Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Hi everyone,

It’s been an age-old debate: should you stay close to home to attend college, or should you go farther away?  This title reference to the famous Clash song pertains to your college choice, specifically choosing to go near or far for school.  I’d like to say that I’ve seen people be immensely happy with both decisions.  I’ll go over some of the pros and cons of each side, but ultimately it depends on the type of person that you are.  

If you stay near home for school, you’ll be really familiar with the area.  This is useful for showing your friends around and having established connections with community members to help you get ahead.  Staying close additionally helps in the unfortunate case (but it does sometimes happen) of illness or tragedy where it helps to have family close by.

Many of my friends who went to school close to where they live say that college opens up a whole new world of opportunities both socially and academically that allow you to look at your surroundings in a new light.  So going to college near your home doesn’t have to be boring at all: you’ll find plenty of exciting things to do and new friends to do them with.

Going to school far away can give you a sense of adventure.  You’ll get to explore a new area and see what aspects of it you like.  By going away, I believe that you can better assess what you want in a future place to live because you get to see diversity.  College friends who are from the area will be more than happy to show you around and you may even become close to a friend’s family.

Going away to a far school also can improve independence. Knowing that you are there totally on your own is something that can be a scary thought for many people, but overcoming those fears to become self-sufficient without the help of your family can be a great learning experience.

So, here’s a bit on going near or far to college.  Think about these things and how each fits you in making your decision.  Good luck with everything!

Peace,

Tyler