By Bennett Fuson
<[email protected]>

Senior year is, in no small terms, the most important year of one’s life.  It is the crossroads between adolescence and adulthood.  Every choice made senior year will directly impact the future, especially one: picking a college.

I’ve never had a problem with going to college within the borders of the Hoosier state.  Frankly, I don’t see why it’s a big deal.  IU, Ball State and Purdue are nationally recognized universities (along with many others, including a little known school in South Bend).   Yet this fall, as I applied to college with most of my friends, I noticed a rather peculiar trend.

Everyone wants to leave Indiana as soon as possible.

Now I’m not saying I plan on living with the moonlight on the Wabash until I am interred.  I am a firm believer in going out and experiencing the world.  But there’s a time and a place, and right now, with the economy the way it is, I don’t see how anyone can justify paying upwards of $50,000 per year for tuition.

Nay-sayers, hear me out.  I certainly recognize the prestige of becoming a Harvard man.  But even then, what dreams can realistically happen to those Ivy League-ers right now?  Pay upwards of $50,000 a year to not get a prestigious associate position in a financial institution?  Sounds fantastic. 

I’m not bashing the hopes and dreams of everyone out there.  If you’ve had your heart set on heading out to New Haven to become a Yale-y, then by all means, let me be the first to congratulate you.  But those of you who decided last year that to be an “independent spirit” meant running away with the parents’ nest egg, then shame on you.  Right now, there’s absolutely no reason to leave the state for a higher education.  Between the dozens of colleges in Indiana, a good education is to be had at a reasonable price.

   This may sound harsh, but it’s absolutely true.  If you can avoid leaving the state, then try.  Economically, the worst is yet to come.  I personally don’t think it’s fair on my own family to ask for funds to ship off out of state, especially since we have lost so much.  And I count myself as blessed; at least both of my parents still have their jobs.  This column is not a complaint.  It is simply a statement: if you could get as good of an education here as anywhere, why wouldn’t you? Bennett Fuson is an Entertainment editor for the HiLite. Contact him at [email protected].