From application fees and tuition costs to dorm fees and food, college bills can rack up quickly.

It isn’t easy for students tackle these bills, from hard-earned scholarships to dreaded student loans. Therefore, when it comes to deciding where to attend college, it’s no surprise that students are opting for locations closer to home. Due to the extreme costs of higher education, students have begun opting for colleges and universities in their own states to avoid drowning in bills, tuition and debt.

According to College Board, the average cost for a student who stays in their home state was $9,970 at a public college, and for students migrating to an out of state school, the average cost grew to over $25,000. With the cost basically doubling, the price of a higher education can become shocking and deter many students from leaving the state.

Tanya Charan is a junior at Seminole High School who will be graduating with and esteemed International Baccalaureate diploma in 2020. Although Charan considers herself to be a highly qualified candidate for many top schools in the nation, she has come to the conclusion that for financial reasons, she may need to stay at home.

“I would love to go to an out of state college. A university with new faces and fresh programs is enticing,” she said. “However, I have a big scholarship for universities within Florida (Bright Futures), and I would rather not spend the first few years of my career crippled with huge debt.”

While many students are affirmatively staying in state, select students are jumping the boundary, and attending colleges far from home, despite the financial burden. Many of these students hold heavy scholarships or financial aid from these outside schools, however some of them are simply determined to make the cost work for them in the long run. They are going out of state despite what everyone advises them.

Alice Abia-Okon is one of these ambitious students. While Abia-Okon knows of the expenses and risks associated with attending a school outside of her home state, she is also firm on the idea of attending programs that she thinks will better get future.

“I’m going out of state. I’m positive about it,” she said. “Going out of state, I will get new opportunities, new friends, and new experiences. Despite the adverse effects of going, out of state is the best option for me.”

While out of state, may be an exciting idea for many students, the possibility of it happening is far out of many students reach. The combined costs and the difficult move are becoming a bigger concern for many of the students. Therefore, when it comes to college, many of the students in Seminole High School are choosing to stay in their home state of Florida.