Commuting vs. On Campus living

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>Hey guys, I want an honest opinion for other students/graduates out there.</p>

<p>I'm wondering if it's worth the money to live in a dorm for most/all of my college life.</p>

<p>The reason why I ask is because 1: I want to experience living on my own, 2: I want to become more outgoing, and 3: it's more than an hour and a half commute from home, to the college I plan on attending.
Also another thing is, the college has a gaming community in it, and it'd be a pain to haul a 32" TV and computer and consoles back and forth in a subcompact.</p>

<p>Also, what are some pros, and cons (aside from price) to living at home vs. dorm?</p>

2

<p>The college you plan on attending may not offer dorm living for all 4 years. Some colleges only have space in the dorms for freshmen and maybe transfer students, and maybe some sophomores.</p>

3

<p>If you would be commuting more than an hour and a half away from school, I would definitely recommend either living on campus or renting an apartment near campus. That long of a commute is exhausting, and especially for your first year is going to make it difficult to participate in campus life and get a good group of friends. Also, when you’re tired or lazy, it’s going to make it that much harder to get to class.</p>

<p>If you can afford the cost, it’s generally a good idea to live on campus freshman year, and then you can reevaluate whether commuting would be worth it. I would definitely not recommend an hour and a half commute though, unless you don’t have another option.</p>

4

<p>An hour and a half commute is ridiculous. My commute takes 25-30 minutes and even that can get annoying. It doesn’t seem like a good idea for you. You’ll have to pay a lot for gas (and maybe maintenance since your car will be used a lot). Add the price of insurance and it might not be that much cheaper.
If you want some pros: you get home cooking, a room to yourself, and you’ll see your family everyday.</p>

5

<p>Dorms are worth it for one year, but not all four. Just like anything else it is a business and I could tell I was being milked for my money last year.</p>

6

<p>When comparing costs, consider the cost of gas and wear and tear on your car, and also the cost of a campus parking pass. Also, what would you do for meals? Would you brown bag from home, or would you need a meal plan on campus? There is also value to be assigned to your time–you could be studying or working with all the time you will be commuting. </p>

<p>Is there a school closer to home if you want to commute? 90 minutes each way, or even just in total for a day, adds up to an awfully big chunk of time.</p>

7

<p>From the info you’ve given us, I say you should definitely live on campus. If you’re not very outgoing (like me) it’s easier to make friends 'cause you’re living with a whole bunch of kids going through the same experiences. It’s also easier to take advantage of stuff on campus like clubs and activities :)</p>

8

<p>Let’s just say that commuting isn’t going to be the best option for you, especially with a 30-min drive. It’ll be a lot harder for you to make friends commuting also. I believe that commuting would give you the community college feel, rather than the whole “college experience”. </p>

<p>The school I’m transferring to is about an hour away from my house, but my mother will be moving away to a different country so either way I’d have to stay on campus. I live by a very busy freeway, and I’d be driving into the inner Los Angeles area; if you’ve ever been to LA, you’ll understand why I’d rather live on campus than drive daily to school. Driving an hour to and from LA would be too much on my car, and it would be too exhausting for me.</p>

9

<p>Here is a quick calculation of the average cost it would be for you:</p>

<p>3.646 is average cost per gallon
24.6 is average mileage</p>

<p>I’m assuming you’re going traveling at 55 mph for 1.5 hours because I don’t know you’re specific route and how long it is and 55 is leaning towards highway speeds while still factoring local road speeds of 35-45. (I’m assuming you do spend more time on the highway)</p>

<p>So one way I’m assuming you are traveling 55*1.5 = 82.5 miles</p>

<p>If you have a car with average mileage(generous based on stats for subcompacts especially in cities): 82.5/24.6 = 3.3536 gallons
Using the average national price of gas:
3.3536 * 3.646 = $12.23 per direction</p>

<p>Weekly cost: (I’m using an average of a six day week and a 5 day week because I’m assuming that you will go to school events once per weekend at least half the weeks)
$12.23<em>2</em>6 = $146.73
$12.23<em>2</em>5 = $122.27</p>

<p>($146.73 + $122.27)/2 = $134.50 per week
Average college semester is 15 weeks, You will have 4-5 weeks of break max so assuming you have ten weeks of actual attendance:
$1345.00 = cost of commuting for one semester. </p>

<p>BUT there are other factors, what about the probability that you will skip a class because you feel kinda sick and don’t want to drive 1.5 hours to class? What if you left something at home and had to go and get it? There are a lot of incidental costs that can’t be calculated. Also I’m adding worth to the time you are losing as well, as you could spend it working, socializing, studying etc. Average U.S hourly wages are $24.90, but that is much to high for a college student, so I’m using the average hourly wage for the Leisure and hospitality industry (the one you would most likely work in). While you may not necessarily get a job, your time is still valuable so this is the best way I could think of valuing it.</p>

<p>Average Hourly wage July 2013: $13.48 </p>

<p>Hours commuted Weekly: 16.5 = (1.5<em>2</em>5 +1.5<em>2</em>6)/2
Hours per Semester: 16.5<em>10 = 165
Cost Per Semester: 13.48</em>165 = $2224.20</p>

<p>So when making your decision consider the following.</p>

<p>Cost of Commuting: Monetary:
$1345 + $2224.20 + Incidental Costs </p>

<p>Other:
Less Socialization, More free time (Home w/o events to go to), Someone else to do you laundry/cooking. 2 maybe 3 free meals, old friends, closer to family</p>

<p>Cost of Staying:
Monetary:
College Boarding Cost and Food</p>

<p>Other:
More Socialization, more options, Campus food, Laundry responsibilities, more responsibilities in general, Generally more enjoyable.</p>

<p>I tried to make this as objective as possible. I know you said ignoring cost, but when you add it up, the difference is ~$1000-$1500 which is chump change in the grand scheme of things. When you look at the pros and cons, you have to decide for yourself, what do you want out of your college experience?
(btw did I forget anything? Any faulty logic? (I hate it when I do that))</p>

10

<p>From a typical social perspective, most students move out of the dorms after their freshman or sophomore year. Most get apartments around campus after that.</p>

<p>I completely agree that just living in a dorm is much more cost effective than getting in an apartment but that is still what people choose to do.</p>

<p>You will most likely not find more than a handful of seniors living in the dorms and only a couple more juniors. You have to make the decision yourself regarding whether or not you want to be in that minority of students that do choose to live all four years even though most of your friends will be living in apartments by that point.</p>

<p>And commuting from home, is not practical at all from what it sounds like.</p>

11

<p>orion12, what you are saying is not true for every school. At my daughter’s school most students do live all 4 years on campus. For those students who do move off campus, usually senior year, they can save money by living off campus because the rent is cheaper and you can go off meal plan or to an off campus meal plan which will save even more money.</p>

<p>In any case, OP, you should live on campus. You’d be cutting too much time out of study and participating in your campus life by that over long commute.</p>

12

<p>OP- Years ago I lived in the dorms my freshman year then ran out of money and commuted for a year. At that point I decided students loans were better than commuting. lol. Seriously though your commute time it too long. My DS is starting college in the fall and he could commute it’s about 45 minutes to hour each way depending on traffic. There is no way I would want him to do that. If you can afford it stay on campus or rent an apartment near by.</p>