Is it better to attend a University close to home or not?

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

I went to unis that were 1 hour away and 5 hours away, so I can opine on both.

If you want independence, all you really need to do is to move out of your house. After that, it depends on how clingy your parents are.
If your parents are clingy, 1 hour away won't make a difference. If they're super clingy, 5 hours won't matter. If you still have your umbilical cord attached, moving abroad for uni won't even phase them.
If they are not at all clingy, moving 5 minutes down the road won't even affect you - I know some people who have not seen their parents in years even though they live 5 minutes walk away.

Do bear in mind, if your parents are super clingy and they can't reach you due to the distance (even if you study on the other side of the planet), they will either:
You won't be able to get away from them due to their nature, not because of the distance.

I once met a girl who lives near the uni (about 30 minute drive) that she attends, but decided to get student accommodation near the uni because she wanted the independence. It worked for her and her parents didn't bugged her about things all the time.

I would prioritise getting into the unis that would give you the best education that you can get over distance from home. It's expensive spending £27k to live independently for 3 years; you will have plenty of time for that after uni.
If you just want to live independently, you could easily get a job now and save yourself studying a degree,

There are also plenty of good universities quite a distance away from ARU, if you can get into them. So it's not like getting a good education and living far from home are mutually exclusive.

By the way are you near Chelmsford, Peterborough, or Cambridge?

I went to unis that were 1 hour away and 5 hours away, so I can opine on both.

If you want independence, all you really need to do is to move out of your house. After that, it depends on how clingy your parents are.
If your parents are clingy, 1 hour away won't make a difference. If they're super clingy, 5 hours won't matter. If you still have your umbilical cord attached, moving abroad for uni won't even phase them.
If they are not at all clingy, moving 5 minutes down the road won't even affect you - I know some people who have not seen their parents in years even though they live 5 minutes walk away.

Do bear in mind, if your parents are super clingy and they can't reach you due to the distance (even if you study on the other side of the planet), they will either:
You won't be able to get away from them due to their nature, not because of the distance.

I once met a girl who lives near the uni (about 30 minute drive) that she attends, but decided to get student accommodation near the uni because she wanted the independence. It worked for her and her parents didn't bugged her about things all the time.

I would prioritise getting into the unis that would give you the best education that you can get over distance from home. It's expensive spending £27k to live independently for 3 years; you will have plenty of time for that after uni.
If you just want to live independently, you could easily get a job now and save yourself studying a degree,

There are also plenty of good universities quite a distance away from ARU, if you can get into them. So it's not like getting a good education and living far from home are mutually exclusive.

By the way are you near Chelmsford, Peterborough, or Cambridge?

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

The second paragraph made me laugh omds. But thank you.

And yes, I live in Chelmsford

Hii, So I just started my first year of university and I had to move out as in didn't get an offer from my home uni. So the uni is 2 hours away driving. I can only speak from my experience and say I absolutely love it, their is so much to do here and I love the sense of independence I get. I only go back home during holidays (I don't get reading weeks) and occasionally on some weekends if there is something special. The journey time I would say is good because I am not that close so that I had to commute, but I am not too far if anything was to happen I could get home quite easily. I mean it definitely a lot more costly than staying at home, as I would have probably only taken the train or bus and not had to do things like pay rent, buy groceries or cook for myself. But there are pros and cons to everything.

I would say that your main deciding factor should be the unis reputation for your course. Do they have good facilities, are students given a lot of support, are there good job prospects. Also looking at the university as a whole helps as well, what do they offer students such as the student's union, help with job applications, extra-curricular opportunites, careers fairs, internships and many more. Get the most out of your 9k . If you really want to move out don't pick something too far unless you have to or are okay with it. I have friends that live around 4 hours away from uni and therefore can't really afford to go home whenever they feel like it as longer journeys are more costly and definitely a lot more tiring.

So these are my opinions as someone who has moved, hopefully they are some help xx

Hi there

Making decisions about Universities can be quite challenging, and either options has its benefits. So I think it depends on what you are looking for more.

Depending on your course and the competition in the field you want to enter, choosing a good University can be important. Sometimes, employers may look for graduates from a higher ranked University, which is something you may want to consider.

On the other hand, if your field of studies are less competitive, opting for a University further away can be good too. My University is 4 hours away from home, and I have found the experience really positive.

I have had a lot of independence and responsibility. I would say that University has really helped to gain new skills and confidence. Whilst I am far away from family, it is always possible to give them a quick call, or visit them on the weekends.

I hope this helps.
Chloe
University of Kent Student Rep

Hey there @Tehillah.M !

This completely depends on the person and how important family is to them. For example, I love spending time with my family but still wanted my own independence so I chose somewhere that was a happy medium for me to get home whilst still being relatively far away. Sometimes you want to be far away from family but then randomly it will spring on you one weekend that you really miss home and just want to be there on that particular weekend. It was important for me when choosing uni's that I'd be able to do that if I wanted to. It would be a good thing to take into consideration when picking universities.

Hope this helped!
Lucy - Digital Student Ambassador SHU

Hi there,

I am a current student from ARU!

If living away from home is something that you would like to do when you go to university to get the whole student experience, even though your home may be close to ARU currently you can still choose to live on campus in the student halls if you wanted too! This way you can still gain the independence of student life but also have the option to be close to home too. Just because you may live closer to campus than other students, you all get treated the same no matter the distance.

If ARU is somewhere where you can see yourself being as well as what ARU offers in terms of your house don't let distance get in your way! You could also look at the Cambridge campus? This therefore gives you the option of going to an ARU campus but with a travel distance.

Hope this helps!

Yes it does, thank you. It's really something to consider cause as much as I want to independence I also don't want to be too far incase there's an emergency whatsoever. So yeah I'll consider this, thanks again

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊

Hey.
So I've been thinking about where I want to apply to go to uni and there are really good Universities not too far from home like ARU, but as much as this is good, a part of me still wants to travel atleast 4 hours away to uni for the sake of independence and all that. So I was wondering if I could just get opinions and advice on what you think is best. Thanks😊