story by Meredith Mulhern, photos by Meg Thompson,

Every year, the girls in the senior class experience the college application process. While many girls choose to attend school in Missouri or Kansas, some choose to go to a school that is far away.

For senior Natalie Behnen, the choice to look at schools on the West Coast was easy. Behnen is currently looking at Portland State University, Loyola Marymount University and the University of San Francisco, and she is planning on majoring in architecture and community design.

“I’m not originally from Kansas City,” Behnen said. “I grew up in New York, so I never really considered [Kansas City] my home.”

Behnen, whose father already lives on the West Coast in Portland, Ore., is already planning on moving to Portland with her mom this summer.

“It just makes sense to be on the same coast as my parents,” Behnen said.

Although the schools Behnen is looking at are far away, she thinks it will benefit her and she is excited to move to the West Coast.

“People [on the West Coast] are definitely going to be different, styles are going to be different,” Behnen said. “I’ve moved a lot in my life, but I think the West Coast is where I am meant to be, not the Midwest. The West Coast will give me a better sense of belonging.”

Senior Quinn Kernell is also looking at far-away colleges, but these schools are a little further than the West Coast.

Kernell is currently looking at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, Kings College in London, England and some American schools, such as Loyola University Chicago, Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. and Washington University in St. Louis.

Kernell, who plans on majoring in English literature and classical language, is interested in going to school abroad because of the “really good connections to publishing companies.”

“I want to be an editor in a publishing business,” Kernell said. “England is a publishing hub, and a lot of universities in the United Kingdom have the connections to publishing companies.”

Another aspect that Kernell admires about the European colleges is the opportunity to travel.

“The location makes it really easy to travel,” Kernell said. “It could be a really good experience and it might be the only four years I can live abroad and travel so cheaply.”

Other factors that appeal to Kernell is the affordability of colleges abroad. According to Kernell, schools abroad are not more expensive than American colleges.

“Some [European schools] that I’m looking at are $40,000 cheaper just for tuition,” Kernell said. “Also, a lot of schools abroad are free if you live in the UK. It’s cheaper for American students a lot of the time, but the cost of travel might even it out. There are lots of scholarship opportunities for American students, too.”

Because of the travel costs, Kernell does think that it could be difficult getting home for holidays.

“Flights are always expensive,” Kernell said. “But I think I would factor the cost of flights into my decision and cost of tuition versus other schools here.”

Although Trinity and Kings are so far away, Kernell is not concerned with the transition for high school to college or America to the UK.

“I think any transition from high school to college is gonna be difficult,” Kernell said. “The distance, the timezone and staying in contact with friends and family would be hard. School-wise, I don’t think that it would be particularly different from an American university.”

However, many girls do choose to stay in state. Senior Courtney Didier, who plans on majoring in civil or mechanical engineering and is going to the University of Missouri next year, thinks that staying in state will benefit her.

“I have a lake house down at the [Lake of the] Ozarks which I love spending weekends at,” Didier said. “Staying in state means that I can visit anytime and potentially work down there in the summer. It also means I can come home if I ever need to. Mizzou, for me, is the perfect distance. [Mizzou] is far enough away to say I’m a good distance from home, but it’s not too far.”

According to Didier, she originally planned on going out of state.

“Originally, the thought of staying anywhere close to Kansas City or even Missouri was out of the question,” Didier said.

Didier also thinks that seniors either planning on going or who are for sure going out of state will adjust well to the change.

“All STA girls seem to be social and outgoing enough to adjust well out of state,” Didier said. “I also believe that girls pick to go out of state because it is what they think will fit them the best.”

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