<p>Hey CC,
So I live about a 40 minute drive from UC Berkeley and was wondering if I was just better off commuting instead of spending money to dorm, or live in apartment in Berkeley. I am junior transfer for Spring 2014 and my major is Economics.
Basically, I would commute to save a lot of money, and graduate without hardly any or small debts.
Anybody willing to share their input, or if you have been in this situation share their experience?</p>
<p>If you are getting financial aid, check how commuting would affect your financial aid and therefore net price. Some near-off-campus places, like the BSC co-ops, are close and cheap.</p>
<p>Driving and parking in Berkeley may not be too pleasant, so you may want to consider public transportation if you commute.</p>
<p>I commute from Oakley which is about 45 min on a good day. It costs $300+ for a parking permit per semester. I would prefer to live closer but I have a family and it would be too much of a hassle to move. 8 am classes suck because I have to leave before 6 to beat the traffic. Also if you have a MWF class it sucks having to drive all the way to campus for a one hour class on Fridays. Most of the information sessions for jobs/internships are later in the evening so if you want to attend those then you have to hang around campus for hours after your classes end. You also have to eat out every day or pack a non perishable lunch. And you have to lug around all the books for all of your classes that day. Other than that commuting isn’t so bad…
I was an econ junior transfer last year so feel free to ask me any questions about the major or specific classes.</p>
<p>One of the advantages to living in the dorms, at least for your first year, is that you will get a chance to meet people, have more flexibility to go to club/fraternity/sorority events, and (as mentioned above) attend job/internship info-sessions and other recruiting events. I think it comes down to how pressing the financial side of the decision is relative to how valuable you think the things I listed above are to you (as both sides of the equation definitely differ for each person).</p>
<p>I would definitely take finances into consideration and time spent. I mean if you commute you’ll definitely miss out on a large portion of that quote “college experience”. I went to college about 12 years ago, SF State commute school and worked full time. It was the pits. Going to school was just another horrible thing on my list. My wife I married at 18, didn’t have to work but we did have a baby. She made lots of friends since we lived sort of close. Her experience was a little better.</p>
<p>But there is a big difference for sure. Our son now is going this fall. It’s super hard on the finances, we’re borrowing a lot. But I wouldn’t want to deprive him of that experience unless he specifically asked and told me he’d love BARTing it everyday. I just see that 3 hours wasted everyday commuting and my head spins. Plus you know college for lots of people is once in a lifetime, might as well make some amazing memories.</p>
<p>I agree with Santookie. I mean, make your own decision, but part of college is the full experience, and in my opinion, it means living close enough to campus to be able to jump on any opportunities (academic, social, professional, etc.) that might come up.</p>
<p>I want to live out there, but I think I am just going to commute for the first semester of college there and see how it goes. I expect later that finances will be better where my family will be more comfortable on spending on housing out there. I’m thinking more of long-term, by not assuming any loans if I truly don’t have to because I think paying it back later might not be so fun.</p>
<p>You may want to apply to the BSC co-ops if you want a cheap place to live near campus (about $3,000 cheaper than the off-campus financial aid budget for room and board).</p>
<p>[Academic</a> Year Rates](<a href=“http://www.bsc.coop/housing/info-and-rates/academic-year-housing]Academic”>http://www.bsc.coop/housing/info-and-rates/academic-year-housing)</p>
<p>Even if you are not interested for 2013-2014, you may want to apply now if you are interested in future semesters, since the waiting list for new members is based on application date (note that living there during summers gives seniority points which move you up on the priority list).</p>
<p>I lived in an apartment during my first year at Cal and it’s definitely easier to make connections and avoid wasting time. I ended up taking BART the next 3 years because it was WAY cheaper to commute. There’s definitely a discrepancy when it comes to financial aid for off campus and living with relatives. Commuting definitely impacted my social life simply because it took me at least 3 hours each day total to get to and from.</p>
<p>aeboi, I totally agree. You don’t end up with the networking. You always have the commuting and the idea of how bad traffic is going to be. It’s just wasted time. I would say in the long run the savings is definitely a lot. But I mean you only do undergrad once for most people.</p>