geography

There are many factors to picking a college. One big one is geography. One third of all students pick a college that is less than 50 miles from home. It is certainly understandable why kids like to stay close to home, and, maybe more to the point, why parents like their kids close. The fact that so many kids choose to stay close to home can give you a big advantage if you’re willing to travel. All colleges like to boast about their geographic diversity. If you’re from New York and applying to school in Oregon, you are instantly more attractive to that school. Being more attractive to a school usually amounts to a better chance of getting in, as well as a more generous FinAid package. I can talk about this from my own experience. I went to Colorado College and travelled from suburban Boston. In retrospect it was a great chance to go out and explore while still being somewhat sheltered. There are many pros and cons to travelling far away to school, but in my opinion the pros outweigh the cons. That being said, I hope my daughter decides to stay in New England for college

The Wall Street Journal and Unigo has a series called, “Inside the Admissions Office”. It’s a panel discussion with admissions officers, with a series of questions and answers. One of the questions asked was about geography, does it matter? After the panel initially said there was no geographic advantage, they seemed to hedge a bit. Eventually they concluded that each school decides for themselves how important geography is. For instance, Penn does favor students from Philadelphia, while Wesleyan is looking to become more international. So, before you apply, you should look into the geographic make-up the school; interesting video.