I first decided to commute because I was an out-of-state student and didn't want to spend money on housing when I could just drive, especially since I already had the extra cost of tuition for being out-of-state. What I didn't know was that there are so many opportunities and benefits of living on campus (especially your freshman year) that I am sad to have missed. Before you decide to commute, consider the following:
1. Traffic and parking
https://pixabay.com/en/los-angeles-traffic-freeway-1396606/You wake up early, have no breakfast (or a small one,) and leave 30 minutes early, all so that you'll be on time for a class in which you have an exam. You're driving and *bam* TRAFFIC. Now, you think, it's moving I'll still get there on time (which you do). You chose a parking lot that's a little far from campus, but it's cheaper and you don't have to worry about finding a spot. Now everything is good. You're ten minutes early and waiting for the bus. The bus comes, but before you get in, the driver tells you "there's no more space, wait for the next one!" You take the next one and now you are late and all your efforts were for nothing.
2. Class selection
If you live five minutes away, this might not be a problem for you. But if you're like me, and have to drive 40 minutes every day, the classes you chose might be limited to a certain time frame. I don't like waking up early, so the classes I choose have to start at 9:00 am or later (although even 9:00 am classes take all the energy I have). This is a huge problem when you are a freshman because you're the last one choosing classes, which means all the good professors, classes and times are already taken. So now you have a 40-minute commute, an 8:00 am, and a 5 pm with nothing in between and no dorm to nap in.
3. Clubs
Club take a lot of commitment if you want to be considered a member or have a good position like Ambassador or President. In order to do that you have to come out to all events, even the ones on the weekends. Let's be honest, you'll probably get tired of all the driving and give up, you'll decide not to go one day and now someone else probably has a better chance of getting a position. Most club meetings are also late since they want to make sure that its after classes.
4. Friends
Being an out-of-state student, I didn't have a lot of friends at first, and living off campus was not helping me. The only way I had to make friends was to just talk to random people in classes and clubs until I found someone I could become friends with. This wasn't easy because most people had known each other from high school. Now, don't get me wrong, once you get settled as a commuter it's really easy to make friends as most people are pretty approachable and easy to talk to.
5. Time management
https://www.google.com/search?q=alarms&rlz=1C1GCEV...:Commuting takes a lot of time. In my case, I spend 2 hours of my day driving. There are so many things that can be done in 2 hours, like studying for tests, doing homework, or working out. Although I personally would just watch Netflix, the point is you lose a lot of time commuting and have to be good at managing time so you don't fall behind.
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