Many criteria go into making a college list. Is the school a good academic and social fit for your applicant? Does it have a good reputation? Is it affordable? How many graduates have jobs six months after receiving their diploma?
Here’s another one to think about: location.
What to consider: geographic features, climate, urban vs. rural, regional culture – and, of course, distance from home.
How much location overshadows other factors will vary from family to family. My son wanted a city environment with considerable history, on the East Coast, no farther south than William & Mary. Those criteria shaped his search, though he looked at schools that did not meet them.
Geographic Features
Your applicant may want to be close to a lake for sailing or mountains for skiing or by the ocean. Your applicant may have discovered a love of biking or hiking and wants to pursue their love of the outdoors in college.
Climate
Now, if downhill skiing is your child’s thing, Florida is probably not the best place to hunt for a college. If your applicant hates being cold, or being hot, then places like Montreal or New Orleans might not be the best choice.
This may seem trivial. But it’s important to your future college student’s quality of life. As you look at schools, try to be aware of whether they have weather extremes.
Visit Middlebury College in Vermont in May and you can easily fall in love with the place – the wide expanses of green lawns dotted with stately gray stone buildings. Visiting in the dead of winter has its charms (the school has its own ski resort and looks pretty good under fresh powder). But if your kid hates layering or being buffeted by freezing winds on their way to class, “Caveat emptor.”
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Urban vs. Rural
Middlebury, where my parents taught for many years, also helps to illustrate the question of setting. It’s a charming town of about 7,000 people and several nice bars and restaurants. But you have to be at peace with the very rural environment.
What would your child prefer? A large city? A medium city? A suburban venue? A rural school? Do they want to be able to wander the peaceful countryside or strut to edgy dive bars?
If you’ve been a regular reader of Getting In, you’ll remember that our college quest began by showing my son different types of schools (University of Maryland, American University, Georgetown University … and he had already seen Middlebury when he visited his grandparents). We wanted him to get a feel for different settings.
Regional Culture
Going to school in New Orleans or Minnesota or Waco or Los Angeles will mean engaging with regional cultures that can be pretty distinctive. Ask the kid from the South what they think of New Yorkers – or vice versa.
I know at least one young person whose East Coast snark did not fly with her classmates in the Pacific Northwest. And another who thought LA’s driving culture was insane. And another who can’t imagine being too far from the food and revelry of New Orleans.
I’m not looking to stereotype here, and you shouldn’t either. But your applicant may want to consider whether the world view of the locals is something they love, tolerate or dislike.
Distance From Home
Yeah, parents, I see you: This is the one that pulls on your heartstrings. And purse strings.
You and your applicant may not see eye to eye here. You may want to make it easy to visit them and for them to return to the nest. They may relish having more space. My son is in a sweet spot: A flight to see him is a little over an hour, so it’s easy for him to get home. But we can’t just hop in the car and drop in unannounced.
Beyond the emotional dimension, there’s a very concrete reason to take this into consideration: Flights to school, home for Thanksgiving, back to school, home for winter break, back to school and ultimately home at the end of the school year can really tax your credit card.
There’s also the logistical factor. How hard is it to get home? One school we looked at made it a point on the campus tour to say there was an Amtrak station near campus that could get kids from a relatively remote stretch of Virginia to Union Station in Washington, D.C.
Getting Home can be a factor when it comes to … Getting In.
