Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be away from home and on your own in college, but every once in a while, I wish I went to school closer to home. Most kids in high school can't wait to get out of the house when they graduate, and I was one of them. I didn't want to be too close to home where every weekend my parents would visit, or at least have the opportunity to. Some of the reasons I wish I was closer to home include, bringing home my laundry when it needs to be done on a weekend, having a nice home cooked meal, being able to sleep in my own more comfortable bed, and just taking a weekend to go home so I can relax and recharge.
The drive from my house to my school is about 3.5 hours, so going home for just a weekend seems like a stretch. It doesn't make much sense to me if I'm only going to be staying there for 2 days. On weekends, that I have a lot of schoolwork or studying, going home would make even less sense for me, because I am spending time traveling that I could use to be getting things done. Another reason why I didn't want to be too close to home is because I wanted to live on campus rather than commute and feel like I'm missing out on the college experience.
This year I wasn't able to go home for Easter or celebrate it with family. The reason for this was my closest family was having a get together about 2 hours away from school and that weekend I had an essay due Sunday night and a test the next day. So instead of taking the time to drive back and forth on Sunday I thought it would be better if I used this time to study and finish my essay. Most holidays we do get time off from school, so this is not a frequent occurrence.
Another drawback of being far away from home is not being able to go home when getting sick. It's a lot less fun having to take care of yourself when you're sick and the parents aren't around to help out.
There are definitely some pros to being further away from home, but it seems like a drag having to drive home on the breaks. Especially since I have classes on Friday, I can't leave campus early like others who have to travel far distances. Each Friday before break I'm like barely focusing on paying attention in class because I'm getting ready to pack my things up and drive home to make it back for dinner.
In the end, it's really a matter of preference for each person when deciding where to attend school. However, it is definitely something that you want to take into account when making the selection.
