I need your advice on long distance relationships, please.?

I'm in the process of thinking about where to apply for grad school in nursing. The thing is that I live in CA and the type of nursing program that I want to apply to is currently very popular in every school and therefore a lot of competition. My boyfriend and I have been together for about 2.5 years and we have talked about everything from marriage to kids to growing old together; we love each other deeply and neither one of us can imagine being with anyone else. We live in northern California, but there's one nursing program in southern California that I kind of want to apply to just to increase my chances, but at the same time I feel that if I do get into and attend that school I'll be very homesick and sad that I can't see my boyfriend and therefore leading up to arguments and breaking up. I know most people would say to focus on your career instead of your relationship, I would do this if it was just any guy, but with my boyfriend...well there's something special about my relationship with him. Please give me some advice and no rude comments please. Much appreciated!