In-state or out-of-state?
10/08/12 08:50
Q. Do you think it is better to go to college in Maine or out of state?
A. I could be biased since I grew up in Maine and went to Bowdoin in Maine . . . but maybe I am not.
We have some great colleges in Maine. There are another 3950 good U.S. colleges outside of Maine. There are great options in Canada and around the world. Many of these colleges are very interested in enrolling Maine students. Most, maybe all, Maine colleges are very interested in doing the same.
If you are not likely to be eligible for any financial aid, Maine community colleges are likely to be your most affordable option, but that isn’t necessarily a good reason to choose one of them. A college education is an investment. If you are looking for your best return, you don’t necessarily invest as little as possible. If a Maine community college has a program that would serve you well, it can be a great choice. The University of Maine system can also be a relatively affordable option, but you don’t know that until you apply to other colleges, including colleges with higher tuition, room, and board, to see which colleges offer you the most financial aid. Do not limit your college list only to Maine colleges because you think they will be the only ones you can afford.
Enough about the cost of college.
A good college education broadens your world and it creates new markets for you. If you are comfortable with the world you have now, and think it will be a good world for you for fifty years ahead, you do not need to broaden your world in college. A college education close to home may increase your knowledge, and you will meet some new people, but it may not really broaden your world, as I am thinking of that.
I come down firmly on the side of new experiences and different environments. That is almost always challenging and scary. I think that is good. After Bowdoin I lived in Colorado. It was very different. Halfway through Kansas I started wondering if I had any idea what I was doing. I couldn’t even smell the ocean. Colorado was challenging. It took a while for me to get used to it. It was great. It was beautiful. It was fun. People were young and athletic. Denver had big companies, lots of them. There was a small mound of dirt they called Mt. Washington. Same elevation. I still have work in Colorado. I opened up a new market for me. After Colorado, I lived in Boston. Sometimes it seemed people were all competing to be the least friendly. Drivers always yelled at me. It was great. There was a lot of action. After Boston I lived in Texas. They didn’t even know Maine was a state. I didn’t even have cowboy boots. I did have a pickup truck, but it wasn’t a real pickup. I learned to like country music. It was a great experience, even though I haven’t been back since, and have no plans to do so. But, I learned a lot about heat and football and chicken-fried steak and am very glad I did it.
New experiences and new environments are not what you are used to, and they are challenging. Challenge is good! It makes you a stronger person. It develops new markets for your career. They still let me back into Maine. I turned down my country music and they let me right through the York tollbooth.
When you are putting your list of colleges together, I encourage you to be courageous and look beyond what you know and what looks comfortable. If you haven’t been too bad a teenage son or daughter, your parents may miss you and want you to stay close to home. But, it is your life ahead of you. You need to make it. And, if you aren’t too big a jerk, you will make new friends in college . . . many. It happens.
It is a great world, even Texas. College is a great opportunity to experience the world. That has huge value. And, if you turn down your strange music, they will always let you back in through the York tollbooth.
A. I could be biased since I grew up in Maine and went to Bowdoin in Maine . . . but maybe I am not.
We have some great colleges in Maine. There are another 3950 good U.S. colleges outside of Maine. There are great options in Canada and around the world. Many of these colleges are very interested in enrolling Maine students. Most, maybe all, Maine colleges are very interested in doing the same.
If you are not likely to be eligible for any financial aid, Maine community colleges are likely to be your most affordable option, but that isn’t necessarily a good reason to choose one of them. A college education is an investment. If you are looking for your best return, you don’t necessarily invest as little as possible. If a Maine community college has a program that would serve you well, it can be a great choice. The University of Maine system can also be a relatively affordable option, but you don’t know that until you apply to other colleges, including colleges with higher tuition, room, and board, to see which colleges offer you the most financial aid. Do not limit your college list only to Maine colleges because you think they will be the only ones you can afford.
Enough about the cost of college.
A good college education broadens your world and it creates new markets for you. If you are comfortable with the world you have now, and think it will be a good world for you for fifty years ahead, you do not need to broaden your world in college. A college education close to home may increase your knowledge, and you will meet some new people, but it may not really broaden your world, as I am thinking of that.
I come down firmly on the side of new experiences and different environments. That is almost always challenging and scary. I think that is good. After Bowdoin I lived in Colorado. It was very different. Halfway through Kansas I started wondering if I had any idea what I was doing. I couldn’t even smell the ocean. Colorado was challenging. It took a while for me to get used to it. It was great. It was beautiful. It was fun. People were young and athletic. Denver had big companies, lots of them. There was a small mound of dirt they called Mt. Washington. Same elevation. I still have work in Colorado. I opened up a new market for me. After Colorado, I lived in Boston. Sometimes it seemed people were all competing to be the least friendly. Drivers always yelled at me. It was great. There was a lot of action. After Boston I lived in Texas. They didn’t even know Maine was a state. I didn’t even have cowboy boots. I did have a pickup truck, but it wasn’t a real pickup. I learned to like country music. It was a great experience, even though I haven’t been back since, and have no plans to do so. But, I learned a lot about heat and football and chicken-fried steak and am very glad I did it.
New experiences and new environments are not what you are used to, and they are challenging. Challenge is good! It makes you a stronger person. It develops new markets for your career. They still let me back into Maine. I turned down my country music and they let me right through the York tollbooth.
When you are putting your list of colleges together, I encourage you to be courageous and look beyond what you know and what looks comfortable. If you haven’t been too bad a teenage son or daughter, your parents may miss you and want you to stay close to home. But, it is your life ahead of you. You need to make it. And, if you aren’t too big a jerk, you will make new friends in college . . . many. It happens.
It is a great world, even Texas. College is a great opportunity to experience the world. That has huge value. And, if you turn down your strange music, they will always let you back in through the York tollbooth.