“You’re a commuter? Oh.” This is the usual response I get when someone asks me whether or not I live on campus. People automatically assume these five things about commuter students and I am ready to prove them wrong. Who’s up for the ride?

1. We don’t make many friends.

Throughout the semester I realized that being a commuter doesn’t necessarily isolate you from a college social life, but gives you an extra appeal. Residents tend to gravitate towards commuters because they are the ones with a car, an escape goat from campus. I know that just sounds like you’re being used, but the favor goes both ways: you drive your friends and they give you a place to stay on the weekends. By the way, the drive is relatively close. They usually just want to go to Walmart or CVS to stack up on essentials.

2. We don’t experience college life in its entirety.

Commuters stay in college for as long as they need to. Some leave after their classes end for a job while others stay until they're tired. Some things they won't necessarily have had to deal with are the daily struggles of eating campus food, sharing a bathroom with the whole floor, or even finding a quiet space to do homework. However, we can stay on campus for as long as we need to. When the day ends, we just drive home. Maybe we don’t go to every party or event the college has, but if our friends are willing to let us sleepover, attending them isn't an issue. Some institutes even have a special place for commuters to stay just in case the weather gets bad!

3. There aren’t many commuters.

There are a ton of people who drive to school! I know that WSU has about 1700 full-time undergraduate commuters. There are many reasons why people decide to commute. It could be for financial reasons, distance, or maybe something as simple as they just don’t feel like sharing a room and bathroom. Once you meet another student just like you, you start to notice them everywhere!

4. You don't get the chance to be independent.

Driving to school doesn’t undermine your independence. A commuter is still responsible for making it to class on time no matter the weather or traffic situation. They also have the same obligations as every college student.

5. Commuters are just plain weird.

There is nothing weird about driving to school. I have friends who basically live at the university -- they just drive home to go to bed. Commuters are just students who are able to eat home-cooked meals and sleep in their own bed every night. FYI, we're all weird in our own way and that's what makes college fun!