<p>I live about 15 minutes from UCSD, a great university for one seeking to go into the sciences. I want to go on the premed track, majoring in either human biology or neuroscience. </p>
<p>However, I constantly feel like staying at home for the next four years would prevent me from living out the "college experience." Moreover, the prospect of going to a university with over 21,000 undergrads is a bit intimidating (as opposed to an out-of-state university with an undergrad population between 3,000 and 6,000, where I'd feel more like a human than a number)</p>
<p>On the other hand, I'm constantly being told that living at home would provide me with that sense of comfort, as well as beautiful weather, that enables one to succeed in college.</p>
<p>So, for any college students who live at home: do you like it? Does it help you succeed? Do you feel like you're missing out on the whole "college experience?"</p>
<p>not living at college will definitely detract from the college experience at least a little bit; you could also find plenty of friends to stay overnight with pretty often, though.</p>
<p>I live 20 minutes from OSU, and have commuted this past year, this coming year I will be living on campus, as i hated A. finding parking, and B. felt like i was missing out on the college experience.</p>
<p>I live 30 miles away from the college in the city I go to. First year I commuted and it was definitely a pain, cause commuting would waste 2-3 hours a day. </p>
<p>In your situation, you live at home only 15 minutes away from your college. Living at home will save you a cost on living at dorms. There is no doubt on that. You won't have as much "college exprience" but you should have definitely have more comfort having your own room at home that sharing with a roomate who may snore, go to bed and wake up at very different times form yours and wake you up, etc. You can still make friends if you join clubs and/or a fraternity. You parents have to allow you to come home at anytime you want and go anywhere you please. Then you'll be as much comfortable as you owned your own appartment and you won't feel than living at home gets in your social life. Otherwise, live in a dorm or an apartment if you can afford it.</p>
<p>15 minutes away? I'd do it for the exact same reasons coyote77 says. I commute. It's hard sometimes, I won't lie. I do feel a certain distance from a lot of people on campus because I live away, but at the same time, I transferred into my current college as a junior from a CC, so groups of friends and the "college experience" were pretty much established and done. My savior is that my major is relatively small, so I have the same classes with a lot of people and am able to make friends that way. </p>
<p>I would never give up having my own space, my own privacy, and being near my family for the "college experience." You know what the college experience is? Whatever you want it to be. I'm also pretty lucky that I get along very well with my family, unlike a lot of people here, and I can come and go as I please. 15 minutes from campus is NOTHING. You can be just as involved on campus as the people who live there or who live in apartments close by, no problem. </p>
<p>Good luck with your choice! :) Do whatever you feel is best for YOU! :)</p>
<p>My parents house is less than 10 minutes from my school. I lived in the dorms my freshman year, and I'm glad I did because I feel like I had a good, important experience living "away" from home and in the dorms. Now I'm going into my sophomore year and will be living at home. I feel that, now that I've had the experience, it's worth it to save the money. Last year my friends who commuted still seemed just as happy. But I'm very glad I lived in the dorms my freshman year because I needed that sense of independence and a fresh start.</p>
<p>As long as you are willing to spend about $8000- 14,000 per year for a dorm to have this "experience". Thats how much it cost on average in Chicago. I do not think its too much worth it if you live only few minutes away from campus. Why not istead hang out very often at friend's dorms? I would rather save that money to get a new car that is hybrid (fuel efficient). I know plenty of students in my college who live in apartments and still have a lot of friends and rich social life. Those are usually who are involved the most in campus. They go to campus gym, go to clubs, do community service.</p>