Off Campus?

<p>Just curious about commuter life. How's their social life? I'm sure they don't meet nearly as many people as an on-campus student would, but I'm wondering if they "fit" in. I've heard a decent portion of Villanova students commute, but I don't know how true this is. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!!</p>

<p>I’m a freshman commuter at Villanova, and I would say that it’s definitely more difficult to commute than to live on campus. I’ve been able to meet people pretty well because I’m in the Honors Program, which can be a pretty close-knit group, but I haven’t really gotten to know anyone from non-Honors classes. I haven’t met any other commuters, so I honestly don’t know how sizable the commuter population at Nova is. I would say that the vast majority of students live on campus. </p>

<p>As for commuter life, it can be hard. I commute from Philly which is a good half-hour away, and I have a hard time coming to campus for anything but class. All the activities seem to meet at 7:00 PM or later, so for me that means coming to campus in the morning for class, staying until the afternoon, going back to Philly for dinner, coming back to campus for whatever the event is, and then going back home. You could easily spend 2 hours+ per day commuting from Philly if you join clubs or want to attend on-campus events in the evening.</p>

<p>Long story short, a commuter at Nova has a very different experience than an on-campus student. It’s not really so much about fitting in as having a LOT less time for activities and such. If you live pretty close to campus, like within 15 min., I would imagine that this wouldn’t be so much of a problem.</p>

<p>Wow, that’s extremely helpful! I’m about as far as you are from Villanova, maybe even farther because I live in South Jersey which is about 45 minutes from Nova. Are you classes real early in the morning, or have they worked around your schedule because you’re a commuter?</p>

<p>Well, my first semester all my classes were scheduled for me, and the earliest class I had was at 9:30, so that wasn’t too bad. You get to schedule your own classes from the second semester of freshman year on, and I think the earliest they even have classes is like 8:30.</p>

<p>By the way, I’m from South Jersey originally and for the first few weeks of class I commuted from about an hour away. I moved in with a relative in Philly to make the commute easier. I think if you schedule your classes well it shouldn’t be too problematic to come from Jersey.</p>

<p>thanks so much for your help!!</p>