<p>I'm sorry if my questions don't really belong here. I just am more comfortable asking parents these types of things.</p>
<p>1) I'm completing the CSS Profile now and I've come across the housing option question. My parents want me to live at home but I really want to live on campus. If I choose the on campus option and receive a financial aid package that they aren't willing to pay, can I choose to live at home without any issues with the package. So...this option I choose now isn't binding in any way and it's okay for me to choose "on campus" just to see what the package would be like? (Hope that made sense)</p>
<p>2) I've already been accepted into one university and have been invited to apply for its honors program. Can I apply for the program now although I'm sure I don't want to go to this school? If I do have to go to this school I want to be sure that I am in the Honors program. </p>
<p>Why do your parents want you to live at home? Is it the money? A big part of the college experience is being part of that community–meeting people socially, being part of a study group, joining clubs, learning to live away from home in a “supervised” setting, becoming more independent, you get the picture. There is more to college than just the academics.</p>
<p>If money isn’t an issue, you should definitely try to live on campus. College is a lot more than classes, and living on campus really isn’t that hard, but you still get to learn a lot about living by yourself.</p>
<p>Do your best to understand your parents’ rationales for having you commute. That will help you formulate your arguments for living on campus, and will help you accept your situation if you do end up commuting after all. The simple truth is that nationwide more traditional-age college students live at home and commute than live on campus. If you are a commuter, you might not have the college experience that you perceive to be “ideal”, but it will indeed be the “real” one.</p>
<p>I am so thankful I had enough scholarship money to swing living in the dorms instead of commuting. If money is the issue try to get at least your first semester on campus if you go to the local college. You miss so much off campus, especially at home, even if within walking distance (like a college friend did). I STRONGLY urge your parents to support your living on campus.</p>
<p>I’m hoping I’ll go to school far enough to be able to commute. My parents are willing to let me drive at most an hour one way…much too far for me. I don’t even have my license yet…and I haven’t practiced driving for months (I’m really awful).</p>
<p>The closest college I would go to (which isn’t possible at all really for me to get into) is 45 minutes away (according to the directions on Google); however, this school happens to be UCLA…not exactly in a very non-busy area. So I suppose I could expect a lot of heavy traffic. Then again…I’m not too worried since I’m not getting in! :)</p>
<p>I’m not exactly sure why money is such an issue for us…we’re not close to low-income (over 160K a year), so I expect many loans and few grants. Sigh…where does our money go?</p>
<p>I realize you may not seriously be asking that question, but I think parents can teach their children a big life lesson by answering that question. Taxes (federal, state, city, social security) take a huge chunk of someone’s salary, followed by mortgage costs, property tax, health, home & car insurance, saving for retirement… food and clothing are usually far down on the list of expenditures. At our local high school, the students had to take a consumer economics course which required the students to make a budget for living expenses at their first job. It really opened a lot of eyes!!! Living in such a high cost area as LA, your parents might have less discretionary income than you think. </p>
<p>If you are going to take out “many” loans that impact your future life style, you should ask your parents to look at their finances for insight on expenses you will have to cover once you set up your own household. You especially need to figure out a likely entry level salary in your future career and the amount of loan repayments you will need to make for how many years to come.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!!! I wish you much success in college!</p>
<p>Definitely apply for the honors program. My D swore she wasn’t going to school “B” and took a scholarship at school “A”. She wasn’t happy at “A” and ended up applying and going to “B” as a sophomore with no chance of the honors program as one can only enter into it as a freshman. (the honors program was a full ride)</p>
<p>You should not be spending hours each day commuting to college. Too much time lost on the road. 15-20 minutes of driving seems long enough. Don’t forget that once you park your car you still will have to walk the campus to get to your first class and back to your car- could add another 1/2 or more hour to each day. Try to be on campus the first semester to get to know it and other students. Then you can opt to commute to save money.</p>