Whether you haven’t reached college yet or you are thinking about transferring, I urge you to consider a university close to home. While you should always choose a college based on what’s best for you (which might, in fact, entail moving across the country), there are so many amazing opportunities that living close to home provides. A lot of students shy away from even looking at universities that are within a short driving distance to their parents, myself included, and I really wish I wouldn’t have just written if off my list because of its proximity to my parents.
I loved my first college, and will be forever grateful for the year I got to spend there, but I am so happy I transferred to be closer to home. Here’s why.
1. You really will miss your parents
You wouldn’t believe what a little time in college does to improve your relationship with your parents, at least in my experience. While I’m super excited to continue living on my own (sorry Mom and Dad), being in college does improve the relationship that you have with you parents.
Going to college close to home gives you the option to stay with your parents, and even if you don’t, you can practically guarantee you’ll be seeing a lot more of them than if you went to school far away. While this might sound unappealing for some students who just want independence, most parents will respect your wishes and let you be on your own when you want. Plus, you will certainly want to have the option of your mom’s home cooking when the caf just isn’t cutting it, or your dad’s dorky, motivational speeches when you’re having it a hard time.
2. You won’t miss important events
While I was at my last school, which happened to be about three hours away from home, I missed so many birthdays, anniversaries and other awesome events that I totally took for granted before I left for college.
Now that I’m living closer to my family and friends who stayed in the area, I am lucky enough to make it to every important event in my family’s life. I get to be there for my brother’s very first day of school, which I would have been devastated to miss if I had been too far away to be there. I have no idea where life after college will take me, and if I will even stick around Wisconsin, so I am so thankful to be able to be there for these special moments that mean the world to me and my family.
3. It's cheaper
Living at home can save upwards of $4,000 for ditching the dorm fees and your parents will most likely let you eat there too, which is an additional 1,000-2,000 bucks that you won’t be dishing out for a meal plan. Even if you’re like me and choose not to live with your parents, you’ll still probably end up saving money. You’ll never have to pay for laundry, and you’ll always have a second fridge to mooch off of when you get sick of ramen.
4. It's less stressful
I stretched myself so thin trying to visit my mom, dad, and boyfriend all in the same weekend. I hated having to pick and choose who I was going to spend more time with, and weekends at home were full of stress, instead of being relaxing like they should be.
I went home so much to balance this out, in addition to being at horse shows for the equestrian team every other weekend, that there were entire months where I didn’t spend any weekends at school. It was hectic, and it was so hard to balance my job and school work on top of that. When everything you need is within 30 minutes of you constantly, it makes college, which is so stressful already, way easier to handle.
Living close to home can be intimidating for some college students, but it has been one of the best choices I have ever made. I still have all the independence I want, but I also get to spend quality time with family, which I seriously took for granted until it wasn’t readily available. When you think about colleges, don’t write off the ones that are close to home.
