<p>i'm going to be a hs senior in the fall and i'm a resident in NJ, i'm visiting TCNJ next month and according to google maps, it will take 50 minutes to get there. my parents arent big on the idea of dorming at all, they think it makes much more sense to stay home.
is there a lot of traffic getting there? is the commute way too much?
am i going to have ANYYY friends in college if i don't live there?
what are the dorms like? are you able to study in them, or are there loud parties?
any personal experiences are very much appreciated :)</p>
<p>I know people that are commuting anywhere from a minute to 45 minutes. It depends on you. I’m a little over an hour away from TCNJ, but next year I am not commuting. Remember, it’s not your parents who will be driving for at least an hour and a half a day. More than that if you hit traffic. You can always get loans to pay for the living situation. And you will have to pay for gas. Assuming you have no classes on Wednesdays life most people do and you don’t want to join a club than you will be traveling at least six hours a week. Not to mention the fact that you probably won’t have time to go home. So you might end up there really early in the morning to the early evening. TCNJ classes run from eight in the morning to nine at night, so it could end up anyway. It’s really all about how much the idea of commuting every day may bother you.</p>
<p>thats true. is this your first year ? you said “next year I am not commuting,” does this mean you’ve commuted before? if you did, was it a bad idea? i live a lot closer to rutgers and i’m considering that because its easier to commute to and a good school, but i still want to have my options open</p>
<p>Unless your family is financially unable to pay for college unless you commute, I rec dorming. The experience is so much different, and imo better, than if you commute everyday. Also, commuting has all kinds of problems like traffic (late to classes), not being able to hang out with your friends as much, less study time (you’ll miss those all night study sessions with your friends haha). As mentioned before, you won’t be able to participate in as many organizations as a commuter (you seemed to be really active in high school) so keep this in mind. Also I’m pretty sure the education program in TCNJ is better than the one at Rutgers.</p>
<p>I live a little over an hour away and I’m dorming. I think you should at least dorm your freshman year, even if you decide to commute for the rest, unless you seriously can’t afford it. Dorming is a great college experience, and gives you the opportunity to meet kids you wouldn’t otherwise that aren’t in any of your classes or anything. Also kids that stay on campus tend to do better academically, since all of the needed resources are close by.</p>
<p>I personally feel that all freshman at any college should dorm their first year, or at the very least their first semester. TCNJ does have a commuter students lounge and includes them during freshman welcome week (they are in their own groups just as the students in dorms are in groups). One of my good friends is a commuter student from Langhorne, PA and he is perfectly happy (he will be a junior this year). However, he admits that the main reason he has so many friends at TCNJ is because of the clubs he is involved in. I’ve known other commuter students who had very few friends until they joined clubs and organizations. Another guy I know pledged a frat in order to find his niche on campus (it worked for him). Therefore, be sure to join clubs if you commute. Besides, college is all about finding who you are and clubs are a great way to do this.</p>
<p>However, consider the amount of time you will be spending on campus/transportation if you join clubs. You will need to make very good friends because you may want to have someplace to crash occasionally. Also consider food and meal costs, as you won’t be able to eat all your meals at home and no college student is going to be able to spot you all the time.</p>