Please share your experiences with me. My college is a community college so the dorms are like 20 minutes away and super expensive. I am planning on commuting for now. What is your advice? How hard is it? Did you keep up with your work? THANK YOU.
I commuted 40 years ago. My trip to school was a ten minute walk, a 20 minute bus ride and then another 10 minute walk. After class the first year, I would take a 30 minutes subway ride to work. The subway ride home was about 45 minutes. When I had a seat, I would read my schoolwork and think about my HW. I still like the commute by mass transit over driving so I can relax and read. I used my commutation time to read. Nowadays, with headsets and radios, people can listen to their textbooks.
I commuted 40 years ago also. And I would never do it again. Was 2 hours busride + 10 minute walk. I could not read or study in bus due to getting dizzy.
Thankfully, during my educational experiences I never had to commute farther than 10 miles, but I know plenty of people who did.
I would do a serious cost/benefit analysis if I were you. You say the dorms are expensive, but I think it would really be worth looking into closer off-campus housing. Unless you are somewhere like Manhattan, off-campus housing is almost always cheaper and a better value.
Keep in mind the standard millage rate is $0.54 per mile. That adds up quickly.
I commuted to college for one semester via subway and bus. It took about 75 minutes total. I got a lot of reading done during that time.
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want to waste that much time driving. Not enough hours on the day to get everything done and have that drive time.
The college kids in our city have the light rail and bus passes as part of their student fees. Thousands of them commute every day on the same routes as most workers use to get downtown. Anywhere from 1 hour to 15 minutes in time each way. Super easy.
Almost 40 years ago, I did my 4 years of commuting to college. 10 minute walk to the subway station, then a 30 minute commute to the downtown campus, or a transfer and an additional 20 minutes to the main campus. For urbanites you get used to it, not a big deal.
Now driving, that’s a different issue. I frequently have to do a 90 minute one way commute to work. It gets tiring fast. Especially if you want to leave by 5:30am in order to beat the traffic. So I would draw the line at 1 hour from door to door for driving commute. More than that, I’d investigate public transportation, ride-sharing, dorms or off-campus arrangements.
I’m also at a community college right now. I commute around 20-30 minuted (depending on the time of day) to get to my campus. I would say that it’s pretty easy. Even when I transfer to a 4-year university, I do not intend to live in the dorms. I like commuting.
I commuted by car 30 miles each way, often in rush hour traffic, four four years. I carpooled with a friend for part of that time. I graduated on time, with honors. It is certainly doable! A longer commute than I had wouldn’t be great. It’s hard when you have a very early or very late class, and makes for lots of study time in the library or, in my case, at the beach(!) when you have large time gaps between classes. It’s not too bad when you get a semester where all your classes are tues-thurs. it takes more work to get involved in clubs or sports, and the social life on campus. In some respects it’s easier to study and there’s fewer distractions. For me commuting was the difference between debt and no debt, and graduating debt free made a big difference later on. Commuting is a different experience, but not a bad one.
I commuted for most of undergrad (drove 30 miles, which could take anywhere from 45 mins - hour 15 depending on city traffic) and I think I calculated I spent something like 800 hours commuting in a car. When I looked at it that way and considered how many days – entire days and weeks! – were spent driving, I regret it. I could have been with friends or could have worked more hours or something. And, now as a graduate student, I refuse to make that long of a commute again because my time is even MORE precious.
However, it still worked out for me, especially the semesters I only have to be on campus 3 days a week. I came home to a home cooked feel with my family, I didn’t have to worry about housing costs, I could work my same job, etc. I was comfortable, and my being comfortable helped me produce my best work and do well in school.
So, there are pros and cons either way. It really depends on what you personally need the most.
Living pff campus there are less distractions. Living on campus its easier to be involved and form friendships. In inclement weather commuting can be problematic. If parking is an issue on campus you have to allow additional time to find parking in addition to driving time which can be a hassle. If your classes have big gaps in time throughout the day you don’t have personal space to relax. As in everything there are plusses and minuses.
I commuted to a cc 45 minutes from my house, so I took everything I needed for the day and stayed on campus. I used the time between classes to study, attend club meetings, or to hang out with friends.
Twenty minutes isn’t a bad commute. Just make sure to leave time to find parking and to walk to class.
I commuted just 10 or 15 minutes to community college, then closer to 40 minutes (if I missed rush hour) to university.
It wasn’t a real issue. Winter brought snow storms, which added a bit to the commute.
But 2 hours would be an absolute deal breaker for me.
@Nicoko, Why does your thread title ask about a 1-2 hour commute when your first post says you live 20 minutes from your college? How many round trips are you planning to make each day?