Life has many twists and turns. I’ve had kids go away to college, and I’ve had kids who stayed and attended one of our city’s many fine universities. All of them have had exemplary times. In fact, the one who chose to stay local (a university that receives about 100,000 applications each year) was born a wise old man. Whether he attended college clear across the country or right across the street, he was going to excel and do it all on his own terms. He’s always been like that.
He chose to live and work on campus for the first three years. He’s the kid we saw the least amount of time during all our children’s first few years of college. I never saw the inside of his dorm room after move-in day until he granted me the privilege of helping him move out at the end of the year. Over these past few years in college, he’s traveled throughout the US, as well as Eastern Europe all on his own. Made his own arrangements for travel and lodging. He’s always been very mature and driven. He’s never let our post-recession finances slow him down.
As in most things, it always depends upon the individual and how they respond to situations. Many times in my life, I’ve just wanted to hide for awhile under my bed, but ultimately I know I have to dust myself off, deal with whatever life threw at me, and make the best of the situation. Most of the commuter students I’ve known have been very focused and tenacious students. Many are able to cash flow their educations through working multiple jobs, scholarships, and grants. I’ve been blessed to supervise several such students as interns. The passion and commitment they’ve brought to the office were inspiring, and they were also able to be involved in their university and greater community lives.
Disclaimer: There are students who live in very dramatic, chaotic, and unhealthy homes, and, for many reasons, they are unable to leave and have to stay at home and commute to their local university. Those are totally different situations than the ones most commuters are in.