Senior year of high school is over and the responsibilities of growing up are kicking in. It’s time to make your own decisions, set goals, and conquer them. You are now a young adult who has taken the first steps in starting a collegiette career. Deciding to further your education is an obvious first step, but when you decide to do so across the country is a leap many are not willing to take.
Now, for many students attending an accredited four-year institution can mean commuting to campus or traveling 2 to 5 hours by car to live on campus. Others, however, are adventurous enough to leave their friends, family, and everything else to move across the country. Why? Well, there are countless reasons one would be willing to take the chance. These reasons vary from financial considerations to new cultural experiences.
Although traveling to another state for school may seem like a fun, many experience obstacles due to the distance away from home. At Susquehanna University, there are students that come in from all over the world and states like New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Among these students, transitioning to life in central Pennsylvania is up to the individual. But, in comparison to students that fly in from the West Coast, they adjust easily.
Take Bah Bigman for example. Bah is a first-year student at Susquehanna University, who lives in Arizona. With an average distance of 2,000 miles separating Bah from her hometown comes a culture shock and an institution she considers rigorous in work. According to Bah, being “surrounded by people of different backgrounds” is a new experience for her. Coming from the West Coast there was also a big difference in the appreciation of sports. Bah added that at Susquehanna University, “rugby and field hockey are very popular when it’s not back home.”
It is safe to say that for the long distance traveler, adjusting to a new environment is someone who lives 2 hours from school, compared to someone who travels across the U.S. Nonetheless, they each will gain new perspectives and try their hardest to do complete what they set out to do. So, if studying out of state sounds like a plan to you, make it happen!