in a program that guarantees my entrance to certain universities should I wish to transfer.
If you have any other questions about college, there are so many resources available to you. UTILIZE THEM! Your school counselor, someone you might know who's had experience with college before, even websites might help you. You shouldn't have to be in the dark about this.
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ... Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” -Carl Jung
That is amazing as we are pretty scarce and practically should be put on the endangered species list.
Wow! What are the odds of that?! That's incredible! We are indeed a rare species! That's crazy. It really IS a small world, I guess.
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ... Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” -Carl Jung