College commuters are students who live off campus and must commute to school. I choose to commute to my university because I don't live very far away, and I would rather live at home. Although commuting to school is cheaper in general because you don't have to pay to live in a dorm or buy a meal plan, there are definitely disadvantages to not living on campus. Along with the disadvantages, commuting also offers its own advantages. Nevertheless, here are seven things that we commuters know oh too well.
1. Being late because of traffic
Most of us have a set time in which we know we can't leave any later than without being late. If you're like me, you like to press that boundary to the point of having, like, two minutes to find a parking spot and walk to class. Some student commuters have to travel farther than others, but no matter where you're coming from, a wreck on the interstate can really delay you. I've been late to class because of a train or backed up interstate so many times that you'd think I'd learn to leave my house earlier.
2. Not attending events because you don't feel like driving back to school
Some commuters drive too far to make several trips to school a day. Me? I live seven miles away from my college campus and still have a hard time making myself go back for events. I've missed a lot of interesting events on campus because I was too tired or lazy to drive all the way back to school for an hour or so. It must be nice to live on campus and have all campus activities less than a mile away.
3. Getting to leave school problems on campus
Bad days happen, and when they do, it's nice to not have to drive far to come home and recoup. There have been times when I don't know what I would have done if I had to go back to a dorm and dwell in my problems. It's nice to be able to escape the "college life" when you want and to just go home.
4. Having to find something to do in between classes
Perhaps the most haunting thing about being a commuter is having to find something to do in between classes when you don't have enough time or gas to go home then come back. What do you do in that 45 minutes between classes? You can't go to your dorm and take a power nap. You most likely find a comfortable spot to sit and, well, just sit. If I have a long break between classes and no homework, I like to grab a coffee and watch Netflix in the library. Unfortunately, I've also spent several breaks driving around trying to find a better parking spot.
5. Parking
Which leads me to my next point: parking. Commuter parking, don't get me started! At my school, commuter parking ranges from a parking garage to a gravel lot behind someone's house. As if I'm not already running late for class, the last thing I need is to not be able to find a parking spot. If you time it correctly, sometimes if you arrive for say, your 9 AM, at like 8:55, you can get a close parking spot from the commuters leaving their 8 AMs. Yeah, you're welcome.
6. Forgetting something at home
If you forget something at home, you might as well face the fact that you'll have to go without it all day or risk being late for a class in order to drive home to get it. Unlike living on campus, forgetting something at home, miles away from campus, isn't something you can take care of in ten minutes.
7. Having a harder time meeting new people
When you live on campus, you're forced to make friends because that's where you spend all your time. Unfortunately, commuters tend to mostly just come to class and then go home. Unless you intentionally engage yourself in campus activities, you aren't as likely to meet new people and make friends as students who live on campus.
