Commuting: Is It Right For You?

By Sammy K

We all know that living in campus housing can be exorbitantly expensive, and also know that the food served up with mandatory meal plans isn’t always the tastiest or the healthiest. What about all of the rules? Living in dorms can be suffocating for those of you who don’t want to live like Big Brother. Although there is never a shortage of student apartments nearby, is commuting an option to consider?

Commuting is a mixed drink of good and bad. Think vodka-cran (or your drink of choice). If you use cheap vodka, it usually tastes horrible. But with a good balance, can be delicious. There are many ups and downs to staying with the folks and commuting to classes, but lets weigh all of the facts before you tell mom and dad you’re staying home.

1. If you’re a real family person and want to stay clo se, commuting is a great option for you. You can live at home and still have college life.
2. Distance is your enemy here. Commuting 20 minutes isn’t so bad, but what about an hour? Two? The time spent in the car going to class doesn’t include your daily routine or leaving early enough to catch your 8 AM. If you even take classes that early, you’d have to leave at, say, 5:30-6 AM. In order to leave at this time, you’d have to get up around 4 AM! Do you think you could handle doing that three times a week for an entire semester?
3. Cost. I don’t have to say much about this. Again, a short commute isn’t too bad, but once you get into longer commutes you’re looking at filling up a few times a week. With gas prices being what they are, you will not be saving any money bypassing dorm living.
4. Mom cooking. I mean, seriously. This is an easy one. Meal plan or home cooked loving? Not even an argument there.
5. Cash flow. Hey, I’m just saying what we’re all thinking. Living with the parents means they’ll be saving money on your dorm expenses, so maybe you could see the trickle down effect of these savings.
6. Pets. Dorms do not allow pets unless there are special circumstances or you have a service animal. Being at home, you can keep Fluffy nearby for a study buddy.
7. Time consumption. This goes along with your distance problem. The amount of time you’ll be spending going back and forth from school is going to be huge, and its going to be exhausting.
8. Missing out on the college experience. If you’re an older student, this isn’t so much a problem. If you’re fresh out of high school, most of you want to have your college experience. You want the dorm and the awful food because the friends and memories you make will more than make up for the cost (and taste).

Commuting is the cheap vodka vodka-cran of drinks. Its bitter and hard to swallow. Don’t feel bad if you’re not up for it. Commuting isn’t for everyone; its not for most, actually. It requires a lot of time, money, and dedication that can be better spent on your studies.

When considering your housing options, see about renting an off campus apartment if you don’t want to live in the dorms. Talk to your parents and compare the costs; you might both be surprised at the amount of money you’ll save. (And you’ll be able to have good vodka-crans that your parents don’t have to know about.)

Questions? Comments? Follow me on Google+ or Twitter @sammymmkay.

Share this article: