Why You Should Go to School Out of State

Why stay in one place all four years? You are young, you are becoming independent, and you are learning who you are. If you do not have the funds to study abroad, this is the next best option.

Take it from me: I am someone who loves my family dearly and misses home like crazy but lives 1,550 miles away from my hometown. A little bit of background about me is that I am from Minnesota and went to college there my freshman year. After finding out I was not allowed to study abroad due to Covid-19 ending and the worry I could get stuck in a foreign country, I went to my Plan B. I decided to apply to the University of Tampa. I knew that if I got in, I would go; if not, I would stay at my college in Minnesota for two more years. I was accepted to the University of Tampa, and my journey began there. 

I believe I had a good college experience staying in my home state, but I also felt stuck in a place where I could not allow myself to grow. I felt safe knowing I had a family to call if anything went haywire at my college, but you can also call your family across the world, and they will still be there for you. The only con to transferring out of state is the distance you’ll be from the people you grew up with. But, there are many pros to transferring out of state, and you would never believe how much of a small world it is out there. People network and I have met a dozen people in Tampa that have connections with people I know from back home. 

You are going to experience such a different culture no matter where you go. This will help you have better interpersonal dialogue and communicate more on a personal level. It will also mature you and better represent you as a person to your peers. There is so much I could say on this topic and so much advice I could give, but to make a long story short, here are the reasons why you should transfer to an out-of-state college:

• According to Urban Wellness, becoming independent is proven to reduce stress and increase your confidence; it also gives you a value of purpose. 
• You will get to know yourself better, especially if you feel stuck where you are. Don’t see any more growth in the situation you are in? Get out there and be on your own. I can’t stress this enough: it will make you grow as a person. When on your own, in an environment where it is only you, you will experience personal growth because it is only you relying on you to try new things and meet people. You will feel a rush of adrenaline because you will be so proud of yourself. Psychology Today is a great source to reflect on yourself with personal growth. 
• It allows for bigger opportunities. Once you make the first uncomfortable shift to transferring out of state, you will become much more accustomed to traveling for longer periods of time. You will be excited to move anywhere after graduating.

If you’re still debating on transferring out of state after reading this, let me share one piece of advice that came from my childhood best friend. It is, “You are only one plane ride away from home.” It could not get much simpler than that. 

Colive provides helpful tips for when you do live and/or visit outside of your hometown.