I know, I know…you cannot wait to get away from your family and be independent. It’s every high school senior’s dream to finally escape curfews, rules, and snooping parents. But before you head off to a faraway place for college in order to flee what’s familiar, you should consider what it will be like to be so far away from your family and if that is the right decision for you.

If you go to a school across the country, remember that it will take a major road trip or an expensive plane ride every time you want to go home. Depending on your economic situation, it may limit you to visiting home only a few times a year. After spending 18 years with these people, do you think you can handle seeing them only on major holidays?

There is no wrong answer; this is just something to take into consideration. Some people may be very ready for it, while others can’t bear that thought. Not everyone is close to their family. However, even if you don’t feel particularly close to your family, you may not realize how much you will miss them until you are 700 miles away and just want a taste of your mom’s casserole.

If you’re the type of person who can go away to camp all summer and barely miss home, going to college far away may be easy for you. But if you’re the type of person who doesn’t like leaving home or gets homesick, you may be happier going to college at a place where home is not so far away.

It’s possible to find a happy medium between feeling like you’re escaping your family but still close enough that you can go home easily if you need to. I almost went to school across the country, but I was never the type who liked being away from home for long and I realized it would be very hard for me. I ended up going to school about 160 miles from home. That was the perfect distance for me because I was far enough away from home that I didn’t feel like my parents would just drop by and surprise me. However, the car ride home, which took around three hours, was pretty painless and allowed me to spend time with my family whenever I wanted. Some weekends I just wanted a break from college life, needed a home-cooked meal and a free place to do my laundry, and coming home that short distance was easy.

While that was the right decision for me, I had many friends who went to school far away and loved it. They reveled in the freedom and were just fine with the distance, and really didn’t mind the occasional plane ride. For many people, this independence is what they need. If you feel that you need independence but are being pressured to stay close to home, think about what’s right for you. If your instinct tells you that you need a totally new experience far from home, don’t go to college 30 miles from where you grew up.

Then again, staying in your hometown may be right for you. If you are extremely close to your family, or even if you have a family member who is sick and you don’t want to leave them, there is nothing wrong with not leaving your city to attend college.

When you’re thinking about where you want to get your higher education, be sure to consider how close you are to your family and how important it is for you to be near them (or away from them). Remember, if you go somewhere far away and realize it’s not for you, you can always transfer somewhere closer.

Alternatively, if you’re ready for college but not quite ready for the leap of going somewhere far off, start at a school near or in your hometown but live in a dorm or your own apartment. That way you are near your family but still experiencing independence. If after one semester or year you find that you want more room to grow on your own, you can then transfer to a school further away.