<p>hi! I'm going to be a college freshman next year. My single mom does not want me to dorm next year b/c of heavy financial problems (barely can afford college). But the thing is ... I really want to dorm to have that "college experience". The college is roughly 15k after adding scholarships and aid so would adding that 10k in dorm expenses be worth it ? My college is 30-45 mins away from my house if I take the train. Is staying home a good idea?</p>
<p>It’s a no brainer - the college “dorm experience” is not worth added financial strain. You will be among a small percentage of Americans who gets to go to college, be grateful for the sacrifices your Mom is making. Focus on doing well and enjoy the parts of college that you do get to experience.</p>
<p>If you can barely afford college as it is, adding 10k in dorm expenses is definitely not worth it. There’s no real “college experience” that you need to have. You can still be involved in campus life as a commuter. It may not be as easy, but the financial burden would not be worth it.</p>
<p>Having the complete college experience is a little harder when you’re a commuter but still not impossible. You will need to make more of an effort to reach out to people. Join a few student organisations and you’ll have a nice friend circle. It doesn’t make sense to add to your financial strain by living in dorms when you can stay at home.</p>
<p>One thing to note, though: commuting can be expensive, too. If you’re gonna drive to college every day, you’re going to spend a whole lot of money on gas and car insurance, plus you’ll lose quite a bit of time every day on the road. Are there daily buses from your place to campustown? If you could buy a yearly pass that may work out to be cheaper.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should stay in the dorm if it adds that much of a financial strain on your mother. The college experience will be there still as long as you try to reach out to people on campus, join organizations, and be active. </p>
<p>My college is also 30-45 minutes away from my house so I understand how difficult it may be. But trust me, the $10,000 burden is not worth a mere “college experience” that is not even guaranteed with dorming.</p>
<p>In your case, stay at home. You’ll still make friends and can still have the “college experience”; you’ll just need to put yourself out there more than if you were living in the dorms. Besides, as lullabies said even if you do dorm the “college experience” isn’t guaranteed.</p>
<p>In your case it isn’t worth it. 10K would be 2/3 of your tuition, making it not worth the cost. Instead you should do as the above posters stated, and reach out, join organizations, and get more involved. I’m not sure about your college policy but something that friends of mine have done is occasionally stay overnight at a friends dorm after a party or before a major campus event. That way you get the ‘college experience’ as much as possible.</p>
<p>Staying home ended up being a great idea for me financially. I commute 40-45 mins. every day to school. And I don’t feel like I have missed out on the college experience. I still hang out with friends on campus and go to social events when I have the time. But I find it very enjoyable and good for my mental health to be able to get away from campus entirely.</p>
<p>With in state tuition and a 4 year renewable scholarship and a few private scholarships, I still have found myself paying $1500-$2000 out of pocket for my college expenses the last 2 semesters. I could not imagine having to pay for housing on top of that.</p>
<p>If your mom can’t afford to pay for you to stay in a dorm, how were you going to make it work out? Money is limited, so whether you want to or not, it doesn’t seem possible. You can make the college experience what ever you want it to be, even if you don’t live on campus. Ask your mom to make loud noise in the middle of the night from time to time, or set off the smoke alarms and insist you participate in a 2am fire drill. Ask her to steal your favorite clothes from your laundry, and fight with you like a grouchy roommate would! Then, to top it off, ask if she can surprise you with vomit outside your bedroom door and …you get the idea! (I hope you don’t mind my attempt at humor here! ;^)
You will have the ability to meet a lot of people through classes. Get involved in clubs/sports/ or an on-campus job so that you can feel a part of the greater community. Study in the library, eat on campus even if you pack lunches/dinners from home. If you are going to stay late, or attend a party, be sure to call home so your mom will not worry unnecessarily. Maybe, if you can save for a couple years, you can finish living on campus for the last couple, or share an apartment with other students (usually a way to save on housing compared to living in a dorm!) If that becomes your goal, I am sure you can save the money to make it happen. Good luck. The experience will be whatever you make it!</p>
<p>I always recommend dorming at least once while in college. It is really a great experience. But, finances come first.</p>
<p>Maybe you can save up during the year and try out the dorms next year.</p>
<p>Not worth it. I wish I lived that close to my school, then maybe I would not dorm this year (or maybe I would since home is a bit suffocating). Freshman year for me was tough because I commuted an hour and half each way with trains and buses to get to school, but it was rewarding in its own way and I managed to social. But I came to the realization that sophomore year would be even tougher work-wise so I decided to move onto campus this semester to save time and concentrate. Luckily dorms are a cheap 5k at my school so I could manage to save up, but if it were 10k, I don’t think there’d be any point because I would not be concentrating, I’d be working all the time because I refuse to take out so many loans.
The only time I might condone this is if you think your studies might be affected positively from the move (and even then I’d be skeptical). If you want the “experience” it is certainly possible to achieve without an extra 10k.</p>
<p>You can still have a “college experience” without living in a residence hall. There is no one college experience - the experience is what you make it. My younger sister attends a commuter school, and she has tons of friends and parties and has a good time.</p>