One thing I learned in this process...and I thought that we did all our research and due diligence...but, I never saw this come up. And, now, it seems like it's a pretty prevalent thing.
A lot of kids (most kids?) attend an in-state school. And, if you have ever looked at the difference between in-state and out of state tuition, you would understand why this happens.
But, here's a thought for those who go out of state. On the weekends, the in-state kids go home. Whether it's just to get some decent food or sleep, take a private shower, see the girlfriend, or have mom do your laundry, they do it. Doesn't matter if home is 15 minutes off campus or an hour off campus, they do it...and do it a lot.
So, for those out of state kids, who have a three, or five, or 11 hour ride home, you are stuck on a campus that's a ghost town on the weekends (in your sports offseason).
Some kids are fine with it. Others are not. And, if your kid is one that's going to feel isolated and far from home with no one to hang with, consider going to a school that's closer to home.
On my son's former school team, over 90% of the players were in-state. And, on the weekends, they mostly all went home. One kid was an hour away (each way) and my son said he would often go home on a weekday afternoon and come back that night.
And, it's just not the athletes. A ton of students in general all go home on the weekends if it's not far away.