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__College Decisions: The Deciding Factor__

College is a big decision that each student has to deal with for the next four years of their lives. Location is the biggest factor in deciding where you want to go when it comes to college. Most students here at Hopewell Valley Central High School have applied to schools that are fairly close to home. There were also a select few students who took the risk, and applied to schools very far away. Even though there weren’t that many students who decided to go far, there are such good opportunities out there for the ones who did. In an interview with 50 kids at Hopewell Valley Central High School, 38 of them said that if the cost of transportation and their parent’s decision weren’t a factor, they would definitely apply and attend schools very far from home. Their answers were immediately yes, and 7 of the 50 are already enrolled in schools on the west coast. When asked why she would love to attend school far from home, Chelsea Romanchuk replied “because a change in location is what I feel is most needed in my life. Also I want to get away from my family for a while and learn to live on my own as a grown up”. Kate Sprague, also a senior said “I would love to experience a brand new place because ive been seeing the same things for over 17 years and a change in environment would be perfect” All parents are nervous and upset to send their children away to college, so staying close will just make them constantly be able to know what their child is doing. A big part of going away to college is learning how to gain independence, and going to school far away will help a person gain that independence faster. If a student went to college close to home and was in constant contact with their parents, going home on the weekends, they would never learn how to live on their own as an adult. When asked if every child should be allowed to apply to whichever college they would like, Mr. Crognale, a business teacher at Hopewell Valley Central High School, said that every child should be given the opportunity to apply to whichever schools they want to, depending on the quality of the schools and the price of admission. As previous research has shown, there are plenty of schools on the west coast that are academically equivalent to many schools on the east coast, and cost either the same or less for admission. Many kids that were interviewed stated that the reason why they didn’t apply to schools far from home was because their parents wouldn’t let them. This means that they were forced to look at and apply to schools that weren’t their first choices. College is a time where each child needs to go out, live on their own, and learn how to grow and mature into an adult, all while having fun. If the child attends a college that he/she doesn’t really want to attend, then they will never fully get the true experience of college. Jamie Johnson, a senior at Hopewell Valley High School, is attending Carlton College in Minnesota next year. When asked what made her choose to go to a school far from home, she replied “At first it was the school that caught my attention, than once I discovered how far away it was, it finalized my decision because I knew I wanted to go far away from the start. All of my favorite colleges that I applied to were very far from home, so Carlton College was perfect for me.” When it comes to children picking out which schools they want to apply to, there are many factors that affect their decision. Academics, education, cost, quality, and location are all major deciding factors in making the choice. If everything else about a school is perfect, location should not be the factor that stops that choice.

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rss url="http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/san_diego_state_university/index.html?rss=1" link="true" number="10" This rss feed is the feed for San Diego State University. This is the school that I am attending next year and it is in San Diego, California. I am one of the few people in my class that are going extremely far from home for college, and this rss is an overview of the school.

This rss feed is for an article that explains why students are going to school far away and deciding to study abroad. I think that it fits perfect with this topic because its all about kids going far for school. rss url="http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2011/04/15/education/edlife/index.html?partner=rss&emc=rss" link="true" number="10"

media type="youtube" key="fY1ALfr3A08" height="349" width="560" align="center" This video gives you many tips and hints on choosing the right college. It shows you what to look for when deciding what schools to apply to and helps you through the whole process.