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I have been accepted to colleges! And one of them has given me a $10,000 per year scholarship! eek

Now here is my dilemma:

Should I stay in my state, near my parents and people I already know and go the school that gave me a scholarship? It is a large state school and many, many people go there from my school each year. It has an okay reputation, certainly and there are lots of opportunities for things.

Or should I venture out to this other semi-large private school almost 7 hours away? I am not sure how much money I will be getting from them yet, however. But I am sure it'll come out being more expensive because it is private, thus loans will probably have to be taken out. I will be completely on my own, surrounded by strangers and a strange environment. It has a very good national reputation.

I know the decision is up to me, and I should follow my guts, blah blah, but I have no clue what my guts are telling me. Maybe I need to hear other viewpoints. Thus, I ask you my fellow guild members, which would you pick if you were in this situation?

Have you or anyone else experienced something like this?

Post away surprised

Congrats on the scholarship.

You forgot the option "Been there, done that, got the degree" haha.

I moved away to college. 5 hours form home. Brand new state, new friends, left everything behind. I had a lot of college friends who were natives, who didnt move away, who still lived at home.

Either way has great advantages, living at home and keeping your support group of friends and family is a great comfort, and saves you money. Its definately an easier way to go and probably a smart way to save money whihc could save stress.

But moving away gives you so much freedom. It forces you to make new friends, cause you will need a new support group. (Most of the native college friends I had didnt hang out too much with every one else because they had previous friends still in town, but regret all the college activities and fun times they missed out on cause at the time they werent interested in trying to make new friends.) it forces you to get more adventurous and to try new things because it breaks you of your normal routine and shoves so many possibilities in your face. And It forces you to become more independent and responsible.

My advice, as hard as it is to fly away and leave your life and home- try it. 7 hours is still close enough for an hour long plane ride home. I think your life experience will be so much more enhanced when you are forced to thrive on your own.

Then again it all depends on whats financialy available to you, and if the school youre aiming for has exactly what you want in it.

Let us know how it turns out!

Most definitely sweatdrop

Currently, nothing is holding me back from leaving state, personal-wise. I can easily make new friends, I don't mind leaving everyone I know, and I can survive well on my own.

Financial-wise, lack of money holds me back from leaving state xd

However, I can always take out loans.

So debt + freedom + new suroundings or hardly any debt + limited freedom + same surroundings?

These kinds of decisions are stressful for everyone, but especially for wishywashy people like myself gonk

That's cool. I think you should stay in your state since you might get home sick a bit. I'm going to a community college first because if you do that, and then transfer into another college, most of them don't need an SAT score. You also get a discount on the tuition. So, it sounds good, and I didn't do so great on my SATs. I'd get into a lot of colleges if I did better on my SAT since I get mainly A's and B's in school.

(People tell me that stupid people go into community colleges, but that's so untrue! My friend, who is very intelligent went to it. I think it's a great way to start off, and it's affordable! smile )

go and get a good education, you can always come back on holidays, summer etc. But don't pass up this awesome deal you have...so many people wish to have that and don't pass up the oppertonity of a life time.

I can say the best decision I made was to go to college as far away from where I lived during High School. It really isn't as scary or hard to make new friends as some people make it out to be. Just think about it, all the kids there are new too and in the same boat - everyone will be looking for friends.

Getting away from your comfort zone can never be stated enough, and you might as well get out and see other parts of the world and meet new kinds of people while you're still young and relatively easy to do so. I wouldn't worry too much about the scholarship either, there's always loans and you can reapply for most scholarships on a yearly basis and hope to get one for the next year. There's a lot of sites and books available as well with tips on finding scholarships and money for college from really random sources, so I wouldn't place money at the top of the priority list.

I live in a college town and the only reason I can afford to go is because of that. My financial aid pays for my tuition and expenses, which is great. I'm nearly done--3 semesters left with 4 years completed, so money is a large concern of mine. Otherwise, I'm in English at a technical college, which completely sucks. My classes are very limited and I wish I would have planned for college and gone to a liberal arts program. I haven't really left my hometown, which is both good and bad. I've been to Germany, but I've also seen what nearby states are like and I'm glad my town is so pretty and artsy.

If you can afford to leave home, I'd recommend going for it. It might be worth it.

I am a freshamn at college this year as well, and I have decided with an in-state school. Even though i'm a freshman i know hwere everything is since i live like 5 minutes away from campus. My advice is try and go into the dorms freshman year, that way you will meet new people. I get to saty at home first semester, and i feel kind of down becasue of it, but i do know a few other girls who are also commuting to campus.