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I will admit that I have a huge bias here. I went away to college and so did my parents and three of my grandparents. My husband went away to college and so did his dad, for two years. (He completed at a commuter school)
All of my sibs and cousins did the same. In fact, in my home area - Nassau County NY, in the 60s 70s and 80s, almost ALL decent students did. It was the rule and not the exception.
It still is today.
I think that at going away is the best choice. My reasons are as follows -
1. The opportunity to leave home yet still remain connected to your family is an unusual one. It provides 17-18 year old students with a nice transition from living at home, and living completely on ones own.
2. The opportunity to make life long friends and to network with others of similar interests and abilities.
3. It provides a way for young adults to be less provincial, less focused on their home town, city and suburb as being somehow "the center of the universe."
4. Living away from home is an education in and of itself.
5. No vehicles needed. There is no need to purchase or insure a car. This reduces the possibility of accidents, the expense of gas,travel costs, and vehicle maintenance.
6. Less temptations more focus on academics. In fact, a 24/7 focus on academics! That is why you are THERE after all!
7. Less distraction from non-college connected jobs. On campus work study jobs always defer to the academic schedule. If it's finals week and you are working at the mall - well good luck with that!
8 While living on campus, students are more likely to avail themselves of cultural, sporting and intellectual events and to be involved in extracurricular activities.
If you can afford it, living away from home is ideal, IMO. I went to a school close to home but lived on campus b/c I wanted to have the traditional college experience and I loved it! But I'm also still paying for it. Luckily, I didn't have to borrow that much money to cover my room and board after scholarships but me and a lot of my dorm mates had to borrow some of the cost.
I disagree with #5. Just talk to education, nursing or social work majors. I'm sure there are others who have to complete clinicals or other semester long internships where driving is necessary.
I also disagree with #6. I think there are more distractions on campus than at home. Extracurricular activities and partying can be just as much or an even bigger focus than academics for a lot of students. A few of my classmates from Freshman year dropped out. I don't think they were ready to live away from home and had a difficult time prioritizing school work without their parents around.
And #7, work study isn't always easy to get and lots of students work off campus jobs.
6) You are deluding yourself if you think there are less tempations and more focus on academics. As a parent, you may think their full time job is studying, however the student may feel their full time job is playing beer pong in their room all night with their 20 closest friends. Many students never make it to graduation due to poor grades, substance abuse, mental health issues, etc., etc.
I disagree with 5. Depending on the city, you're lucky to have quality public transportation. Sure you may not need a car to get to school but if you want to work off campus, go buy food, etc. you will need a car.
I would think there would be LESS distractions at home. My soon-to-be alma mater is not a party campus but there are more opportunities for social interaction, which can impede studying.
On-campus jobs are very hard to come by. It's unrealistic to expect to land an on-campus job, especially considering the slashing to higher education budgets. Also work studies are dependent on a student's FAFSA. A lot of students don't qualify for these jobs and have to look for employment off campus, which oftentimes necessitates a car.
8 is very dependent of the campus culture. My school doesn't have a very active on-campus culture. It's slowly changing because the school is attracting more traditional students but since the school is in the capital city, a lot of students tend to have more off-campus connections vs on-campus ones.
I stayed at home all four years of my undergraduate career and I don't regret it. I saved myself a lot of debt and I feel a lot less anxious now that I'm about to attend graduate school.
I think the important thing to keep in mind is that one size does not fit all. Lots of students thrive while living at home and plenty of students flounder because they live on campus. It pays to know yourself well and know which situation will fit you best.
Going away, 500 miles from home, was the right choice for me, for many reasons. Actually, though, while to some, the "Going away is the more fun option" argument holds true, for me, it sucked a lot, especially in the beginning. I chose a school where I knew nobody, had no support system going in, and was horribly homesick and lonely in the beginning. However, it got better, and ultimately, there was a lot of personal growth that would not have occurred as it did had I been living at home and commuting to school (which would not have been possible to do, realistically, in my case, as the nearest 4-year university was over an hour away, and all others were 2-3 at the closest).
And learning how to attend to your responsibilities despite on-campus social distractions is a big part of growing up...a crash course in personal responsibility...not a bad thing to learn. Some students are not ready or prepared to live away from home, and can't handle the level of self-regulation necessary...but others become ready by just buckling down and doing it.
At the end of the day it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is how much the student takes advantage of their education.
I disagree with all of your points, and I don't think that going away improves any of those besides #4
Most college students are still helpless and rely on their parents even 500+ miles away. I learned more in high school than most of these college kids.
Going away can be so much more fun than living at home.
I agree. That's why I loved it and want my children to have the same fun that I did.
Want my children to enjoy themselves.
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