Why do kids who can afford to go away for college stay close to home and even room with their high
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Anonymous
| OP there's an expression "To each, their own" I think you can probably apply that to your question. If that doesn't satisfy you, well then you might want to redirect your attention elsewhere. |
Anonymous
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I went to college 7 miles from my home. I lived 21 miles from
Manhattan and majored in business and wanted to work in Wall Street. I worked at two major banks part time during college and got hired to a management training program on Wall Street fresh out of school. If I lived in Peoria I would have still gone to school in NYC area |
Anonymous
| My DC is applying to all nearby schools, 45 minutes to 2.5 hours away. He had no interest in going further away. I think for him the transition to college feels big enough, he is not also seeking to live in a new / faraway area to experience very different surroundings. Although I totally get why some people would want to go far away. |
Anonymous
and the distance expenses really do add up. My kid is at a school that you would recommend instead of what these families are choosing. It is no small thing for us to deal with the back and forth during a pandemic. Fortunately we have sufficient means (flexible work hours, tons of vacation days, cash for a hotel) that it isn't a big deal for us to drive a thousand miles to get him there or back (we do not think flying is safe) but it is not for the meek. I also advise, OP, that you be less judgmental. You don't know any of these family's stories. Financial, health, like spending time together... Maybe Howard is the dream? Maybe the kid had crones and doesn't want new doctors? Maybe dad is dying. Maybe an extracurricular activity is really that important and it is local. |
Anonymous
Yup. I also went to school less than 20 miles from home - actually in Manhattan. I can promise you a river can be a HUUUGE psychological barrier. |
Anonymous
Here is another thread of people who do things differently are "odd". You must not have much to do or think about if you care so much about things that do not affect you one bit. My answer to you is: use you imagination! |
Anonymous
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I didn’t grow up in the DMV and don’t think it’s all that. I would be happy if my kids settled elsewhere.
It’s a big world out there. |
Anonymous
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There's such an overblown emphasis on a kid immediately leaving home (by some method) as soon as they turn 18 in the United States. I know, I know. Plenty live at home for community college or to work, but it's usually looked upon with at least a slight veil of shame. It's ingrained in our culture to equate success with being fiercely independent. I would say this goes hand-in-hand with the prioritization of the nuclear family household. Many other parts of the world emphasis intergenerational households and living at home into adulthood (and not as a point of failure but rather an excellent option).
That being said, going to college close to home but still living in dorms seems like a great way to balance growing independence while also nurturing family life. I see nothing wrong with it. And I'm saying this as an American who stubbornly moved abroad for college the moment I graduated high school. |
Anonymous
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Truth is most families and teens, even rich ones, are super insular and provincial, plus parents nudge their kids to stay close to home. Over half of my UMC high school went to the same two public universities and kept seemingly 95% of their same high school friend group throughout college! After college many of them lived with each other in Chicago.
It takes a strong-willed outgoing broadminded teen to want to attend college hundreds if not 1,000-plus miles from home where they might not know anyone or perhaps only sort of know a handful of peers. I admire that fearless 'explorer' trait but not every 18-y/o has it. I'm not even sure if my kids have it, although I hope they do and we've saved the money necessary for them to go anywhere they want. |
Anonymous
+1 Going far away is fine but so is staying close. Maybe they love their city or are close with their family. There can be non-pathological reasons for making a choice you wouldn't make. |
Anonymous
Some parents want to keep their kids close. My parents refused to allow me to go to an out of state school, even with a large amount of merit aid. I was severely scolded even for applying. |
Anonymous
GW & American aren’t shabby either. |
Anonymous
| Because some children like their family members and high school friends. |
Anonymous
Because they are losers who are not as cool as you! OP, do you also have a very hard time understanding why people would disagree from your political point of view? |