Hazlet to New Brunswick is a half hour drive, it’s 40 minutes to Newark.
Then I guess it will depend on whether OP’s family would be willing to drive her or allow her to drive herself. If she’s dependent on public transportation, the Google times seem quite unfavorable as she’s pretty much heading up toward NYC and then catching a train back.
They would be driving 40 minutes each way (so 4x a day) without traffic (which never happens).
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At best it would only safe you 5 minutes per trip vs. the train, assuming there is no traffic. But, you’d have to arrive plenty early to actually catch the train. So I would not be surprised if the train might actually be quicker since it’s a direct route (and there’s going to be less stop & go with the train than on the GSP 
or at traffic lights)
GSP Toll will be about $5/day, train to NYC $11/day - plus fuel.
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OP what are your parents suggesting is best as far as commuting goes, given they want you to live at home?
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I don’t think so. My sister goes to New Brunswick and even though it’s really annoying for both her and my parents, she still takes the train or gets picked up/dropped off by my parents.
Alright, thank you for your advice. I haven’t looked at Harriman as an option. Looks like I need to do more research.
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They are mostly focusing on the college and major right now, commuting issues come later.
I would guess that they don’t mind me taking the train as long as it’s under 2 hours, and I think they prefer I stay in NJ, but I might be able to persuade them otherwise. Probably they’ll drive me for the first month until I get comfortable with taking the train, driving-wise I think they want max an hour. If I use my own money for the train, I don’t think they’d care much about the price. It’s much more important that I do something they think is “useful.” For example, if I get into NYU in, say, Dentistry, or Rutger NB in Pharmacy, they don’t care about the price or travel time. They’d only raise issues if the major or college isn’t satisfactory.
Dentistry and pharmacy are not college majors, so I am not sure I understand what they are saying.
I would make a list of schools with acceptable commutes, and then choose where to apply based on the list. You seem to be doing the reverse.
Again…you can double major just about everywhere so why is this major choice a problem??
I can’t imagine getting into medical school if you have no interest, so it almost certainly will not come to that. OP just needs to continue to ease her parents toward accepting it.
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My sister does pharmacy at Rutgers NB, and Dentistry is listed as a major at NYU. The pharmacy program combines undergrad and grad for a total of six years.
Like I said, my parents don’t care as much about commutes as acceptable colleges. For example, they don’t really like Montclair even though it’s at an “acceptable commute” level, and even though Rutgers NB is hard to get to by train, they’d still want me to go there.
Because they might make me do a program where it’s impossible to do so. They want me to do a seven year med school program, or a program in Pharmacy which is six years, something like that. I’m fighting not to do that, because where would I fit another major in there?
Seven year med school program would be a BS/Md or BS/Do program. These are very highly competitive for admission. Very low acceptance rates.
Pharm D programs are also competitive
No guarantees for either
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I know. I don’t think I can get into a BS/MD program even if I apply, but I probably would be able to get into Pharmacy at Rutgers NB. My sister got in and she says I could get in based on my GPA and SAT scores alone. That’s what I’m trying to avoid. Luckily it’s very annoying to get there and back, even driving, so I could use that in my argument.
Well except that you can commute with your sister
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Rutgers has a train station on campus, does your sister need to transfer trains when she commutes?
The pharmacy program is a 6 year program at Rutgers. You cannot attend college for 4 years and become a pharmacist.
Likewise, you cannot attend NYU for 4 years and become a dentist (you will need to attend dental school). There is a combined program (BA/DDS) if you are accepted.
Rutgers NB has a train station. Can you commute? It seems to me that choosing a school and then worrying about how to commute will add more stress.
Will your parents allow you to choose your own major if you agree to take the prerequisites for medical or dental school? How set are they in choosing your major and career?
You can double major…one major that has the courses required for medical school applicants…and then a second that fulfills what you want to do. Or even a minor in writing or something of that sort.
At this point, your main goal is to find an affordable college that you like…that is within commuting distance of your home. At many places, you don’t even declare a major until later. And many, many college students switch majors, add a second major, or add a minor to their studies.
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Very set. If I told them I’ll satisfy the prerequisites, they’ll tell me to take “…” major since that’s what I’m going to do anyway. I have to tell them I have no interest in doing anything related to healthcare, because that’ll force them to compromise.