<p>I'll be commuting to college this fall - I'll be taking public transit. </p>
<p>The commute itself is an hour each way; it involves a 5 minute walk to the train station and then two train trips (change lines at one station), and the final stop is right outside of the college. I've heard horror stories about commuting to college - even commutes that are considerably shorter than mine. </p>
<p>I thought that I could make up for "wasted" time during the commute by reading/studying/unwinding on the train trips; but then again, there's the issue of finding a seat during rush hours.</p>
<p>An hour is fairly long, although being something other than driving makes it less stressful, with the possibility of reading or sleeping on the train.</p>
<p>Be sure to investigate the reliability of the trains keeping to their schedule. Usually, they are more predictable than traffic delays for driving, but trains do occasionally have schedule disruptions. On test days, you may want to plan for an early arrival on campus as a buffer against commuting delays.</p>
<p>Yes, a hour is quite long, (mines is 2 each way), and since it is using the train, many factors can make it stressful. How is the area in the train stations? Are there homeless people laying around, people asking for money? How is the weather in your area, lots of rain? consistent cold temp? How good the train system is important, because the one here in Atlanta breaks down a lot. Security in the train station is also important because many things happen in the station that even the security guards don’t reach there in time. </p>
<p>People’s respect for a quiet train is also important. You could get a study hour on one ride and another ride filled with people loudly singing, babies crying, people arguing or laughing out loud.</p>
<p>Also, make sure your classes are scheduled in the middle of the day. Depending on how safe your area is, traveling in the early morning or late night can be dangerous. </p>
<p>@DreadfulSkolar - I’ll be using Boston’s MBTA system - my mother commutes in the morning everyday and aside from a few bizarre isolated incidents (random bouts of singing, awkward phone conversations), she has no major complaints. I’ve been on the train countless times - the only times it was particularly bad was when I was trying to find a seat when there was some major game in Boston (Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox) and the train was packed with fans. The weather is a completely different story - it gets terribly cold in New England from about November to March, especially in the morning, so that’s something I need to keep in mind. </p>
<p>As for reliability, I’d say the MBTA is pretty reliable - my mother has commuted for about 9 or so years, and there has been perhaps only one or two times where she has had to change her route because of something really off the wall like someone jumping on the tracks at another station or something. Very rarely is she ever more than 5 or 10 minutes late and she leaves home/work at the same exact time. </p>
<p>I made sure to register for the earliest possible orientation (mid June) so that I can get the classes I want (and since I am in the Honors College, I have priority in choosing)- I don’t think I’ll be taking any classes earlier than 10am so no intense 4:30am commutes or anything. </p>
<p>In Boston, commuting is a way of life. Lots of people have 2+ hours daily. Just don’t waste that time. If it’s your planned relaxing time, fine, it’s planned. You aren’t going to be able to do math with a calculator or worksheet in French with 2-3 books for reference, but you can read a novel, read a newspaper, listen to a missed lecture or relisten to a lecture.</p>
<p>What’s your other choice? This is what you have to do.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus - I thought that if I manage to get a somewhat less hectic schedule my freshman year (or at least the fall semester), I’d be able to better handle potentially earlier classes later on rather than just jumping in head first to 8am classes right off the bat - something that probably wouldn’t work well with me considering I live right outside my high school and never had anything more than a three minute “commute” LOL. So I think a mostly mid-day freshman fall semester would be a good “transition” for me. </p>
<p>@twoinanddone - I can drive; the drive in “normal” traffic conditions (read: little to no traffic) is about 18 minutes. That wouldn’t be that bad in theory - I even test drove the route in heavy traffic and it only took about 30 minutes - however, I worry about my tendency to get tired at the end of the school day (I function on afternoon naps…) and I fear that it’ll impair my driving abilities in the late afternoon or evening. I’m a Poli Sci major - so I thought (probably thought wrong) that a lot of my homework would be reading, either from a textbook or from print out readings online, which to me seemed to be manageable to do on the train. Anything involving multiple references or a calculator like you said I’d probably try to do before I left the school or in between breaks for classes. </p>
<p>My wife had a long train commute in and out of Chicago. If you can keep from getting distracted, you may find that working on the train keeps you more disciplined than a lot of your non-commuting classmates.</p>
<p>@preamble: I commuted to Northeastern from Chelsea. Freshman year I had 8 AM classes Monday-Friday for two quarters. I was only late once. And no, I did not get any studying done on the T. My commute involved a walk to a bus stop. T bus to the Blue Line and transfer to the Green Line at Government Center and another transfer to the E branch at Park Street because back then the E terminated at Park. Back then such a commute was not unusual for NU students. We survived. </p>
<p>@TomSrOfBoston - Wow, that’s pretty complicated - I commend you for it. Not going to go into details about my commute for privacy reasons but it’s only one transfer halfway through.
Are you still currently living in Greater Boston/frequent the MBTA? I am only familiar with the Orange Line (I really only ever travel into parts of Boston accessible by the Orange line exclusively) - is the Red Line as bad as a lot of people claim it is?
Were you unable to study on the T or was that a personal choice? </p>
<p>Well to me, it sounds like it would be a pretty good option for you to take. If things are relatively positive about the commute, I would say go for it. Mines was quite exhausting, but then again mines involve biking to bus stops, and long wait times for buses to arrive, let along to get to the station and the train ride to the station where the school is. Along with a late night travel, a early morning commute the next day, and living all the way in the suburbs, I hate commuting so not looking forward to doing that again. </p>
<p>As what @WasatchWriter said, If you can ignore distractions on the train, reading and study will probably be your primary study tool, since doing anything else can probably make you miss your stop if your not paying attention. </p>
<p>My commute is about an hour: 20-25 minutes in car, 20-25 minutes waiting for/riding on bus, 5 minute walk. It’s actually not that bad. Being on a train would be even easier since you can read or be productive if you want to (unlike with driving). </p>
<p>You might also want to consider making a concerted effort to meet people and get involved in the school. It can be harder for commuters to establish a friend group at their school, and while I don’t think that’s enough of a reason to pay a burdensome amount to live on campus, it’s something to keep in mind, especially during your first year. Consider ways that you can still meet people, make friends, and stay involved, even with a potentially tiring commute.</p>
<p>@baktrax - It’s a commuter school - I think about half of those school is composed of students like me who are commuting from their homes whereas the other half (OOS and internationals) are living on off-campus apartments - so a lot of the activities, clubs, events, etc are geared towards commuters. </p>
<p>Most of the time I was a strap hanger on the T with a backpack. It was not conducive to reading for me. UMass Boston is the last remaining school in the Boston area where a commuter won’t feel like an outsider. Even Suffolk is residential now. But UMB is planning residence halls I hear. </p>
<p>Yeah, I understand on that commute… I took the city bus to a community college where I was taking my classes at in my senior year of high school and that trip was anywhere between 1/2 an hour to 1 hour, averaging 40 minutes, each way. I ended up sleeping most of the time or if I wasn’t done studying for a test, I’d do that.</p>
<p>Oh, as an update - I made the commute three times during times I’d typically expect to be leaving my house and leaving school - all three times it took about 30 minutes, give or take a couple of minutes. This included <em>intentionally</em> missing a train to factor in the prospect of not catching the train in time.</p>
<p>I think I’ll be alright. Thank you for all the help everyone! </p>
<p>For a while I used the red line daily and I survived. It is not that bad. My friend commuted to UmassLowell with the commuter rail and also survived. Relatively speaking those are easy commutes. Good luck!</p>
Not going to go into details about my commute for privacy reasons but it’s only one transfer halfway through.