Anonymous wrote:I want my child to go away to school and do an abroad program. Yes, I think it is incredibly important she NOT stay in this area. Boston or New York would be marginally okay but We are encouraging her to go farther.

We are not practicing Catholics but Norte Dame has a great sophomore year abroad program that would be great for her.

Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? Do you really think that your child will have a meaningfully different experience at a school that's 800 miles away as opposed to 300 miles away? For that matter if the school is 100 miles away do you fear they'll be home every weekend? It sounds like you and the OP didn't go to college and have little to no understanding of the dynamics of the college experience. And every college offers study abroad although usually during junior year. As others have said, focus on the fit and not some absurdly irrelevant criteria like distance from the home.

The obsession with college on this board is out of control. Why don't you let your kid decide?

I will encourage my kids go to a new area for college and also do study abroad. But I will support their decision wherever it is.

You have no idea what your kids are going to do. My parents both went to college and med school in the city where they grew up. They moved and raised their kids on the other side of the world. My brother went to state school less than an hour from my parents (and lived with HS friends all four years), now he lives in literally the furthest spot on the continental US from my parents.

Pick the school that suits your kid, and encourage them to meet new people and try new experiences.

Anonymous wrote:I want to be sure he is far from my helicopter blades.

But she's still telling her what to do...it's weird, OP

I want to be sure he is far from my helicopter blades.

I want my child to go away to school and do an abroad program. Yes, I think it is incredibly important she NOT stay in this area. Boston or New York would be marginally okay but We are encouraging her to go farther.

We are not practicing Catholics but Norte Dame has a great sophomore year abroad program that would be great for her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Berkeley vs UVA thread made me realize how much I want DD to go to college out west or Midwest. She is a junior next year, and we have already been talking about USC, Univ of Michigan, Occidental, Northwestern... I really think it is important. I don't want her to have her same high school friends (not that there is anything wrong with them) or only know D.C. area kids.

I actually have a friend in Dallas who drew a circle around Dallas with a compass and told her DD she couldn't apply to any school within a 300 miles radius of Dallas!!

Luckily (so far) DD wants to go away to school and experience a different part of the country. You

What an odd way of thinking. So if your DD went to Tufts you really think having a couple of kids from home in her class of 1,300 is going to materially impact her experience?

New poster here. I don't think it's odd way of thinking at all. I completely understand OP. While I'm not sure we're going to be able to afford out of state tuition, if we can swing it, I totally see the value in it. It's about getting out of your comfort zone and exapnding your horizon, introducing yourself to new things. I went to undergrad instate and then went out of state for grad, and there is a big difference. Instate colleges in VA are largely from NOVA so the culture is very NOVA. I'm not talking about the opportunity to make new friends that you didn't know in HS, of course you'll meet tons of people you didn't know in HS. But many of the new friends you'll make will also be from NOVA and the culture of the school will still be largely NOVA in an instate college.

I went to school at a large state school...something like 60 kids from my graduating class went there. I never saw them. Literally.

If it's affordable to families, it should be encouraged (certainly depending on the student's needs/wants)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Berkeley vs UVA thread made me realize how much I want DD to go to college out west or Midwest. She is a junior next year, and we have already been talking about USC, Univ of Michigan, Occidental, Northwestern... I really think it is important. I don't want her to have her same high school friends (not that there is anything wrong with them) or only know D.C. area kids.

I actually have a friend in Dallas who drew a circle around Dallas with a compass and told her DD she couldn't apply to any school within a 300 miles radius of Dallas!!

Luckily (so far) DD wants to go away to school and experience a different part of the country. You

What an odd way of thinking. So if your DD went to Tufts you really think having a couple of kids from home in her class of 1,300 is going to materially impact her experience?

In a word, yes.

We are strongly suggesting that DS go away to school, too. I will miss him like crazy and will hate to pay for those plane tickets but, to me, it is what college is about. Georgetown, while a fantastic school, will not be on his list. Neither will UVA.

Anonymous wrote:The Berkeley vs UVA thread made me realize how much I want DD to go to college out west or Midwest. She is a junior next year, and we have already been talking about USC, Univ of Michigan, Occidental, Northwestern... I really think it is important. I don't want her to have her same high school friends (not that there is anything wrong with them) or only know D.C. area kids.

I actually have a friend in Dallas who drew a circle around Dallas with a compass and told her DD she couldn't apply to any school within a 300 miles radius of Dallas!!

Luckily (so far) DD wants to go away to school and experience a different part of the country. You

What an odd way of thinking. So if your DD went to Tufts you really think having a couple of kids from home in her class of 1,300 is going to materially impact her experience?

My daughter goes to school 45 minutes from home (Georgetown) and has not a single close friend from her HS or from the greater DC area. The only time she ever comes home is over breaks (i.e. the times when everyone, regardless of where they are from, tends to clear out).

Don't be arbitrary. Finding a school that is strong in the program your child is interested in and is a good fit academically, socially, and financially is more important than being X miles away from home.

The Berkeley vs UVA thread made me realize how much I want DD to go to college out west or Midwest. She is a junior next year, and we have already been talking about USC, Univ of Michigan, Occidental, Northwestern... I really think it is important. I don't want her to have her same high school friends (not that there is anything wrong with them) or only know D.C. area kids.

I actually have a friend in Dallas who drew a circle around Dallas with a compass and told her DD she couldn't apply to any school within a 300 miles radius of Dallas!!

Luckily (so far) DD wants to go away to school and experience a different part of the country. You