What is your opinion on starting off a relationship as long distance?

So I met this girl my first year at college and liked her for a while and found out that she liked me. Sounds perfect right? It does, but theres more to the situation. We both really want to start a relationship, however, I have many doubts in my head because of bad timing. She told me she liked me at the very end of my college year and she lives six hours away from me. You would just say wait till the next year to start things, right? But, I am studying abroad for a whole entire year next year so I'm in a conundrum of what to do. I really want this to work. Ever since I've been away from college, I can't help but think about her all the time and what we could become. My issue is I don't want her first boyfriend ever to never be able to see her. How can you really miss soemone if you haven't even established a relationship? I want to visit her a few times during the summer, would that be enough to establish some romantic grounds strong enough for us to endure a year without each other and make it mean something? Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it!