When most NIU students take off for college, they leave their families far behind and prepare for a new life.

But a surprisingly high number of NIU students have families a stone’s throw away.

A large number of DeKalb High School students attend NIU, said Terry McCoy, director of guidance for DHS.

“Typically, we have 45 percent of our students go to four-year schools,” McCoy said. “A vast majority of those go to Northern.”

There are a few reasons why students choose to attend NIU, McCoy said.

One is the low cost of NIU, and the possibility of saving nearly $6,000 a year in room and board charges, he said. Another major reason, McCoy said, is because students with parents employed by NIU receive partial tuition waivers. A third reason is NIU’s academic reputation.

McCoy added that students would go anywhere to avoid going to the local junior college.

Freshman business major Doug Whitesel, a resident of DeKalb, said he chose NIU because of its business program and soccer team.

“During my freshman and sophomore years, nobody wanted to go to Northern,” Whitesel said. “Once you look at it, it’s really not that bad. By junior and senior year, NIU was an option on everyone’s list, I’m sure.”

Freshman undecided major Kyle Pettengell chose NIU for many of the same reasons as Whitesel.

At first he wanted to leave the area, but after hearing so many good things about NIU’s business program and after meeting the baseball team, he decided Northern was the place for him.

“I’m glad I made the decision to come here,” Pettengell said.

Both Whitesel and Pettengell are making the most of their college experience by opting to stay in the residence halls, rather than making the short drive to school.

“The dorms give me a chance to get away from home and are a great way to meet people … I see my family once or twice a week, it’s good to get a home-cooked meal,” Pettengell said.

As a counselor, McCoy believes that all students should live in the residence halls their first year, to help them adjust from being away from home.

One thing that shocked Whitesel is how NIU seems to be separated from the rest of DeKalb.

“It’s like two different towns … I don’t even drive down the same roads I used to,” Whitesel said.

Both students said they are asked why they stayed in DeKalb by a lot of people they meet.

People always ask me why I would want to stay in this town, they think it’s bad, Pettengell said.

Getting a reaction like that from students living in Chicago and the suburbs is normal, McCoy said. Minus the undergraduate students, DeKalb is a small town with a population of about 35,000 people, that’s different to a lot of students, McCoy said.

“You have kids come out here who have never seen corn before,” he added.