<p>This depends on many factors. </p>
<p>First of all, is this local college a commuter school? It is better if it is not, and there is a good wealth of on-campus activities to choose from, and a lot of relatively populous places to hang out, study, and eat. A strong campus atmosphere is going to help you feel connected to your school whether you dorm or commute. Much of the regrets people have coming out of a commuting situation are less time spent on campus, in campus activities, etc. Living only 5-10 minutes from the school, I imagine you can spend a lot of time on campus and in clubs. </p>
<p>Second of all, what are your parents like? Are they going to treat you the same way they treated you in HS (midnight curfews, baby sit the younger sister every Friday night, etc.)? Or are they going to try to give you a “dorm-like” experience, letting you live in the walk-out basement, coming and going as you please, while they pretend you aren’t there? It would help to share your concerns about how the rules and expectations regarding your family involvement will change now that you are transitioning from family life to campus life, and trying to become a part of your campus experience. </p>
<p>Third, what are YOU like? If you are an upbeat, positive person who is not afraid to take his/her life into his/her own hands, then this will be an easier transition. Some people feel they need to be FORCED to join a community, and feel unable to DECIDE to join (you must be able to feel you can choose involvement, not “fall into” involvement). Some people will take one disappointment really hard - the first club didn’t work out, I didn’t meet anyone in the student union today, etc. Can you take the disappointments, learn from them, and come back strong the next day? </p>
<p>I feel that commuting to a local college can honestly be a MORE rewarding and growth-inducing experience than going far away and dorming. The ACTIVE prescense you must practice, the seeking out of things you want and need, are skills many students do not develop. I dormed, I fell in passively with a crowd I didn’t have much in common with (well, they were my neighbors). You could commute and CHOOSE the people you surround yoursef with, and therefore trump my experience. </p>
<p>Yes, there are very real disadvantages to commuting, and they would be augmented by being part of a campus without any real base for activities and gathering, by having strict parents, and by one choosing passivity over activity. But, the disadvantages can be somewhat quelled if other things are in your favor.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, study, get good grades, and save and invest and grow that money (don’t just blow it on fast food!). I know a kid who commuted for a couple years, and with the money he saved (in addition to some previous savings), he BOUGHT A HOUSE. He is now paying the mortgage by renting it to other students and living there himself. Even if you emerge from college with regrets, you’ll emerge with good credentials to get a job and the money to live in the place of your dreams. If you emerge from college with ONLY those things, then you may have SOME regrets. But you will have less regrets than the kid who partied all four years, has no money, and poor job prospects. And, I have faith that you can find a balance, and have a nice, healthy social life, as well as save money and do well in school.</p>
<p>But a lot of it depends on you. Are you going to go into this thinking it’s a death sentence? Don’t go into it. Are you going to go into it thinking positive things? Then it’s definitely something to seriously consider.</p>