<p>I'm a high school junior considering my college options, and one factor I've been looking at is commuting. My family owns a small apartment in a very nice location in proximity to the commuter rail into Boston that is not being used at all. My parents think it would be good for me to make use of it and defray some of the costs of paying for college if I go somewhere in Boston like NU. I'm aware that there are some cons to commuting, but I'm willing to at least look into the option because it's a really nice place and I think it would be easier for me to focus with some space to myself. Also, there could be a substantial financial benefit for my family (NU's an expensive school!).</p>
<p>However, when I was visiting Northeastern recently I heard the tour guide say something about undergrad students being required to live on campus for the first two years. Is this true or did I misunderstand? I didn't get time to talk to her in more detail since it came up near the end and I was in a hurry to catch the train home. I can always call the admissions office to find out more but I was just wondering if anybody here knew if that was true, and if so why?</p>
<p>If you are in the regular programs, then yes, you MUST stay on campus unless you have a really good reason to get an exception (physical disability, for example). You can commute as part of the CPS programs, but that is a whole different animal. The short answer is that you heard correctly.</p>
<p>The answer to why? I can only guess. Northeastern is trying to get away from its roots as a commuter school, dorms are a great source of revenue, and students feel more connected to the college, which probably makes them more likely to support the university when they graduate.</p>
<p>But that is pure speculation on my part.</p>
<p>Actually, I’m pretty sure that if you just contact the school and say you’ve got an apartment nearby/you want to commute because you live close enough, they’ll let you. I’ve got two pharm commuter friends that did just that, and Northeastern readily agreed to letting them commute every day.</p>
<p>If you live within 20 miles of campus and will be commuting from your family home, you can be exempted from living on campus. But they warn you that your need based grant, if you receive one, may be reduced as your costs will be less than if you live on campus.</p>
<p>Well I would be a little more than 20 miles, like 22 or 23 I think. But with fairly easy access to a regular train into Boston I think it could be quite workable if they allow it. There seems to be a couple of different opinions but I’ll definitely contact the school and see what they say. If anyone has experience doing anything like this or knows someone who did I’d be interested in your opinions of it.</p>