Listen to what was said about long distance relationships. I was in one for a total of 4 months of the 6 months I dated the girl. Long story short: Its hard, its painful, and its just not worth it. Granted, I go to school in North Carolina and she went to school in Ohio... (She lived in NC originally and during the summer)
Also, I've gone through telling a good friend that I've had feelings for them three times now. Honestly, while the best way is to be straight out honest, there is no way to predetermine how they will react. The first girl I told pretty much told me that she knew, but she had liked me but I had taken too long so she moved on. Now, she's like my little sister. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome, especially seeing how she came out last year...
The second girl was ok at first and was happy about it, but then got really nervous about dating a good friend and we decided to call it off. Granted, it turned out to be a good idea since she goes to school in Missouri now, but she's a very good friend now and told me the other night I was her best friend
The third girl.... well... it was just a bad scenario. I liked her, she invited me up to her room, we fooled around... hit second base... then she asked me where we saw us going. I told her I liked her, she told me she wasn't ready for a relationship yet (she had gotten out of a really bad one semi-recently), and after a few days, told me she felt too pressured. So, I told her that we should just be friends.
In a nutshell:
1.) Don't do long distance unless you are absolutely crazy about the girl and hopefully it will only be temporary
2.) You never know how they will respond when you admit your feelings to them, so just be honest, give them a way out so they feel safe, and just give it your best.