Living on Campus/Commuting

[Catlover4100]

Which do you like better? If you commute, do you wish you had lived on campus instead (and vice versa)? I have planned to commute to college for awhile now, but I'm afraid it will be even harder for me to make friends and social connections if I'm not on campus. I don't feel ready to leave my family (and cats!), but maybe it would just be better to put myself out there.

And, as my grandma, pointed out, it could be a really crappy drive in the winter. They make anyone who lives more than 30 miles away live on campus, and I'm about 28-ish. It's about a 45 minute drive in good weather, so who knows how long it would be in the snow? I don't know, I feel like there's no right answer!

[its_a_rick]

I commute to college. I wouldn't be able to deal with living somewhere else than at home, college alone can be stresfull enough as it is. As for the making friends, it sorta depends on the classes you're taking. My classes require a lot of group work (which was _really_ hard at first) so I was kind of forced to meet new people, and work with them.
I use public transport (train) to get there which I learned to deal with just fine, people just use public transport as a means of getting somewhere and don't really care about anything along the way.

[tvgirl48]

I prefer living on campus. I don't have the option of commuting because I'm going to a university hours away from home, but I would live on campus even if I had the option. For me, I knew it was one of those opportunities to force me to live on my own. Because if I don't move out in college, I would never move out because of fear. This is a good way to get some experience living alone and having my own place. Now I still live in a dorm, I haven't made the leap into apartment hunting yet because, frankly, I have no idea what you do or how or when you find an apartment on a campus. But I want to have my own place someday, so I'm jumping into the deep end and trying to swim

[pita]

I live about 35 miles away from school and I commute via public transit. I've lived on campus and near campus before, but it didn't help me make friends. It did have its benefits, though: you can go to the library whenever you want, and if you live right on campus you don't have to lug around a bunch of crap all day long.

Commuting can be a pain sometimes, especially in the winter, but it's much less of a pain if you have access to transit. My train ride generally takes an hour, while driving might take twice that long in rush hour traffic. Sometimes I wish I lived near school, but I kind of like being able to come home to my family every night.

[Hadron]

I'd definitely stay in campus next year. Commuting is not one of the factors that affect my decision, though. One of the reasons is that I really need a change from the monotone that life is right now. Though there are probably a few other reasons...

[Peter Attis]

I currently commute. I wish I lived on (or at least much closer) to campus just because I could go to the library whenever I needed to, and I wouldn't have to set my schedule to only certain days of the week.

[SilentLoner]

I lived on campus for two and a half years, I commute now due to finances. I definitely would rather live on campus. I really hate commuting most days.Back on campus I could go to club meeting, activities and do my own thing, even thought I didn't really have friends (that stopped bothering me a long time ago).

[utopian_grrl]

I guess you could say I kind of do both. I live just about 30 miles from my university, so commuting would be allowed. Instead I live on campus during the week and drive home most weekends. I think it's a great balance if you're able to do both. It gives you a break from family by allowing independence, but it also allows you to escape from the school environment when it gets stressful.

[Catlover4100]

Originally Posted by polythene

I've done both, and each option has its cons, depending on how bad your anxiety is. Even if the college you're going to is huge, people will notice that you're reclusive and frequently alone if they never see you around with anyone - especially those that live on your floor/in your building. If you're very willing to make a good effort, living on campus will be much more rewarding: you'll take a step toward working on your SA and may make a few friends in the process. That's all you really need, two or three people who like spending time with you. Befriending your roommate is also useful, as you always have someone to go eat with. Keep in mind that you do have to try, though, quite hard, and that living on campus can be extremely intimidating, especially when everybody else seems so 'social.' If it works out well though, I think it's the better option. What you might do is live on campus for a semester or so (though they usually bind you to a year-long contract) and see if you can manage it. If not, your home isn't far away and you can move back there.

I'm currently commuting, and it's the worst thing I've done for my nonexistent social life. I did manage to make some friends when I was living on campus (though I sucked at maintaining them), but I haven't made a single one since I switched schools (to someplace closer) and started commuting. When you're not good at making friends to begin with, you'll find that it's about 100x harder when you're not 'forced' to by being around people all the time. Commuting is the easy way out: you go to class then you run away as fast as your legs can carry you. You might make one or two friends if you're lucky, but that's not likely (as in my case) if you don't make a good effort. It's also unlikely you'll get too close to these people, because they forge bonds be seeing one another all the time.

If this is your first year, I say live on campus. It can be fun and definitely a great experience. If it's too overwhelming you can always move back, but at least you can say you gave it your best shot.

Thanks polythene, good advice. Even though I'm scared out of my mind, I keep telling myself it's just one year, that I can always live at home again the next year. I'm definitely going to join a club or two, and if I do end up commuting, I'm going to make an effort to be on campus for more time than just my classes. Originally, I had planned to commute because I thought it would be much cheaper, but now that I'm learning about the financial aid process, I see that the increased cost may give me a greater financial aid package.