I’m from Connecticut, and although I haven’t heard back form UConn yet, I’m almost positive I’m either going to end up going there or to Central Connecticut State University. I live in a small town on the shoreline, over 1 hour away from Uconn and about 45-50 minutes from CCSU. However, my sister has a house that’s about 25-30 minutes away from both schools and I do have the option to commute back and forth from there and save a lot of money.
However, the weather can get pretty rough so I’m not sure how I’d pull of driving to school on days like those.
I’ve also been reconsidering my commuter plan because I’ve missed out so much socially in high school, I want to grow as an individual and socialize more, which I might miss out on as a commuter. I’m not saying I’m a party animal or anything, I’m not really a party person anyways.
So can anyone help me on this one? It’d be awesome if someone who’s experienced both could answer, but all replies are welcome!
Ah, I’d also like to mention that I come from a low income family with only one parent working. I believe the income bracket is from around $30-33k a year so is the money worth dorming?
@qhuong Id say it depends on the money, yes it would save money but you’d also be giving up a part of the college experience. My family has an income bracket of around 375k and my sister decided that she would still live with us but the next year decided that the money was worth it because she was missing out on the full college experience. But since you still have a smaller bracket I’d say that maybe do dorms one or two of the years but not all of them if you just can’t afford it. Do you have any financial aid?
I will be applying for financial aid after the new year, but I am almost positive I will have some. And I was thinking the same thing where I’d try it out freshmen year since that’s when I’d meet the most people and get used to “college life” and see if it’s for me.
@qhuong exactly and then you’ll make friends the freshman year and be able to move out if you ever do and still be friends and hangout. College is about experiencing new things, places and people, without living there you might not experience any of those things.
You can make this decision once you are admitted and see what you get for financial aid. Once you have your financial aid packages then you can figure out whether or not you can afford the room and board. Also compare costs since you might be paying your sister some rent and/or helping with food and you will also have gas and parking expenses to consider if you commute.
I’ve done the commuting route and you can fulfill yourself socially by inserting yourself into the right environments, connecting with the right people / clubs, and staying around for people and events instead of going home after your classes. If you’re a likable popular person, there is no problem at all fitting into social groups even at a commuter school. If not (like me), there’s still plenty of opportunities to be involved in something bigger… to develop yourself as a person.
As it’s hard to convey my experiences in words and an engineering student whose main focus is academics, I’ve gotten all of the social experiences I ever could want out of college from a commuter school. I’ve traveled, partied, gotten close to a certain group of people, had countless hangouts… You hear all these stories from the people that go off to college. A lot of the dorm life stories are all very similar with a few differences and it’s possible to recreate the experience in my head.
– I’ve saved a ton of money commuting from home and will be graduating debt free as an engineer this Spring.
If you can, I would say to dorm, once you figure out the finances. You get a chance to be independent, to make friends, to do more activities on campus, etc. etc. If finances don’t allow it, do try to make friends on campus and not rush home right after class.
Honestly, commuting is a more practical option. The dorm experience is vastly overrated and anyone who says otherwise is looking though rose-tinted spectacles. Most dorms are about as nice as minimum security prisons. The beds suck, the bathrooms suck, the noise sucks, etc.
With commuting, you get a much larger and nicer space with far less interruption. You can still do all the socializing you want, but at the end of the day you get a solid night of sleep in a comfy bed.
Not to mention cost. Dorms are a horrible value in terms of money.