Recent Racine County high school graduates seem to have picked colleges based on academic program offerings and lower tuition costs, which led many to choose in-state schools like those in the University of Wisconsin System.

Matt Cariello, an 18-year-old Case graduate, will attend UW-Parkside because his dad went there and it is inexpensive. It's also close to home, which means Cariello can keep his job at Best Buy and live at home to save money.

"I would have loved to take out a loan and go to a different school, but who knows how long it would take to pay it off?" Cariello said.

Megan Tomamichel, 18, of Case High School, said the cost of a UW is "a bonus." She will study zoology at UW-Madison.

Anna Konkol, 17, from Burlington Catholic

Central, will attend UW-La Crosse.

"When I visited, it was exactly how I pictured college growing up. It's green and open and super-pretty," she said.

Anna chose UW-La Crosse in part because of her visit and also because of their health science program.

Billy Zarek also chose his college based on a program. Zarek, 18, graduated from Burlington Catholic Central and will attend DePaul University in Chicago for game design.

Zarek said he would have chosen DePaul no matter what, but a scholarship made his choice cost about as much as attending a UW school.

Ariel Adelsen, 18, from Case High School, is taking advantage of Wisconsin's reciprocity agreement with Minnesota, which will allow her to pay in-state tuition. Adelsen is attending

Minnesota State-

Morehead on a softball scholarship. She will study nursing, one of the reasons she chose the school.

"I liked the nursing program," she said. "You can apply freshman year into it. A lot of other schools have core classes your first year, then a test or application to get into the nursing program."

Adelsen said she is a bit worried about being nine hours from home, though.

"I met a lot of the softball girls when I went to visit," she said. "Hopefully it works out OK."

Jacob Kornwolf is also a bit worried about going far away. The 17-year-old Case High School graduate will be going all the way to Broadway this fall to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy to pursue his dream of becoming a live stage performer.

Jacob said he was thrilled to be accepted to the school, which has current performers and producers as teachers, but that moving to New York is

intimidating. "I keep reminding myself everyone has to leave home to pursue their goals," he said.

While some Racine County graduates do go far away, almost all students interviewed said most of their friends are staying in Wisconsin for college.

"A couple are going far away - one to Missouri and two to Arkansas," Jacob said. "The rest are going to UWM or Parkside."

He said most chose those schools because they wanted to stay close to home. Tomamichel agreed. She said many of her friends are staying home to save money and to "ease" into college.