<p>If the school was within driving distance of your house, and commuting would save you some dead presidents, would you do it? </p>
<p>My Dad really wants me to commute to school (since most of my schools are in-state and within driving distance) but I kind of wanted to dive head first into the whole "independent living as a young adult" and stay in the dorms, but yeah...</p>
<p>Opinions on living at home during college?</p>
<p>My 21 year old sister does it and she seems fine, but I don’t think she’s emotionally or mentally capable of moving out. </p>
<p>I don’t know if there’s any single thing I could do that would make me more unhappy than commuting to college. I’d feel cut off socially from the people who live in dorms and I’d feel like my life was stagnating. I don’t want to be 22 and be in the exact same place I was when I was 14. Independence from my parents is one of my most important goals and going to college is going to be a major step towards that goal, even if I’m still going to depend on them for money for a few years.</p>
<p>That’s what I was thinking as well - I’d be so cut off socially and I’d be in the same exact position I was at the age of 12, and with immigrant parents, I doubt they’ll give me free reign once I enter college. 
Meh, meh, meh, meh.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t stay with my parents (and luckily my parents live in a rural area with no nearby colleges), but I plan to live with my cousins and commute to Case Western unless Michigan comes up with some insane financial aid, which they’re not going to. I hope they’ll let me commute for all four years, but if not then I’ll commute for at least the last two years. Living on-campus isn’t independent living if my parents are paying for it, and I know they would never let me forget that.
I’ve lived with strangers before and I think it’s constructive, but I’ll get to live with strangers when I study abroad.</p>
<p>Although there are drawbacks to commuting, it will not kill you.
<p>The school that I would have to commute from is one which has given me a full ride. The only thing I’d have to pay for, in theory, is some programs over the summer or abroad which I believe I could easily do if I found myself a job. </p>
<p>idk, I just feel like I’m going to be babied for the rest of my life. </p>
<p>I know this sounds really trivial and stupid - but what about relationships? I have not been allowed to date thus so far and it just seems weird having a boyfriend when I’m not living in the dorms and I’m with my parents… I feel like they’re going to expect me to come home after my classes are over.</p>
<p>The sister I talked about further up has never, to my knowledge, had a boyfriend, gone to a college party, been on a date, or anything else like that. Living at home probably makes it harder to socialize, but she’s not exactly making an effort to. I think you probably COULD manage it if you tried, but it’d be easier to end up totally isolated.</p>
<p>My Dad is, as I mentioned before, an immigrant. His ties to the culture of his homeland are very strong and he’s VERY family oriented. He still sees me as a child and will continue to do so long as he has the opportunity. I could tell him that I want to be independent but he’d still cook food for me and offer to drive me to school everyday, and be insulted if I refused. </p>
<p>He basically wants to be my guardian until “future husband” swoops in and takes his spot. But how is future husband going to find me when I’m cooped up in the same room I’ve been living in since the age of 5?</p>
<p>You can talk it over with them whenever or around the time to submit intents to enroll.
~It’s hard for me to find a single girlfriend that fits my standards at the college near where I live haha 
If I was a female in the engineering curriculum, it would be a cakewalk to find that guy.</p>
<p>Is dorming/not dorming an option after decisions roll in?</p>
<p>I got into a predominantly commuter school (that does have some housing) with a full scholarship, but to my understanding, that scholarship only covers tuition, fees, books, etc since I applied as a commuter… It’d be really nice if I could tell them that I wanted to live in the dorms (I’d be willing to pay) but I think its set in stone.</p>
<p>Everyone I know who commutes hates college</p>
<p>Yeah, the three girls I know who commute to the school in question hate it and it is chiefly because of the commuting.</p>
<p>Have fun being a high schooler for the next 4 years. Actually scratch that, why not commute to grad school as well? Heck, why move out when you can just get a job in Boston after that?</p>
<p>@Repede </p>
<p>I want to move out. 
</p>
<p>Its not a matter of whether or not I want to, because I do in fact want to live in the dorms, its my parents who are concerned about finances and their own cultural perceptions of family. I’m still waiting on a number of schools where I would have to dorm - either because they’re 800 miles away or because living on campus is mandatory for first year students.</p>
<p>Tell your parents y’all don’t live in Morocco anymore.</p>
<p>I’m commuting! My college is in my backyard, so its hardly even a commute.
Besides, I didn’t relish the idea of sharing a fungus covered, smelly bathroom with twenty other screaming girls.</p>
<p>If telling my Dad that we aren’t in Morocco anymore was enough to resolve 17 years of cultural tension, I would have done it years ago.</p>
<p>That’s really unfortunate, preamble. My parents are Nigerian immigrants, and they are also family-oriented. However, they agree with me; they definitely want me to live in a dorm in college. Which is perfect because I plan on attending Loyola MD, which has a dorm life ranked in the top three every year by the Princeton Review, USNWR, etc.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk</p>
<p>One of the colleges I was considering would have required me to commute for various reasons. For me, the biggest problem would have been the travel time, as it would be the difference between an hour-odd commute and a three minute walk to my dorm. (And that’s driving- if I were to take public transportation, in which at least I could study, it would be 2+ hours.) Luckily, I was able to pick another college and my parents are able to pay my dorm fees because they agree that at a certain point, I’m old enough to learn to wash my own socks. I think that for them, it’s a matter of getting me out of the house. If the college were closer (it’s ~1.5 hour drive away) I’d probably commute.
How far is the commute? If it’s not too bad, you can easily stay on campus until late, doing work there, eating there, participating in clubs there, basically pretending you live there until you go to your “dorm room” and have your own shower with guaranteed hot water and nobody else’s hair in the drain. My friend is doing that and she’s having a blast- when there’s a big time issue she crashes in a friend’s room, but otherwise she can get the best of both worlds. She even met her fiance in college without living on-campus (as it so happened, neither did he, but that was complete coincidence).
Life is not over as a commuter. There are so many great things to do in college that don’t necessitate fighting with drunk roomies over how loud they can keep their iPods while you’re studying. Of course, that doesn’t mean that your parents can keep the apron strings in a chokehold around you- you still, anyway, should figure out a way to civilly and politely relay that yes, you are pretty much an adult now and you won’t be living at home forever. But that can even come later, if you don’t think it will register now. Dorming in college isn’t the be-all-end-all. Sure, it’s a completely different experience, and for many college students it seems “symbolic”- I’m an adult, I live on my own- and it’s something that gives responsibility, but this isn’t the last time you’ll be able to dorm- maybe soph year you and your parents can figure something out. But if you do need to commute, it is possible to make the most of it.</p>
<p>I am 22 years old and have been living at home for my entire college experience. I personally have had a wonderful experience. I work and go to school but don’t have the added stress of worrying about paying other bills. And I have my independence to do my own thing. I don’t feel like I have missed out on the college experience by any means. And commuting to and from school is not bad at all. I would recommend commuting if you can. Much less expensive than living on your own.</p>