I'm from SC, attending a private university in IL, so I'm all for going out-of-state. I have a variety of reasons for my choice, but I'll address your concerns first.It's definitely not weird to stay around for breaks. I went home with my roommate for Thanksgiving break last semester, and went home with another friend for Fall Break [a four-day ...

Definitely easier to get money if you live in a state and go to college in that state. I know that Florida and Texas both have major scholarships for good students to keep them in state.

I'm pretty sure state schools have scholarships and loans for in-state students (they like trying to keep people from leaving the state) and money from public sources that's often designated for or favoring in-state students.

Is it worth the extra money to go out of state? I've lived in Georgia my whole life and UGA and Georgia Tech are both good schools, but I'm thinking I may want to check out another part of the country... maybe California. A few of my worries are: Travelling home for breaks will be a fortune... is it weird to stay around campus for things like ...