Texas was very Texas-centric. Really tough for my out of state niece to fit in and find a group.

It’s been just over a month.

Your kid will probably laugh at this a year from now when they are more involved and have a larger friend group than the people on their floor.

Two of my nieces went OOS and attended Purdue and UVM, which they seemed to enjoy and I think the attraction to New England and the outdoors was definitely a reason why one of them went to UVM. I don't hear from the Purdue niece as much and she doesn't enjoy Indiana as much as my other niece liked Vermont, but the on-campus experience seems to suit her and all of her close friends are from other Midwestern states. My brother sent all 3 of his kids OOS to UW-Madison and while the cold was somewhat of a shock, it didn't seem that jarring or uncomfortable. My neighbor just sent her freshman twins to Berkeley and UCLA, and the kids are very much looking forward to the Californian college experience and weather. so far, it seems like their friends are mostly Californians but they don't seem to go home that often and have even invited the kids to stay over for Thanksgiving. The concerns are definitely valid and I think it can be more difficult at smaller state schools but most of the kids I know haven't had too much issue despite living far away. Admittedly, my HS haven't left yet and are deciding on whether they want to make the same decision to go farther away or not and are taking these anecdotal experiences into account.

OP, see if you can find some private universities that are sufficiently large for what your kid is looking for. Privates will tend to have a far greater % OOS than a typical public flagship.

There are stick together kids, and open kids everywhere. Keep looking for places to find others with common interest. One of my kids at a bigger VA school def did NOT find a compatible group freshman year. Then there was Covid. It’s been tough, but they kept trying new organizations and things got better.

If my kid goes to state flagship they will likely know nobody since kids at HS rarely attend there

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in state and both of their roommates are OOS. Their lives are exactly the same except it’s harder to get home over breaks.

Not really true. DD visited a state college and said she saw “a hundred” people she knew — a handful very well. I don’t think an out of state kid feels that same level of comfort (or discomfort).

My kids are in state and both of their roommates are OOS. Their lives are exactly the same except it’s harder to get home over breaks.

This is OP. For those saying kids should want to get out of their own bubble, that’s exactly why my kid wants to go to a flagship in another state BUT we keep hearing that what ends up happening, unfortunately, is that people end up sorting by their home regions anyway.

We’ve heard Wisconsin is like this too where there are the NY and northeast dorms and mini social scenes. Some of the OOS kids probably want to mix it up with more students from Wisconsin but it’s more difficult than you’d think.

Sorry typo OOS

Anonymous wrote:Certain frats won’t take kids from OOS.

At some schools, the OOSA kids are a hot commodity in Greek life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certain frats won’t take kids from OOS.

In this day and age, who on earth wants to get into a frat or sorority?!?!

Are you new here? You seem to live under a rock.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certain frats won’t take kids from OOS.

In this day and age, who on earth wants to get into a frat or sorority?!?!

Plenty.

Yikes. Says something about the American mindset.

Yet you came here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certain frats won’t take kids from OOS.

In this day and age, who on earth wants to get into a frat or sorority?!?!

Certain schools it’s the only real social outlet or at least the majority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certain frats won’t take kids from OOS.

In this day and age, who on earth wants to get into a frat or sorority?!?!

Plenty.

Yikes. Says something about the American mindset.